Protection of Witnesses in and from Hostile Environments
Technical Event to Enhance Cooperation |
The Hague | Netherlands (the) | Western European and other States
This seminar brought together 35 international witness protection experts from 17 different countries, alongside other partner organizations (Europol, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Special Court for Sierra Leone). The seminar focused on the challenges faced in reducing risk to victims and witnesses which are encountered while working in hostile environments, as well as how these risks can be overcome. The event was made possible thanks to funding from the European Commission.
ICC technical events focus on enhancing cooperation at operational levels amongst senior legal officials and other experts in Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Justice, Ministries of Interior, as well as regional and international organisations, so as to allow the Court to carry out its mandate in an efficient and effective manner. In this regard, the Court’s technical events are specific in nature, focusing in particular on technical issues such as victim and witness protection, cooperation agreements, investigations, freezing of assets, arrest and surrender, enforcement of sentences, implementing legislation, ratification of the Rome Statute, strategies and policies, and the role of national experts in international criminal justice matters.
