UNODC/TPB organized a regional workshop for South Eastern Europe on strengthening international and regional cooperation in criminal matters related to terrorism, with a focus on foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), which was held from 14 to 16 February 2017 in Vienna, Austria. The event was funded by the European Union in the context of the EU-UNODC Global Initiative on Strengthening the Legal Regime against Foreign Terrorist Fighters in the Middle East, North Africa and South Eastern Europe.
The workshop brought together senior level criminal justice officials, including judges and prosecutors, from the region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo under United Nations Security Council resolution 1244, Montenegro, Serbia, and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), as well as representatives from Italy, Spain, the Counter- Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), INTERPOL, Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), Police Cooperation Convention for South East Europe (PCC SEE), Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) and Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). Participants exchanged experiences, challenges, lessons learned and good practices on strengthening international and regional cooperation in criminal matters related to terrorism, with a focus on FTFs. The event provided a forum to present real cases participants had dealt with in their respective jurisdictions, and to have in-depth discussions on relevant national legislation and the implementation of relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. The sessions generated a rich debate on how the challenges faced by South Eastern Europe in this field have been addressed and how the existing good cooperation could be further enhanced.