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Technical Advisory Meeting - UNODC Regional Programme 2016-2021 

22 June 2016 - Nairobi: The draft New Regional Programme (RP) entitled: "Promoting the Rule of Law and Human Security in Eastern Africa (2016-21)" was officially endorsed by Ambassadors based in Nairobi, Senior Officials of the 13 countries in the Eastern Africa Region, the African Union Commission and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), at a Technical Advisory Meeting held at the UNON compound.

The meeting, which was organized by the UNODC Regional Office in Eastern Africa (ROEA), was co-chaired by Mr. José Vila del Castillo, UNODC Regional Representative, and Honorable Professor Githu Muigai, Attorney General of The Republic of Kenya. Issues pertaining to the rule of law and human security in the region were discussed and the participants thanked UNODC for the efforts it has made so far in supporting the Member States in tackling these challenges. The draft RP document was discussed and comments acknowledged. The comments will be used to enrich the content of the finalized version.

The establishment of a Steering Committee that would serve as governing body for the new RP was welcomed by the Member States. Furthermore, the draft Terms of Reference, which will guide the Committee's work, was also endorsed with proposed amendments.

The meeting additionally endorsed the Ministerial meeting for the launch of the new RP, which will be attended by Mr. Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director, Ministers of Justice and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ambassadors based in Nairobi. The date of the launch of Monday, 29 August 2016 was agreed upon.

The new RP comprises of the 13 countries in the Eastern African region (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda), The Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia) and the Indian Ocean islands off the East African coast (Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius). Officials representing each of the 13 countries were present during the meeting.

The new RP succeeds UNODC's Previous Regional Programme for Eastern Africa (RP) 2009-2015 and will be implemented on three levels: bilateral, regional and trans-regional to address the following five thematic areas, which have been clustered into pillars:

Pillar I: Countering Transnational Organized Crime and Trafficking

Pillar II: Countering Corruption

Pillar III: Terrorism Prevention

Pillar IV: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Pillar V: Prevention of Drug Use, Treatment and Care of Drug Use Disorders and HIV and AIDS Prevention and Care

The new RP seeks to develop synergies and cooperation between the thematic pillars in order to address the root causes of the challenges to security, rule of law and health.

Furthermore, the new RP will further serve as a framework for action to support Member States in achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals as they pertain to UNODC's mandate.

The meeting has allowed the new RP to be submitted to the UNODC Headquarters for approval by the respective governing bodies and the UNODC Executive Director before the official launch.

Photo Courtesy UNODC.

 

For further information, please contact:

Mr. José Vila del Castillo

UNODC Regional Representative

Tel: + 254 207623651

Email: jose.vila@unodc.org