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UNODC ENHANCES TERRORISM PREVENTION SKILLS IN KENYA, TANZANIA AND UGANDA

NAIROBI - UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa recently completed three national training workshops aimed at enhancing investigations and intelligence capacities to counter terrorism in Eastern Africa. 60 law enforcement officials benefited from the three 3-day training workshops held in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya during November 2017.

The 3-day national training workshops, organized and presented in cooperation with the Uganda Police Force, Tanzania Police Force and Kenya National Police Service, are being funded by the Federal Government of Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of UNODC's wider sub-programme on Terrorism Prevention in Eastern Africa, currently being implemented within the framework of the UNODC Regional Programme for Eastern Africa (2016 - 2021).

The trainings covered reactive investigations, proactive investigations including intelligence-led policing, as well as a variety of special investigations techniques to prevent and counter acts of terrorism, and were structured as a combination of theoretical training, practical exercises and case studies. As UNODC previously developed very effective and relevant handbooks such as the UNODC Handbook on Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism, UNODC Preventing Terrorist Acts: A Criminal Justice Strategy Integrating Rule of Law Standards in Implementation of United Nations Anti-Terrorism Instruments, UNODC Criminal Intelligence Manual for Managers, UNODC Criminal Intelligence Manual for Front-line Law Enforcement, and the UNODC Criminal Intelligence Manual for Analysts, the trainings benefited greatly from the use of those resource material.

The training workshops were preceded and will be followed by continuous advice and mentoring being delivered by a UNODC Senior Law Enforcement Advisor to the police services of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Apart from the national training workshops and ongoing mentoring, other activities aimed at strengthening investigations and intelligence capacities of Member States to counter terrorism in Eastern Africa funded by the Federal Government of Germany include a regional training workshop for 40 criminal justice practitioners from thirteen Eastern Africa Member States (to be presented in December 2017) and dissemination of about 1300 copies of the previously mentioned UNODC handbooks to all Eastern Africa Member States. These activities are being delivered in coordination and collaboration with INTERPOL Regional Bureau Nairobi and UNODC's Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) at UNODC Headquarters.

According to Johan Kruger, Head of the Transnational Organised Crime, Illicit Trafficking and Terrorism Programmes for Eastern Africa at the UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa, the contribution and commitment of the respective Inspectors General of Police in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda greatly contributed to the success of the training activities: "UNODC assists Member States at their request. Without a request for assistance from Member States, but also their commitment to apply the assistance in practice, it is not possible successfully implement this kind of assistance - we saw great cooperation from the relevant police services and are looking forward to the regional event to be held in Nairobi early in December".