Foreign Assistance

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the various activities that Department of State, Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of the Treasury, and the Agency for International Development (AID) have undertaken to address transnational crime involving sub-Saharan Africa and their efforts to enhance anticrime coordination among U.S. agencies.

GAO noted that: (1) State, DOJ, Treasury, AID, and other federal agencies are involved in responding to transnational crime involving sub-Saharan Africa; (2) the U.S.' approach in this region, which is similar to that being used in the rest of the world, is composed of four key efforts: (a) providing training and technical assistance to strengthen the legal, judicial, and law enforcement reform efforts in sub-Saharan Africa; (b) adding to the U.S. law enforcement presence in sub-Saharan Africa; (c) increasing U.S. cooperation with sub-Saharan African governments and organizations; and (d) participating in multilateral initiatives aimed at combatting transnational crime in sub-Saharan Africa; and (3) in response to a 1995 Presidential Decision Directive, U.S. agencies, particularly the State, DOJ, and Treasury, are taking steps to enhance their coordination on transnational crime through joint discussions of worldwide law enforcement priorities and the development of a unified strategy to combat Nigerian criminal organizations.