Bosnia and Herzegovina: ICITAP Balkans Regional Counterterrorism Cell and Council of Europe Partner for Correctional Intelligence Unit Development

On February 28, the ICITAP-Balkans Regional CT Team provided an update on its efforts to develop correctional intelligence units in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Serbia. As a member of Balkans Regional Counterterrorism Cell, ICITAP has a shared objective in assisting governments in the Western Balkans develop and sustain correctional institutions to effectively manage terrorist offenders. Although both the Council of Europe and ICITAP share a common objective, resources that the CE and ICITAP can separately devote to any one country can be vastly different. On February 26, 2024, ICITAP and the CE held a meeting to discuss how both organizations could work together, share capacity development resources, and demonstrate to partner nations how cooperating organizations can increase effectiveness for all stakeholders. One of the first opportunities identified was penal institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.  ICITAP and CE believe that by bringing correctional institution leaders from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia together for a two-day seminar where they can discuss best practices, strengths, and weaknesses, then CE and ICITAP can demonstrate how our combined resources can assist in fulfilling identified gaps. This multi-lateral seminar was scheduled for April 2-3, 2024, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  ICITAP participates in the Balkans Regional Counterterrorism Cell with support from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism.