3 August 2009 - Terrorism is a major global destabilizing factor whose threat goes far beyond the borders of Member States. A properly functioning criminal justice system and well-established international cooperation among States are pivotal for bringing suspected perpetrators to justice.
In an effort to improve a rule of law based on the criminal justice approach to countering terrorism in Afghanistan, UNODC has been training justice officials since 2004 in drafting counter-terrorism legislation and through capacity-building workshops.
Recently, at the request of the Afghan authorities, UNODC organized a training workshop and study tour for 15 senior Afghan criminal justice officials. The workshop provided the Afghan officials with a comprehensive overview of international legal cooperation in terrorist cases. It also included sessions on countering terrorism financing, money-laundering and nuclear terrorism, with additional expertise provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Participants learned about the multifaceted approach to counter-terrorism adopted by UNODC.
After the workshop, participants visited Austrian and Romanian institutions dealing with counter-terrorism. In Austria, they visited the Supreme Court of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism. In Romania, participants visited, among others, the National Office for the Prevention and Countering of Money-Laundering, the Public Prosecutors' Office and the National Office for Witness Protection.
These visits served as a platform for the Afghan practitioners to exchange expertise and good practices with their Austrian and Romanian counterparts. It also exposed them to the experience of these two countries in implementing counter-terrorism legislation in conformity with the universal legal regime against terrorism.
This is the second study tour of its nature organized by UNODC. In August 2008, UNODC organized a training workshop during which 25 Pakistani criminal officials were trained on international cooperation in terrorist cases. The Vienna-based segment of the training was followed by a study tour to the Federal Foreign Office, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice of Germany.
Over the last six years, UNODC has assisted 165 States in improving their legal counter-terrorism regime. Furthermore, we have provided 8,752 criminal justice officials with specialized training and held more than 70 subregional or regional thematic workshops. This work was made possible by the generous voluntary contributions of 21 donor States.
UNODC and terrorism prevention