Iraq and UNODC join forces against Organized Crime: First training workshop in Baghdad on the UNTOC Review Mechanism

A group photo taken in a meeting room. On the right side of the photo, a roll up banner of the UNTOC Review Mechanism is visible.

Baghdad, 2 July 2024 - Attended by fifteen officials from ten major governmental entities, the first in-person training workshop on the UNTOC Review Mechanism was jointly organized by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in coordination with the Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations to Vienna. The workshop took place in Baghdad at the premises of the MOI over the course of two days, on 4-5 June. The Iraqi team, composed of nominated Governmental Experts and the Focal Point, exchanged knowledge with UNODC on the details of the peer review mechanism as part of the 1st thematic cluster under review and the engagement of Iraq in the process. The training, financed by GLO.ACT, was a response to a request from the Iraqi government for the Secretariat of the Review Mechanism to provide further assistance through an in-person capacity building activity in Baghdad.

Participants of a meeting are sitting around a table. In the background, a roll up banner of the UNTOC Review Mechanism.

The training covered the different parts related to the UNTOC country reviews including presentations on the procedural and substantive aspects of the self-assessment questionnaire and the subsequent steps, namely the written feedback and the list of observations and its summaries. Participants actively discussed how to use the acquired knowledge to reinforce Iraq’s participation in the Mechanism both as a reviewing State and as a State party under review. The Secretariat also presented on the general review of UNTOC and the Protocols thereto and provided a practical session on the use of REVMOD. The Iraqi officials attending the workshop provided positive feedback on the knowledge acquired and mentioned that it would enable them to perform more efficiently in the review process. The Iraqi officials expressed their strong commitment to the Mechanism and confirmed interest in participating at the upcoming session of the Conference of the Parties in October as well as the subsequent Working Groups.

The UNTOC Review Mechanism is a peer review process supporting States parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols thereto in the effective implementation of these instruments and helping them identify and substantiate specific needs for technical assistance and promoting international cooperation.

Further information

UNTOC Review Mechanism