Judicial independence includes the duty and ability of a judge to decide each case on the basis of an objective evaluation of evidence that is presented, and an impartial application of the law, without the influence of outside factors – to ensure that the fundamental rights of all parties to a case have been fully respected. The Plenary Meeting of the GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law (CJ-ROL) Working Group is the first under the Working Group Co-Chairs, Italy and Nigeria. The meeting provides an opportunity for the Co-Chairs to present the Working Group’s main priority areas, and for the participants to reflect on current practices and provide strategic guidance.

The Countering Violent Extremism Working Group (CVE WG) hosted its fifth workshop under its Initiative on Funding and Enabling P/CVE initiatives at the Community Level, supported by GCERF as implementing partner. This session builds on the fourth workshop that highlighted knowledge and best practice sharing in the funding and enablement of local P/CVE initiatives.

Terrorist groups’ activities transcends national borders. The transnational nature of the terrorist threat requires strong interagency cooperation, regionally and nationally, to prevent and counter terrorism. The GCTF West Africa Working Group Co-Chairs, Algeria, and Germany, organized the “Strengthening National and Regional Cooperation in the Security and Justice Sectors to Counter Terrorism in West Africa” regional meeting to discuss ways to strengthen national and regional cooperation in the security and justice sectors to prevent and counter terrorism in the West African region.

Critical infrastructures across the world are becoming more vulnerable to terrorist attacks impacting public and private facilities such as transportation and energy, as well as schools and marketplaces. To discuss this threat in more detail, we partnered with the UNOCT to deliver a joint ‘Briefing for GCTF Member States on the Protection of Vulnerable Targets, the Antalya Memorandum and Possible Avenues of Cooperation’.