DHAKA: A four-day-long regional counterterrorism conference has started at the Dhaka Police Staff College in capital’s Mirpur area on Monday with a view to focus on good practices in the investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases. 

The United States Department of Justice, Office of Prosecutorial Assistance, Development and Training (DOJ OPDAT), and the Office of the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (DOJ ICITAP), working closely with the United Nations Counterterrorism Committee (UNCTED) and the Government of Bangladesh, is sponsoring the international program.

It will unite top experts from the United States and the United Nations with law enforcement officials and prosecutors from the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Regarding the matter, Embassy of United States of America in Dhaka issued a press release on February 2.

The program is focusing on good practices in the investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases, as enunciated in the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Rabat Memorandum, the press statement said.

The Memorandum sets forth fifteen distinct law enforcement practices which member nations of the GCTF have found to be effective to address terrorism, such as protecting witnesses and victims, criminalizing and prosecuting terror finance cases, sharing evidence among law enforcement agencies, and regional cooperation.

This program is the first of three regional programs that will be conducted by DOJ OPDAT in the months to come.  In March, OPDAT will organize a three-day regional program in Nepal on terrorism victim assistance and protection. 

In April, OPDAT will organize a four-day program in India on the foreign fighter phenomenon.  All three programs are designed to share expertise and experience on counterterrorism issues while encouraging regional cooperation.

BDST: 1337 HRS, FEB 02, 2015