Amman, Jordan, 9 to 10 June 2024 — Yemen continues to face significant challenges in managing counter-terrorism threats, highlighting the urgent need for robust national capabilities and interagency coordination. As part of its continued efforts to support Yemen in strengthening its counter-terrorism capabilities, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, through its Terrorism Prevention Branch, conducted a national training on "Strengthening Counter-Terrorism Efforts: Building National Capacities and Interagency Coordination for Effective Investigation and Prosecution." The event, held in Amman, responded to ongoing consultations with national stakeholders, which demonstrate UNODC and Yemen's commitment to bolster its national counter-terrorism institutional framework and capacities.
The training gathered 23 senior officials from Yemen, representing the country's security and justice sectors, including the Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, as well as senior practitioners from the National Security Agency, the Intelligence Service, and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The discussions focused on enhancing awareness and knowledge of the international legal framework against terrorism, investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases, strategies and techniques in accordance with the rule of law and human rights.
Participants actively engaged in the sessions, as well as in a case study and practical exercises that emphasized crime scene preservation, evidence collection, and chain of custody, crucial for building robust case files and ensuring accountability.
Feedback from workshop participants was extremely positive. They unanimously called for continued support and further specialist capacity-building training to improve their capabilities in the prevention of terrorism.
During the training, participants expressed a strong consensus on the need for enhanced coordination across national agencies. "To effectively counter terrorism, we must bolster the cooperation among our national agencies and strengthen our criminal justice institutions," Brigade/ Ahmed Al Dahry, Director of Counter Terrorism Department at Ministry of Interior, highlighted.
The development of comprehensive legal frameworks was also identified as a key area of action. Judge Nabile Al Manhami noted, "There is an urgent need to develop national legal frameworks that can address the complexities of terrorism, including cybercrime and organized crime. We seek assistance in drafting robust legal provisions and in training our practitioners to ensure that our responses are effective and in line with human rights standards."
The training concluded with a strategic roundtable discussion on advancing Yemen's criminal justice responses to terrorism. Discussions centred around identifying gaps and planning future interventions to ensure sustainable advancements in counter-terrorism efforts. UNODC is actively working to increase its support for Yemen by implementing a comprehensive tailored plan that specifically addresses the gaps identified by participants.
This activity was organized in the framework of a UNODC project aimed at enhancing the criminal justice capacities of selected countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, to address terrorism offences related to foreign terrorist fighters, and is funded by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund.
