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UNODC Strengthens Intelligence and Investigation Capabilities to Fight Terrorism in Eastern Africa

Nairobi, Kenya - December 2018 : This week in Nairobi, UNODC continued its commitment to supporting Member States in Eastern Africa to prevent terrorism and to bring terrorists to justice by strengthening the investigation and intelligence capacities of law enforcement agencies. Funded by the Federal Government of the Republic of Germany, UNODC brought together criminal justice officials from 10 Eastern African countries for a regional workshop on intelligence-led policing, digital evidence collection and regional cooperation. The activity forms part of ongoing terrorism prevention activities being implemented by UNODC as part of its Regional Programme for Eastern Africa (2016-2021). These activities also include national capacity building and advisory activities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

UNODC has been actively partnering with the governments of the region to strengthen capacity to effectively investigate and prosecute terrorism cases with respect for the rule of law and human rights. This week's regional workshop built on this assistance, supporting East Africa to strengthen national and regional detection and prevention of terrorism activities through intelligence-led policing and improved regional coordination among criminal justice and intelligence entities.

The training workshop focused on strengthening capacity in the collection, analysis and dissemination of intelligence, the collection and analysis of digital evidence, and strengthened regional coordination among criminal justice and intelligence entities to support intelligence-led policing in East Africa.

At the workshop closing, Ms. Kate Fitzpatrick, Programme Officer, Terrorism Prevention, UNODC, noted that "UNODC is pleased to continue supporting the region to address the inter-related challenges posed by organized crime and terrorism. Terrorism is a constantly evolving and complex transnational crime and UNODC welcomes the opportunity to provide criminal justice officials with the specialized skills and knowledge they need to address these evolving threats."

The regional workshop was attended by relevant officials from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda as well as international experts and regional partners from the African Union, East African Community, and INTERPOL.