To what extent does Cape Verde’s security sector require reform? This chapter assesses reform efforts in the country to date. It argues that despite political stability and good economic performance, there are reasons to fear an upsurge of violence, banditry and organised crime. The country’s island status has been both protective and a source of vulnerability. While its security sector governance could be improved – particularly through increased involvement by civil society and other stakeholders – Cape Verde’s major security challenge is transnational criminality. International alliances are therefore important.
Cape Verde is one of the few countries of the sub-region without a legacy of military rule or widespread human rights abuse. Despite its few economic advantages, Cape Verde has one of the best social indicators in West Africa. However, it also has permanent, structural difficulties: its small size; the fact that its ten islands are widely dispersed; poverty; and the state’s inability to meet its security requirements on its own.
Cape Verde’s system of pluralist democracy based on multi-party politics and parliamentary control facilitates civilian oversight of the security sector, of which the national assembly constitutes the first level. Management of the security sector falls to the government, which must submit its programme and the state budget to parliament. The national assembly has independent and sovereign power to set up specialised committees or to request enquiries.
A strategy for security sector management based on the involvement of civil society is currently emerging. Increasing crime has contributed to the authorities’ new awareness that the functions of crime prevention, surveillance and reinsertion of prisoners must be shared among the state, society and private enterprise. The challenges of security sector governance in Cape Verde include:
- Ensuring the social reinsertion of citizens who have been repatriated from abroad
- Preventing and neutralising emerging threats, including drug trafficking, money laundering and the uncontrolled circulation of light weapons
- Introducing a more modern concept of security that focuses on its interdisciplinary and multidimensional nature
- Withdrawing state monopoly over the maintenance of internal security
- Implementing a system of internal security, within the framework of the ongoing reforms of the criminal code and the code of criminal procedure Preventing improper use of force and of corruption in the police
- Dismantling the links to external networks that sexually exploit people, especially children.
It is important to foster more active participation of civil society in security governance and to encourage the creation of private bodies to provide public protection. Restructuring the security forces could improve their operational capacity. In particular, police structures need to be improved to ensure a visible police presence. Further policy measures are also needed, such as:
- Strengthening police intelligence activities and cooperation among the security forces in patrolling territorial waters
- Ensuring that the most underprivileged have legal assistance and real access to justice
- Adopting legislation and creating a programme and a mechanism to protect the victims and witnesses of crimes
- Upgrading and enforcing laws on rape and the sexual abuse of children and adolescents, and creating support centres for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse
- Deploying strong diplomatic efforts in the countries that host emigrant Cape Verde communities in order to avoid illegal repatriation
- Supporting sub-regional and regional integration while observing the implementation and monitoring of trans-boundary security agreements
- Taking advantage of international alliances in order to provide better defence against external threats.
