On 11-13 December 2018, representatives from Government agencies and civil society in Cameroon, as well as the African Union, the Multi-National Joint Task Force, and UN entities met in Yaoundé to discuss Cameroon’s strategy to screen and prosecute persons associated with Boko Haram. Part of a regional effort to help Lake Chad Basin countries (Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria), the workshop sought to harmonize the way these States prosecute, rehabilitate, and reintegrate individuals associated with Boko Haram, in compliance with international requirements such as those stemming from the Security Council, as well as regional guidance provided by the Lake Chad Basin Commission’s Regional Stabilization Strategy.
Participants in the workshop in Yaoundé.
The Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) conveyed the requirements regarding strategies for prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration outlined by the Security Council in its resolutions, in particular 2396 (2017). These resolutions support a comprehensive approach in terms of the handling of individuals associated with Boko Haram. An example of a principle adopted during the workshop is that screening (the step during which information is collected on a person to help find the most appropriate response) apply to all individuals who have been associated with Boko Haram, whether they surrendered or were captured.
The workshop was organized by CTED and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the African Union, and the Multi-National Joint Task Force, and was funded by the Government of Japan.