As terrorism continues to pressure criminal justice systems across the Sahel, Niger is strengthening the capacity of justice professionals to handle increasingly complex cases. Terrorism and transnational organized crime cases can involve multiple institutions and evidence sources, requiring close coordination among judicial authorities, law enforcement and security forces, intelligence services and international counterparts.
To enhance the capacity of the specialized criminal justice and law enforcement officials, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Niger, provided a series of training activities to improve and accelerate the treatment of terrorism cases in respecting human rights and rule of law principles.
The first activity of this series was held in
February 2026, followed by two subsequent activities on 27-28 August and 23-24 September, that capitalized and built upon the results achieved during the first activity. Each of the two sessions in August and in September used a practical mock scenario based on a terrorism case, enabling participants to apply their knowledge through a step-by-step examination of the available facts and the identification of appropriate investigative steps. Through this exercise, participants developed practical tools to support these processes, including a harmonized case-analysis grid, an evidence checklist, a decision-support sheet and recommendations for institutional coordination.
