On 14 October 2020, the Global Programme for Strengthening Capacities of Member States to Prevent and Combat Transnational Organized & Serious Crime (GPTOC) conducted the side event “Virtual Tour into UNODC networks on international cooperation in criminal matters” on the margins of the Tenth Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).
The aim of the side event was to share good practices on mutual legal assistance and strengthen cooperation among different judicial cooperation networks. To this end, representatives of several international judicial cooperation networks, inter alia, the European Judicial Network (EJN), the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors against Organized Crime (WACAP), the Judicial Cooperation Network for Central Asia and Southern Caucasus (CASC) and the South East Asia Justice (SEAJust) Network have attended the even of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) represents a milestone in the fight against transnational organized crime.
In the opening remarks, Ms. Karen Kramer, Senior Drug Control and Crime Prevention Officer at UNODC, highlighted that the 20th anniversary organized and serious crime and that the provisions on international cooperation in criminal matters remain a very useful and practical tool for Member States to address cross-border crime. Additionally, Ms. Kramer outlined that the UNODC’s judicial cooperation networks are built on direct contact, trust, and reciprocity between the criminal justice practitioners who serve as the networks’ contact points and are appointed within the national central authorities.
The West African Network for Central Authorities and Prosecutors against Organized Crime (WACAP) was introduced by Ms. Coumba M. Diop, UNODC Programme Specialist and WACAP Coordinator in Dakar. Since the establishment of the WACAP in 2013, the network has been promoting direct communication between criminal justice practitioners of the region and supported efficient drafting of MLA requests and successful prosecution of organized crime.
Moreover, the WACAP succeeded in building mutual trust among network’s contact points and facilitated the exchange of good practices and knowledge within the network. Mr. Cheibou Samna Soumana, Public Prosecutor at the High Court of Niamey and contact point for the WACAP in Niger affirmed that the network plays a pivotal role in promoting judicial cooperation regionally and stressed two recent successful MLA cases that implicated several countries of West Africa. Lastly, Mr. Luis Francisco De Jorge Mesas, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at UNODC, and Ms. Louise Manukian, Deputy Head of the International Legal Cooperation Department in the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia, jointly conducted a presentation on the Judicial Cooperation Network for Central Asia and Southern Caucasus (CASC). Ms. Manukian highlighted that the network has proven to be a very efficient platform for timely cooperation among states and successful investigations. Furthermore, Ms. Manukian thanked the secretariat of the CASC network for providing support in the liaison with different central authorities and circulating the list of central authorities that adopted emergency measures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the final wrap-up session, it was agreed to conduct a subsequent event by the end of 2020 with the participation of the Member States and the representatives of different international judicial cooperation networks.