New partnership fights root causes of terrorism

In January 2015, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) entered into a strategic partnership on human rights responses to terrorism. In June 2015, a workshop took place within the framework of this partnership, organised together with the National Police School of Niger, a long-term partner of the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

“One of the great threats currently facing the countries of the Sahel, such as Niger and Burkina Faso, is terrorism. This affects most human rights, not only the right to life, as it is e.g. difficult to provide basic services to the population in the face of gross insecurity. Widespread terrorism also stifles development and is one of the root causes for internal displacement and migration,” says Lisbet Ilkjær, Department Director for the Danish Institute for Human Rights’ National Human Rights Systems Department and somebody who herself worked and lived in West Africa for several years.

“But, as is currently a subject of much discussion in the media, there is a risk that a too heavy handed approach in the struggle against terrorism can lead to even more insecurity and instability; therefore it is of key importance that this struggle takes place within the framework set by international human rights,” Ilkjær adds.

Terrorism must be fought intelligently

How to best fight terrorism has become an increasingly relevant subject for the police services of much of West and Central Africa as violent extremism has evolved from a threat which almost exclusively affected Nigeria to a transnational threat challenging the security of civilian populations in neighbouring countries as well, not least in Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The partnership between the Danish Institute for Human Rights and UNODC shall be seen in this light. It gives the police services of West Africa the opportunity to benefit not only from UNODC’s professionalism to deliver training and capacity building on human rights and criminal justice responses to violent extremism, but also to make use of the Danish Institute for Human Rights’ methodology on human rights training manuals and its partnership concept and approach in its work in mainly West Africa. The Institute also brings much added value by ensuring the involvement of key experts from the region in the collaboration.

As part of this strategic partnership, UNODC and the institute, together with the National Police School of Niger, organised a national workshop on investigation and detention of terrorist suspects in accordance with rule of law and human rights in June 2015. 25 law enforcement officers specialised in criminal investigation and prosecutors from Niger’s regions most seriously affected by terrorism gathered at the National Police School in Niamey to exchange information and receive training on domestic and international law regarding the detention of terrorist suspects and the investigation of terrorist cases together with Philippe-Emmanuel Draut, the DIHR expert on policing in West Africa, and Ibrahim Mairiga, DIHR’s local representative in Niger. The chief of Niger’s counter-terrorism police unit and the country’s chief counter-terrorism prosecutor attended the workshop to discuss the opportunities to improve the cooperation between the central and regional level.

The exchanges focused mainly on issues such as detention of terrorism suspects in the law enforcement and armed conflict contexts, preventing recruitment for violent extremism in detention, rights of detainees, fair trial rights and rights of detained children. Not only did the participants increase their understanding of the legal framework and human rights aspects of the investigation and detention of terrorist suspects captured in Niger, they also formulated proposals for relevant further activities to address the challenges of violent extremism and phrased written recommendations to their hierarchy on the ways to improve the functioning of the institution with respect to terrorism.

“Only respect for human rights is an effective weapon in the long term fight against terrorism,” one participant said after the workshop.

“The collaboration with UNODC is a real feather in the cap for us. It shows the value of our long engagement with national police services in trusting partnerships and gives us a unique opportunity to secure that both human rights principles and the experiences on the ground are taken into account in UNODC’s important work to strengthen and professionalise the struggle against terrorism,” ends Ulrik Spliid, the Danish Institute for Human Rights’ Programme Manager for Africa.