Niger Counterterrorism Battlefield Evidence Integration

The United States Department of State's Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) announces a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a project that focuses on coordination and integration of battlefield evidence across Nigerien security forces and criminal justice actors. CT seeks to build the capacity of Nigerien security agencies responsible for counterterrorism law enforcement operations, which may include military where appropriate in addition to law enforcement and justice actors, to develop, share, and understand standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for the handling of battlefield evidence and terrorism-related detainees. (Note: Battlefield evidence, in this context, means any object or material that is collected by military personnel as part of an operation or exercise, which may have evidentiary value in a civilian criminal court proceeding.) In addition, CT seeks to support streamlined, sustainable information sharing mechanisms or procedures that will improve relevant Nigerien criminal justice and security actors' visibility into terrorism cases. This project will aim to develop or refine SOPs with buy-in from the Nigerien counterterrorism actors, and then conduct training to ensure implementation of these SOPs. This project may involve building mobile training capability to ensure that units in regions most engaged in counterterrorism operations are able to operationalize these SOPs. This project must be coordinated across relevant offices within U.S. Embassy Niamey as directed by CT.