05 September 2018 - UNODC met with representatives from the Ministry of Interior of Saudi-Arabia to give an overview of UNODC activities. As part of UNODC implementing programs, CRIMJUST delivered a presentation highlighting the project strategy to address drug trafficking and related organized crime and underlined the importance of technical assistance activities in order to strengthen the capacities of law enforcement and the judiciary.
Marco Teixeira, Head of the Programme, exemplified CRIMJUST results, which aim to translate theory into practice by presenting a pilot regional training workshop conducted in Colombia in 2017. The hands-on workshop aimed at strengthening the technical knowledge related to cocaine production and laboratory criminal research techniques in order to learn about the background of cocaine cultivation, production, and trafficking. Moreover, the delegation of the Ministry of Interior of Saudi-Arabia received further information about various technical assistance activities, such as operational workshops and specialized training for prosecutors and judges, which are designed to enhance the capacities of criminal justice institutions.
The outcome of the visit with the Saudi-Arabian delegation has strengthened awareness amongst the representatives regarding the challenges posed by cocaine trafficking and the necessity of working with law enforcement agencies and offering technical assistance in order to strengthen the capacities to prosecute Organized Crime and conduct joint investigations.
Under the framework of the CRIMJUST project funded by EU Cocaine Route Programme, UNODC and its partners (INTERPOL and TI) aim to assist Member States to enhance their capacity and integrity of criminal justice institutions to detect, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate illicit cocaine trafficking cases, and to foster cooperation at the interregional level for effective action to tackle drug trafficking and related organized crime.
For more information:
- European Union "Cocaine Route Programme"
- INTERPOL
