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YouTubeTWENTY-SECOND MEETING OF HEADS OF NATIONAL DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES (HONLEA), AFRICA
Accra, Ghana, 25 to 29 June 2012
The 22nd meeting of Heads of African Law Enforcement Agencies was organized by UNODC and hosted by the Government of Ghana, in Accra from 25 to 29 June 2012. The meeting coincided with the United Nations International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26 and the launch of UNODC's 2012 World Drug Report .
The meeting drew attention to the increased use of the African continent, particularly West Africa, as a conduit for trafficking of drugs from Asia to Europe. Participants emphasized that drugs and crime have a devastating impact on development, health and security, as well as on youth development in Africa. The meeting underscored that the issue goes well beyond law enforcement, and called for a people-centred approach combined with comprehensive strategies and actions.
African governments were called upon to improve the quality of their data collection on illicit drug use. This would in turn contribute to more effective intervention strategies by law enforcement agencies. Speaking at the HONLEA forum, UNODC Chief of the Laboratory and Scientific Section, Mr. Justice Tettey said, "Illicit drugs fuel crime and insecurity, while undermining human rights and posing significant public health risks. The World Drug Report presents an important assessment of the illicit drug situation in Africa. However the main challenge we face is the lack of data and reporting on different aspects of illicit drug demand and supply in Africa, where available data remains vague at best. For instance, in 2010, only 7 out of 54 African States provided information to UNODC."
The meeting also offered the opportunity for practitioners and law enforcement agents to share best practices in countering drug trafficking including through joint investigations, intelligence sharing and interception of communication and shipment of illicit drugs; as well as various modalities for cooperation at the regional, sub-regional, and international levels. In this connection, the meeting benefitted also from a presentation by the Department of Peacekeeping Operation, which focused on its efforts to support the rule of law and security sector institutions in Africa.
Click here to see more photos of HONLAF 2012.
List of documents
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Document Symbol |
Title |
| General information for participants (including Annexes I and II)
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Questionnaire |
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Provisional agenda and annotations |
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Report of the Secretariat on Statistics on drug trafficking trends in Africa and worldwide |
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Note by the Secretariat on the Implementation of the recommendations adopted by the Twentieth Meeting of HONLEA, Africa |
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| Note by the Secretariat on the organization of the Twenty-third Meeting of HONLEA, Africa | |
| UNODC/HONLAF/22/5 |
Report of the Twenty-second Meeting of HONLEA, Africa |
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UNODC/HONLAF/22/CRP.1 |
Note by the Secretariat on current situation with respect to regional and subregional cooperation countering drug trafficking |