As part of its ongoing projects to strengthen the legal regime against terrorism in Algeria, the UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) organized, within the framework of the UNODC-CTED-EU Initiative for the Maghreb Region, a national workshop on the development of an effective national criminal justice preventive strategy to counter the appeal of terrorism from 16 to 18 February 2015 in Algiers.
The workshop was attended by thirty-two national senior officers representing criminal justice authorities and law enforcement bodies and six international experts from Algeria, Denmark, Iraq, Spain, Tunisia and the United States, bringing the total number of participants to thirty-eight.
This training workshop was the first one implemented in Algeria under the UNODC-CTED-EU Initiative for the Maghreb Region. Development of a criminal justice response to counter the appeal of terrorism was identified as a major priority for the Government of Algeria. The objective of the workshop was to discuss current legislative, investigative and prosecutorial challenges with regards to countering the appeal of terrorism, through the study of concrete cases.
Aiming to enhance the exchange of experiences and expertise, national and international experts discussed such important topics, as the use of the Internet for incitement and recruitment purposes, the use of other criminal offences, the prevention of terrorism through countering radicalization and the role of victims in countering terrorist narratives.
Experts and participants expressed their full appreciation of the activity, in particular the quality of discussions between national participants and their counterparts, as well as the variety of national experiences to which Algerian participants were exposed.