In April 2022, the IIJ convened a strategy development and multi-agency investigation capacity-building programme for law enforcement practitioners in Malawi, under the auspices of the IIJ Investigations Initiative. This workshop brought together 36 practitioners from different agencies, including the police, defence forces, intelligence service, immigration service, prisons and financial investigation authorities.
The curriculum focused on broadening the participants’ understanding of the threat of terrorism to Malawi, developing the outline of a counter-terrorism strategy to counter that threat, and strengthening the skills and knowledge of the participating agencies to investigate terrorism, all while accentuating the importance of human rights and rule of law considerations. Practitioners were acquainted with methods for assessing and managing threat, vulnerability and risk, examining structures for inter-agency cooperation, building rapport during interviews, and exploring parallel investigation techniques.
The programme in particular supported the implementation and operationalisation of the following GCTF framework memoranda:
• Abuja Recommendations on the Collection, Use and Sharing of Evidence for Purposes of Criminal Prosecution of Terrorist Suspects
• Rabat Memorandum on Good Practices for Effective Counterterrorism Practice in the Criminal Justice Sector
Practitioners highly commended the insights gained, vowing to strengthen collaboration among their respective agencies and intensify intelligence sharing.
For more information on this workshop, please contact IIJ Director of Programmes, Gail Malone.
