STUDY REPORT ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AND PERCEPTIONS OF BORDER SECURITY IN THE TILLABERI REGION International Organization for Migration 17 route des Morillons, P.O. Box 17, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 717 9111 • Fax: +41 22 798 6150 Email: [email protected] • Website: www.iom.int The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. Publisher: International Organization for Migration 17 route des Morillons P.O. Box 17 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 717 9111 Fax: +41 22 798 6150 Email: [email protected] Website: www.iom.int Cover photo : (Photo 1) Local community playing the role of displaced people fleeing conflicts in a fictional neighbor country of Niger; (Photo 2) Women and vulnerable people waiting to go to the temporary site after the first registration. ____________________________________________________ © 2019 International Organization for Migration (IOM) ____________________________________________________ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. 31_19 STUDY REPORT ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AND PERCEPTIONS OF BORDER SECURITY IN THE TILLABERI REGION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank Mr Daouda Al-Ghabid, Security Advisor to the Prime Minister and Head of Government of the Niger, as well as the Ministry of the Interior, Public Security, Decentralization and Customary and Religious Affairs. Their active support for the project “Engaging Communities in Border Management in the Niger”, of which this study is a key element, allowed the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to work in the best possible conditions. More specifically, IOM would like to thank the Governor of the Tillaberi region, the President of the Regional Council and the prefects and mayors of the covered districts and municipalities for their valuable assistance in both preparing and conducting the field survey. IOM also expresses its appreciation to the canton, group and village leaders in the Tillaberi region for the participation of their communities in the survey. The district and municipal youth councils contributed to the smooth running of the field investigation, and for this we are grateful. Finally, deep gratitude naturally goes to our donor, the Department of State of the United States of America, which made it possible to carry out this study. STUDY REPORT ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AND PERCEPTIONS OF BORDER SECURITY IN THE TILLABERI REGION iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................iii List of tables .................................................................................................................................................vi List of figures ................................................................................................................................................ x Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... xiii 1. Respondent profile ............................................................................................................................... 1 2. Local communities’ perceptions of border management .................................................... 7 3. Security risks along the border .....................................................................................................17 4. Local communities’ perception of terrorism ..........................................................................27 5. Efficiency of border management ................................................................................................41 6. Communication between authorities and communities on border security ............57 7. Response to a case of emergency ...............................................................................................65 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................75 Annex 1: Questionnaire ........................................................................................................................81 Annex 2: Survey results .........................................................................................................................89 STUDY REPORT ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AND PERCEPTIONS OF BORDER SECURITY IN THE TILLABERI REGION v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Distribution of respondents by opinion on why their community is safe from terrorism ...........................................................................................35 Table 2: Distribution of respondents by opinion on why their community is exposed to terrorism, by district of residence ......................................36 Table 3: Distribution of respondents by opinion on measures that communities and authorities can collaborate on...............................................................69 Table A: Distribution of respondents by district and municipality of residence ....................89 Table B1: Distribution of respondents by gender ..................................................................................89 Table B2a: Distribution of respondents by nationality...........................................................................89 Table B2b: Distribution of respondents by ethnicity ..............................................................................90 Table B3: Distribution of respondents by age group ...........................................................................90 Table B4: Distribution of respondents by main economic activity ................................................90 Table C1: Respondents’ perceptions of the border’s function .........................................................90 Table C2: Respondents’ knowledge of the border’s location............................................................91 Table C2a: Respondents’ knowledge of the border’s location, by district of residence ..........91 Table C3 and C4: Respondents’ history of crossing the border ......................................................................91 Table C5: Distribution of respondents by frequency of crossing the border ............................91 Table C6: Respondents’ reasons for crossing the border (past and current) ............................91 Table C7: Respondents’ awareness of the existence of border forces .........................................92 Table C8: Composition of border security forces, according to respondents ........................92 Table D1a: Nationalities of persons crossing the border, according to respondents ...............92 Table D1b: Categories of persons crossing the border, according to respondents ...................92 Table D2: Respondents’ perception of border crossing points being used for criminal activities ..........................................................................................................92 Table D3: Security problems faced by border communities, according to respondents ............................................................................................................93 Table D4: Proportion of respondents from communities affected at least once by a border insecurity problem .....................................................................................93 Table D5: Respondents’ knowledge of existing border security measures .................................93 Table D6: Respondents’ opinions of existing border security measures ......................................93 Table D7: Risks from poor border security management, according to respondents ..........93 Table E1a: Percentage of respondents who are aware of terrorism ...............................................94 Table E1a.1: Percentage of respondents who are aware of terrorism, by district of residence ..................................................................................................................94 Table E1b: Distribution of respondents by their definition of “terrorism” ...................................94 Table E2: Distribution of respondents by type of terrorist activity known to them .............94 Table E2a: Distribution of respondents by type of terrorist activity known to them, by district of residence ...............................................................................................94 Table E3a: Distribution of respondents by opinion on why some join terrorist groups