The PCJS shares best practices in East Africa (April 2019)

From 29 to 30 April 2019, a summative workshop on legal issues involved in handling and prosecution of terrorism-related cases in the East and Horn of Africa Region was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The main objective of this workshop, organized by the African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT), was to discuss the legal framework adopted by the countries of the East and Horn of African Region in the fight against terrorism and the need to strengthen cooperation between countries.

Representatives from Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan attended the workshop, as well as experts from UNODC, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law and ACSRT. The Sahel Judicial Cooperation Platform (PCJS) was invited to this workshop to share its experience in the field of facilitating judicial cooperation and was represented by the substitute focal point of the PCJS of Burkina Faso.

The different working sessions were organized around several presentations followed by discussions. One of the topics discussed was regional and international cooperation, which was the subject of two presentations. One on the obligation to extradite or prosecute and other aspects of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and another one on the PCJS. These presentations highlighted the importance of judicial and police cooperation in countering terrorism at the regional level. Therefore, States need to cooperate efficiently by using tools and mechanisms put in place to facilitate the cooperation. The presentation of the PCJS was made through its creation, its composition, its objectives and the missions of the focal points. The tools developed to support PCJS activities were also presented, as well as the accomplishments made. The substitute focal point of the PCJS of Burkina Faso stresses that “The participation of the PCJS in the workshop has allowed it to share its experience in strengthening judicial cooperation in dealing with terrorism-related cases. This participation was very much appreciated by the organizers and the workshop participants, all of whom emphasized the need to establish the same facilitation mechanism in the East and Horn of Africa Region on judicial cooperation inspired by the PCJS experience”.