Meeting of justice institutions from the Middle East, North Africa and the European Union to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation concludes in Madrid

• More than 50 officials from the legal community in the Middle East and North Africa, including representatives of the Arab League, Eurojust and judicial cooperation officials from Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon met to improve coordination and institutional capacities in the field of judicial cooperation against terrorism.   

• The visit, in which the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office, the CGPJ and the Ministry of Justice participated, was held within the framework of the CT JUST anti-terrorist cooperation project, financed by the European Union and led by Spain through the FIIAPP (Spanish Cooperation) in partnership with France. 

• The return of terrorists from countries with jihadist tensions and the need to prosecute crimes perpetrated outside Europe, at the heart of international counter-terrorism cooperation.

“The League of Arab States recognizes the importance of strengthening ties with the European Union in the fight against terrorism. This meeting represents a significant step in our shared commitment to work together to ensure security and stability in both the countries that make up the League of Arab States and the EU.”, Dr. Maha Bakheet Mohamed Zaki, Director General for Legal Cooperation and Counterterrorism at the League of Arab States (LAS), noted.

“Direct communication between counterparts in justice and cooperation institutions is critical to strengthen effectiveness in identifying and apprehending terrorists. By promoting cooperation between public institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region, we can share information in a more agile and coordinated manner, allowing us to act more quickly and accurately against terrorist threats, “José María Fernández Villalobos and Julián Cabrero López , Magistrates, project director and key expert of the CT JUST project at the FIIAPP respectively, in charge of the coordination of the meeting“.

The meetings, which took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice have allowed us to foster mutual trust and the exchange of good practices between the main heads of the legal cooperation institutions of the different countries.   

In addition, this forum has allowed the European agency for judicial cooperation, Eurojust, to gain visibility in the region and strengthen its strategy to obtain permanent points of contact from the participating countries. 

Acting along the entire criminal chain of international terrorism

The CT JUST project was launched in 2022 with the aim of enhancing the capacities of authorities along the entire anti-terrorist criminal chain, contributing to the effective dismantling of terrorist and recruitment networks and ensuring the reparation and dignity of victims. The project has three key lines of action to combat terrorist networks: strengthening the anti-terrorist criminal justice chain, improving the preventive and operational capacities of the institutions involved, and promoting multilateral and cross-border cooperation, essential for exchanging successful experiences in the fight against terrorism, identifying areas for strengthening and dealing more effectively with the transnational nature of terrorism.

Among the authorities participating in the workshop were Maha Bakheet Mohamed Zaki, the Director General of International Legal Cooperation and Human Rights, David Vilas, the Director of CITCO, General Manuel Navarrete, the Chief Prosecutor of the Audiencia Nacional, Jesús Alonso, the Director of the International Relations Service of the CGPJ, Luis de Arcos, the Spanish National Member of Eurojust, José de la Mata, the Director of the Department of Judicial Cooperation and International Relations of Portugal, Joana Antonia Ribeiro Gomes Ferreira and the Secretary General of COMJIB, Enrique Gil Botero.