22 October 2025
The GCTF has launched a new resource entitled the Protection of Witnesses and Criminal Justice Officials Toolkit.
Grounded in a rule of law framework and respecting human rights while countering terrorism, this practical and publicly available toolkit provides legal practitioners and relevant policymakers with actionable resources* related to the protection of witnesses and criminal justice officials during trials. It is the product of the experiences of criminal justice practitioners participating in meetings, capacity-building sessions, and peer-to-peer activities in the field of counterterrorism and rule of law across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. The toolkit operationalizes Good Practices 4 and 7 of the GCTF Hague Memorandum on Good Practices of the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses by addressing challenges pertaining to obtaining qualitative and relevant evidence while protecting victims and witnesses in terrorism, organized crime, and other serious criminal cases in an international legal context.
The toolkit was developed with the support of the International Institute of Justice and the Rule of Law.
*GCTF Recommendations, Memoranda, Good Practices and other guiding documents are non-binding, and their implementation should always respect national sovereignty and consider countries' varied histories, cultures, legal systems, and norms.