From 6-8 October 2026, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), with generous funding with the support of Germany's Federal Foreign Office in partnership with Senegal's Centre de Formation Judiciaire (CFJ), convened a three-day activity in Dakar, Senegal. The workshop focused on Battlefield Evidence Workshop focused on strengthening mechanisms for international cooperation and information sharing across West Africa.
Opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Samna Soumana Cheibou, Director of the Academic Unit, IIJ; Mr. Souleymane Teliko, Director of the CFJ, Senegal; Ms. Henriette Wolf, First Secretary for Political and Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Dakar, and Mr. Maître Moussa Sarr, Minister of Justice of Senegal.
Over three days, 72 justice practitioners from across West Africa explored the evolving terrorism threat landscape in West Africa and examined practical approaches to strengthening the collection, preservation, sharing, and use of information and battlefield evidence in terrorism investigations and prosecutions.
Through expert-led discussions, country presentations, and interactive breakout sessions, participants shared national experiences and identified challenges and good practices related to cooperation between military, security, and criminal justice actors. Sessions focused on mechanisms for international cooperation and information sharing, the use of battlefield evidence in terrorism prosecutions, and the legal and practical considerations involved in using such evidence to advance accountability for terrorism-related crimes, international crimes, and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence.
Participants also discussed international guidance, lessons learned from other jurisdictions, and concrete steps to improve national and regional capacity to collect, analyse, preserve, share, and use battlefield evidence in line with the rule of law.
The workshop highlights the IIJ's growing partnership with the CFJ, building on the Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment to strengthening judicial capacity across the region and draws on the CFJ's expertise to support IIJ programming, including activities on battlefield evidence.
The activity concluded with emphasis on the importance of judicial cooperation and shared commitment to information sharing in terrorism investigations and prosecutions with remakrs from Mr. Samna Soumana Cheibou, Director of the Academic Unit, IIJ and Mr. Ousmane Diagne, President of the Court of Appeal of Senegal.