Santo Domingo, January 30, 2024. The threat of corruption remains a key challenge in the Caribbean. This criminal act facilitates illicit trafficking by allowing organized crime groups to evade detection and prosecution by law enforcement; it undermines the authority of the State and its ability to govern effectively and legitimately, and weakens institutions and governance structures.
To ensure sustainable and fair responses in the criminal justice field, it is essential to have robust institutional integrity, along with the establishment of effective accountability mechanisms within law enforcement agencies.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) actively works to prevent and combat corruption, recognizing its negative impact on institutional integrity.
To strengthen the application of ethical and integrity standards in border control units in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), UNODC, through CRIMJUST, joined AIRCOP (Airport Communication Project), CCP (Container Control Program), SEACOP (Seaport Cooperation Program), and COLIBRI (Monitoring and Control of General Aviation) to provide training on ethics and integrity to 35 units in a workshop held in the Dominican Republic on January 30 and February 1.
Border control authorities play a crucial role in the fight against organized crime and, in this work, have the high responsibility of maintaining ethical standards.
This training addressed topics such as the role of law enforcement agencies in society; vulnerabilities at the border and the identification and management of corruption risks in border management; fostering critical reflections on the role of integrity as part of their work; specific challenges in border management, and a better understanding of how to recognize and respond to threats to integrity, thus reducing the risk of corruption in operations.
One of UNODC’s main objectives under the CRIMJUST program is to support beneficiary countries in their efforts to combat organized crime along illicit trafficking routes.
CRIMJUST aims to strengthen transnational investigations, criminal justice actions, and international cooperation. Success in the fight against organized crime requires strong, robust, and comprehensive law enforcement institutions.
The session was attended by the Director General of the Directorate General of Ethics and Government Integrity (DIGEIG), Dr. Milagros Ortiz Bosch, and the European Union Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Katja Afheldt.
The workshop was held in collaboration with experts Alberto Arean Varela from UNODC Dominican Republic, and Guglielmo Castaldo and Alvina Mangandi De Perdomo from the UNODC Regional Anti-Corruption Center for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Mexico.
Through this center, UNODC supports States' efforts to prevent and combat corruption, in line with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), responding to requests for guidance, technical support, and capacity development, and fostering coordination and synergies with other regional anti-corruption initiatives.
This activity also responds to the commitments made by the countries that are part of the Regional Platform to Accelerate the Implementation of UNCAC in Central America (including the Dominican Republic), as expressed in the roadmap adopted in Roatán, Honduras, in April 2023.
CRIMJUST is funded by the European Union and the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
