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Fighting Terror Through Justice: Implementing the IGAD Framework for Legal Cooperation Against Terrorism

Author : Global Center on Cooperative Security and IGAD Security Sector Program
Date : May 2012

In March 2012, the Task Force on Legal Cooperation Against Terrorism in the IGAD Subregion explored innovative ways to rapidly scale up legal cooperation against terrorism and related transnational crime. This task force of eight senior officials from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) sought to identify challenges for IGAD member states in the effective implementation of the IGAD Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition Conventions and develop concrete recommendations on additional practical, concrete steps to strengthen legal cooperation against terrorism in the IGAD subregion.

This report presents the final observations and recommendations of that task force. It is based on consultations with delegations from IGAD and all IGAD member states and discussions with a number of external partners. To further understand the legislative dynamics of cross-border law enforcement cooperation, the task force met with senior Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Ugandan members of parliament. Institutional, legal, and operational issues were discussed with diplomatic, criminal justice, law enforcement, military, and intelligence officials. Over the course of its consultations, the task force generally focused on four main areas of discussion: mechanisms for internal cooperation, mechanisms for interstate cooperation; challenges to internal and external cooperation, and opportunities for subregional engagement.

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