Criminal justice responses to terrorism focus of OSCE seminar in Prishtinë/Priština

A two-day seminar on strengthening rule of law-compliant criminal justice responses to terrorism, which brought together over 30 practitioners from the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and prison management, concluded on 6 July 2017 in Prishtinë/Priština.

Organized by the Action Against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department in close co-operation with the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, the seminar focused on good practices detailed in the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s Rabat Memorandum, which offers insights into effective terrorism prevention and prosecution, while emphasizing respect for applicable international law.

Experts in the field of criminal justice presented the legal parameters and practices developed in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and the United States, as well as the work by the private financial sector in this area.

“Our work in trial monitoring has shown us that the Kosovo justice sector functions best when well-prepared, thoroughly investigated cases are handled by knowledgeable, informed prosecutors and judges,” said Benjamin Reed, Chief of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo’s Law and Justice Section. “We are pleased to be able to help bring together Kosovo law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and judges, as well as representatives of the corrections authorities and ministries, to engage with the issue of terrorism across the justice sector, so that cases can move in an efficient, timely and law abiding way.”

Among other topics, participants discussed effective co-ordination mechanisms among domestic government agencies and the importance of international co-operation, particularly when being confronted with terrorism. The seminar also highlighted the need to ensure the protection of all sides involved in terrorism cases, as well as for the development of policies for the effective incarceration and reintegration of convicted terrorists.

This event in Prishtinë/Priština was the sixth seminar of this series, which is funded through extra-budgetary contributions by the United States of America. Seminars previously took place in Nicosia (2014), Skopje, Sofia, Tashkent (2015) and Sarajevo (2016).