UNOCT delivers its first “Fusion Cells Managers” course
Between 11 to 13 April 2022, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) delivered its first “Fusion Cells Managers” course to managers from Member States’ national fusion and counter-terrorism centres in Botswana, Ghana, Uganda, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The course was developed in response to Member State requests and aimed to further equip fusion centre staff in managerial roles with a comprehensive set of skills and knowledge to excel in their respective areas of focus. Focusing on a broad range of topics and informed by international best practices, participants were trained in managing intelligence-led investigations, as well as on policy and procedures, resource management, liaison, networking, communications, problem-solving, quality assurance, and decision-making.
This course is part of a comprehensive building-block approach developed the Global Fusion Cells Programme, which ties into a more extensive set of foundational skills, developed in accordance with international standards that must be available to all relevant fusion-centre and counter-terrorism staff. It is the sixth course in the Global Fusion Cells Programme’s curriculum.
Background
The three-year Global Fusion Cells Programme was launched in January 2020 and is co-funded by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF) and the governments of Portugal and Qatar. UNOCT Special Projects Section implements the programme in cooperation with CTED, UNPOL, CAERT, and Interpol.
Current programme beneficiaries include Ghana, Botswana, Uganda, Togo, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the regional body SADC. The United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) Fusion Cells programme provides specialist technical assistance and expertise to help beneficiary countries develop legislative and institutional frameworks that support robust, relevant, and fit-for-purpose national level interagency coordination mechanisms or ‘Fusion Cells/Centres’, to address the threat of terrorism. Such mechanisms strengthen intelligence and investigation efforts and can thereby help ensure appropriate preparedness as well as contribute to a more effective response to and recovery from terrorist attacks.