The UNODC's Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) implemented a national workshop for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on normative and administrative challenges relating to the foreign terrorist fighter (FTF) threat in Skopje on 12-13 September 2017.
It brought together judges, prosecutors, representatives from the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Justice, and the Financial Intelligence Unit. Experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the European Union and INTERPOL shared their experiences relevant to cases involving or related to FTFs. The event aimed to respond to one of the needs identified during the first regional event for South Eastern Europe organized in Vienna in February 2017, to efficiently investigate and prosecute FTF cases.
The workshop provided a platform that facilitated an important exchange of ideas as well as a debate on practical solutions to common challenges faced by different national institutions in investigating and prosecuting FTF cases. By the end of 2017, UNODC/TPB will have carried out similar tailor-made workshops in other South Eastern European jurisdictions.
The workshop for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was organized within the framework of UNODC's Initiative on Strengthening the Legal Regime against Foreign Terrorist Fighters in the Middle East, North Africa and South Eastern Europe, funded by the European Union. The project aims to assist beneficiaries in improving their criminal justice responses to FTFs, in compliance with United Nations General Assembly resolution 68/276 and United Nations Security Council resolutions 2170 (2014) and 2178 (2014).
