The first national workshop of the four-year joint initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), funded by the European Union (EU), was held in Rabat, Morocco, from 29 to 31 October 2014.
This initiative, launched in June 2014 at a regional conference in Tunis, aims at strengthening the capacity of countries of the Maghreb region, especially Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, in investigating and prosecuting counter-terrorism cases while respecting human rights and the rule of law.
Twenty-one Moroccan specialised judges, prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence officers, and six international senior experts from France, the Netherlands, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), EUROPOL, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon participated in the workshop entitled "Challenges and Best Practices in Converting Intelligence and Classified Information into Evidence in Terrorism Related Cases". The workshop was opened by the Deputy Chief of the EU Delegation in Morocco, and several EU Member States representatives in Rabat participated in the sessions.
The objective of the workshop was to expose Moroccan criminal justice, law enforcement and intelligence officials to relevant legal frameworks, mechanisms, challenges and best practices in the area of converting intelligence and classified information into evidence in terrorism related cases, notably drawing upon the GCTF Frankfurt-Vienna Recommendations for Using and Protecting Intelligence Information.
Keynote speakers offered a comparative approach on the need for and challenges of a whole-of-government approach to counter-terrorism by presenting relevant national and international experiences with regard to the relationships between prosecutors/investigating judges, intelligence services and law enforcement, illustrated by several concrete cases.
A panel of experts analysed the challenges related to the use of intelligence/classified information with full respect for human rights and the rule of law principles, and highlighted key jurisprudence cases in this area, especially in the light of ECHR case law.
Key elements of the workshop were the interactive discussions among experts and participants to exchange experience and good practices on policy, legal framework and operational aspects related to the use of classified information in counter-terrorism criminal proceedings and before the courts. The specific issues of the role of prosecutors and judges in de-classification and inclusion of protected or sensitive information in the case file, as well as mechanisms and procedures to protect the disclosure of sources and collection methods, and protection of the anonymity and integrity of intelligence officers were addressed in an in-depth manner.
Participants were also offered possible solutions to enhance international cooperation and intelligence sharing in counter-terrorism matters.
Experts and participants intensively discussed several cases as examples to highlight the gaps, challenges, possible solutions and the way forward for Morocco. The Moroccan experience was presented in detail. Extended and rich debates took place discussing recommendations and possible solutions to key practical challenges faced by Moroccan judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers in light of the different experiences exposed.
The next round of national workshops will be organised in the first half of 2015 for the benefit of officials from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and possibly Libya, and a second regional workshop will be conducted, jointly with CTED, on the oversight of law enforcement and security services by parliamentarians.