In the framework of the EU-funded project on strengthening the legal regime against foreign terrorist fighters (FTF), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held last month a regional training entitled “Strengthening regional cooperation in foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) criminal cases”, in Tangier, Morocco.

The training brought together some 20 senior criminal justice and law enforcement officials representing key counter-terrorism institutions from Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. UNODC experts were joined by regional international experts representing Belgium, France, Spain and the League of Arab States.

The three-day event offered a forum to discuss practical methods and tools to further increase cooperation on criminal matters in FTF-related cases at the regional level. Judicial, procedural and operational challenges in this respect were exposed through presentations and constructive discussions about concrete terrorism cases involving regional cooperation. The sessions generated a rich debate on how the challenges faced by the Maghreb region in this field have been addressed and how the good existing cooperation could be further enhanced.

As a result of the training, participants were provided with a set of recommendations and concrete measures likely to improve mutual legal assistance and extradition requests at the regional level. This includes modernising the respective national laws and regulations as well as the setting up of informal mechanisms to facilitate the judicial cooperation while complying with domestic and international legal frameworks.

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UNODC website