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UNODC and Ethiopia Enhancing Inter-Agency and International Cooperation to Counter Serious and Transnational Organized Crime 

Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 19 November 2021 – UNODC delivered a third 10-day training workshop on Effective Criminal Justice Response to counter Serious and Transnational Organized Crime for 15 criminal justice practitioners (13 men and 2 women), including public prosecutors from the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa branch office, as well as police officers from the Oromiya Regional State and Southern Nation Nationality and Peoples State Police Commissions.

Opening the workshop, on behalf of the head of UNODC Transnational Organized Crime, Illicit trafficking and Terrorism Programmes, Mr. Sandro Donati emphasized the importance of building the capacity of Member States in preventing, investigating, and prosecuting serious and transnational organized crime including through inter-agency and international cooperation.

The scenario-based training workshop was the third event in a series of workshops delivered by UNODC to enhance the capacity of criminal justice practitioners in Ethiopia. It was presented by the regional Countering Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Programme and team based on Addis Ababa as part of the UNODC regional project on Supporting Transformation, Peace and Security in the Horn of Africa (2020-2021), funded by the Government of Japan.

The overall objective of the project is to increase the understanding of threats of transnational organized crime, illicit trafficking, and terrorism in the Horn of Africa, and improve the criminal justice capacity of Member States to identify and counter serious and transnational organized crime and illicit trafficking.

The workshop focused on the international legal framework – including the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its supplementary Protocols against Trafficking in Persons (TIP), Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) and Trafficking in Firearms and Ammunition – but also various investigation and prosecution strategies. These included investigation strategy and planning in complex criminal investigations, raising awareness of specific and supportive investigation activities, enhancing cooperation between investigators and prosecutors, promoting inter-agency cooperation, coordination, and using formal and informal international cooperation in criminal matters as a strategy to investigate and prosecute serious and transnational organized crime.

National, regional, international, and inter-agency cooperation as a crucial factor in preventing and countering serious and transnational organized crime. Such cooperation contributes to successful investigation and prosecution of serious and transnational organized crime across borders and regions.

The workshop also focused on intelligence collection, crime scene management, evidential chain of custody, illicit drug trafficking, illicit financial flows, anti-money laundering (AML), and confiscation of proceeds of crime. The agenda also included a presentation by the UNODC Airport Communication
Project (AIRCOP).

The workshop provided the opportunity for presentations from INTERPOL as well as Prosecution and Witness Protection Units of the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice. These presentations focused on criminal investigation from a “prosecutor’s perspective” with emphasis on witness protection as well as the role of INTERPOL in countering these crimes. The workshop also included group discussions to identify serious and organized crime threats to Ethiopia as well as a presentation on current TIP and SOM trends in the Horn of Africa. Furthermore, it provided training on assisting criminal justice practitioners to identify and address challenges faced in practical cases involving serious and transnational organized crimes.

At the heart of the workshop was the scenario-based exercises which allowed participants to apply their knowledge in relation to cases, and share the challenges that they face in their daily practice. These fictional scenario exercises, presented during the second week of the training, were based on real cases from across the Horn of Africa.

The Supporting Transformation, Peace and Security in the Horn of Africa project is part of the regional UNODC Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking programmes, implemented within the framework of the UNODC Regional Programme for Eastern Africa (2016-2021).

For more information please contact:

Mr. Johan Kruger (johan.kruger@un.org)

Head of Transnational Organized Crime, Illicit Trafficking and Terrorism Programmes

UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa