To strengthen cooperation, communication and deepening mutual understanding among key stakeholders on district level in Palestine, primarily the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP), the Justice institutions, First Instance Courts, Public Prosecutors offices, and the Palestinian Bar Association (PBA), EUPOL COPPS organised the “Building Bridges in Jenin, Tubas, Qalqilya and Tulkarm”, a strategic initiative in the northern West Bank district of Jenin on 10-12 February.

Together, these actors represent the whole criminal justice chain and play a vital role in promoting rule of law, stability, trust, and community cohesion. The Building Bridges event aimed at enhancing transparency and strengthening public trust, in compliance with human rights and gender sensitivity principles.

In her opening remarks, EUPOL COPPS Head of Mission, Karin Limdal, stressed about the vital role played by the initiative’s participants in promoting rule of law, stability, trust, community cohesion and welfare in Palestine. “Building Bridges” reflects the EU’s commitment to fostering stability, transparency, and community engagement in Palestine, said the HoM.

Over three days activities, the participants addressed several topics central to their work, including fighting case backlog in justice institutions and challenges in police-prosecution-courts-lawyers cooperation, debated on lessons learned and exchanged experienced on Palestinian and international standards on how to manage backlog problems in police, prosecution and courts.

Other key topics of the initiative included challenges during the investigation phase and the issue of detention of individuals for financial debts, workflow and division of responsibilities within the courts, enhancement of cooperation among PCP investigation units, and adherence to human rights standards during arrests and investigations, including the prohibition of torture.

The initiative outcomes included recommendations and deeper insights into meaningful and practical cooperation tools among the participating stakeholders. Practical solutions and developing a set of recommendations were developed.