Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Capacity Building Program against Terrorism (ICPAT)
Website: http://www.issafrica.org/cdterro/english2.htm
Formation and Structure
In June 2006, some three years following the development of the IGAD “Draft Implementation Plan to Combat Terrorism in the IGAD Region” and a subsequent vulnerability assessment of terrorism in the IGAD region, the four-year ICPAT program was launched in Addis Ababa, where the program is based.
Member States
IGAD’s six member states are: Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia. Eritrea unilaterally suspended its membership in 2007.
Counterterrorism Mandate
Set forth in the 2003 “Implementation Plan to Combat Terrorism in the IGAD Region,” which resulted in the creation of ICPAT, whose mandate is set to run until 2010. It is funded by European and other donors, administered by a non-governmental organization with research and networking experience in the security area (the Institute for Security Studies).
ICPAT currently focuses on capacity- and confidence- building measures in the IGAD region, working closely with partners at the regional and global level. ICPAT works in five areas: 1) enhancing judicial measures; 2) working to create greater inter-agency coordination on counterterrorism within individual IGAD members; 3) enhancing border control; 4) providing training, sharing information, and best practices and 5) promoting strategic cooperation. ICPAT often works closely with UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB), the Commonwealth Secretariat, and East African Police Chief Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) to carry out country-specific capacity-building training in each of these areas.
Intergovernmental Counterterrorism Committee or Working Group
ICPAT’s work is overseen by a steering committee made up of the member states of IGAD and including (non voting) representatives from the countries that provide direct support to ICPAT, plus the AU’s Algiers Centre for the Study and Research of Terrorism. The Steering Committee meets every six months and its responsibilities including approving the ICPAT work plan and ensuring IGAD member state ownership. It also provides a vehicle for donor engagement and the development of mutual trust between a wide range of stakeholders.
Secretariat Resources
The 2008 budget of the eight-person secretariat was US$2,162,865 including contributions from Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
Achievements
ICPAT conducted a vulnerabilities assessment for all countries in the region that helped each IGAD member state identify weaknesses in its efforts as well as areas where increased regional and international cooperation could strengthen its counterterrorism capacity.
Examples of the capacity-building training and other assistance ICPAT has delivered since its establishment include a one-month counterterrorism training course designed in conjunction with EAPCCO for law enforcement officials in each IGAD member state. The training has already been provided to twenty-five Ugandan and twenty-five Somali police officers. ICPAT has launched assessments on interdepartmental cooperation in countering terrorism in Djibouti, Kenya, and Uganda. It has commissioned border management and control field research on both sides of the borders in neighboring states in the region (Djibouti-Ethiopia, Kenya-Uganda, and Sudan-Kenya) and made recommendations to relevant states on steps that need to be taken to strengthen border management. ICPAT has also started to research and compile information on terrorism cases in the courts of IGAD states (over the past ten years), as well as on the effectiveness of laws relating to money laundering, organized crime, corruption, drugs, and arms trafficking in three states in the region. Working in close cooperation with UNODC’s TPB, ICPAT has organized national legislative drafting and judicial training workshops in five of the seven IGAD states (including one in Ethiopia for Somali officials) aimed at promoting the ratification and the implementation of the international conventions and protocols related to terrorism.
Recent/Planned Activity
• In September 2007, ICPAT organized with UNODC’s TPB the first-ever IGAD Ministerial-level meeting on countering terrorism in Kampala to which six IGAD member states sent high-level delegations. The meeting provided a platform for reviewing progress on strengthening national and regional cooperation against terrorism, including ratification and implementation of the international counterterrorism instruments, and to develop a regional declaration on countering terrorism. The “Kampala Statement” calls on IGAD members to take necessary legal, administrative, and regulatory measures, including establishing inter-ministerial counterterrorism coordination mechanisms in each country, to respect human rights while countering terrorism, and exchange information and experiences related to combating terrorism, including through the establishment of a forum of counterterrorism experts. The statement also calls on member states to implement the UN Strategy and requests the continuation of the UNODC/ICPAT capacity-building training programs.
• In March 2008, ICPAT co-hosted a sub-regional workshop in Addis Ababa, in cooperation with the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, which focused on the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in the IGAD region. The objectives were to connect the UN counterterrorism efforts more closely with sub-regional and local stakeholders and highlight sub-regional needs to secure support from the UN, its agencies, and its members.
• A mid-term review of ICPAT is currently being undertaken. The review will comprehensively assess the progress of the program and recommend adjustments to its design. The aim is to examine both the achievements and shortcomings and propose with what structure and in which direction the Program should move forward to realize its objectives. The review will be presented to the ICPAT Steering Committee in June 2008.
• An assessment of international (donor) support for counter terrorism activities in the IGAD sub-region is being carried out to gain knowledge on where there is, and where there is not support. The information gained will enable to direct attention to where there are gaps that need to be addressed, while assisting member states to plan more effectively.
• A compendium of judicial cases in IGAD member states should be complete in the course of 2008. This will provide information to IGAD and member states on the numbers of cases that went to court and how they were dealt with; and is expected to deepen the understanding of the judicial challenges while promoting inter-state cooperation and experience sharing across the region.
• Two meetings of the IGAD experts (judicial-counter-terrorism forum) are likely to be held in 2008. The forum – established by the meeting of ministers of justice of IGAD member states- is aimed at promoting in particular legal cooperation (such as on matters relating to extradition etc.).
• The assessment of laws and legislation concerning counterterrorism needs to be carried out for Kenya. An assessment of the capacity of the Kenyan and Sudanese judiciaries in dealing with terrorism cases would also need to be done in the year. The assessments are required in order to present implementable recommendations to the policy makers in both states, with subsequent plans to follow up the implementations of the recommendations.
o The laws – and their effectiveness- relating to money laundering, organized crime and corruption, drugs and arms trafficking currently in effect in IGAD member states will be studied and evaluated. This should result in the proposing by ICPAT of policy recommendations to IGAD member states.
• To build greater knowledge in the area of border control a border security training workshop is planned to be carried out in partnership with institutions from the United Kingdom.
• The ICPAT four-week counter terrorism training course will be provided to two IGAD member states in 2008. The aim is to build a cadre of law enforcement personnel with greater knowledge of terrorism and ways and means to combat it.