OSCE/ODIHR trains Albanian law enforcement officers on respecting human rights when countering terrorism

Respecting human rights when conducting counter-terrorism investigations was the focus of an OSCE training session for law enforcement officers held in Tirana, Albania, on 17 and 18 October 2016.

Organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department (TNTD/SPMU), with the assistance of the OSCE Presence in Albania, the course brought together 17 representatives of the Albanian State Police’s Counter Terrorism Directorate, the State Intelligence Service and the unit in charge of serious crime prosecution at the General Prosecutor’s Office.

Taking a practical and interactive approach, the course highlighted the human rights at stake and best practices in policing in a real-case scenario, which followed the logical sequence of a counter-terrorism investigation.

Among other topics, the course covered the use of intelligence material and the formulation of hypotheses, as well as good practices in the arrest and detention of suspects in counter-terrorism investigations.

“Respecting human rights is a necessary precondition for the short and long-term effectiveness of any counter-terrorism policing practice,” said Enrico Boninsegna, Human Rights Officer on Counter-Terrorism Issues at ODIHR. “By linking the analysis of fundamental human rights with police actions in counter-terrorism investigations, this course provides participants with a set of concrete tools they can use in their daily work.”

Arnar Jensson, Police Affairs Officer at TNTD/SPMU, said: “Law enforcement officers often face very challenging and complex human rights circumstances when conducting operations or investigations on terrorist acts. Based on real cases, this scenario-based training gives participants the opportunity to analyze and evaluate investigative options and make decisions compliant with human rights.”                                            

The course was delivered as part of a joint project between ODIHR and TNTD/SPMU, which aims at developing a training curriculum for law enforcement officers on the basis of the ODIHR-TNTD/SPMU manual Human Rights in Counter-Terrorism Investigations.