Before joining The United States Rule of Law Institute , Faffouna worked as a journalist, specialising for the past 25 years in Africa and, in particular, West Africa. He has worked for various French newspapers and international radio stations and TV channels, including the BBC, Deutsche Welle and Canal +. He spent fifteen years of his life in West Africa, living in Tchad, Nigeria, congo, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali and travelling in most of the Ecowas countries