UNODC, with the support of the Government of Germany, brought together regional law enforcement and prosecution agencies from Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda as well as regional partners from INTERPOL and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation for a comprehensive counter-terrorism table top exercise in Tanzania. The event was the culmination of a multi-year counter-terrorism programme and specialized training assistance delivered by UNODC in Eastern Africa. This programme has focused on strengthening the intelligence and investigation capacities of law enforcement officials to prevent terrorist acts and to bring terrorists to justice.
This table top exercise focused on a practical terrorism case scenario which required participants to work together in both a national and regional context order to resolve the case successfully. The event built on previous national and regional training activities which UNODC has been providing under the German-funded regional programme to support intelligence-led policing, digital evidence collection and regional cooperation on terrorism matters.
In addition to this practical collaboration, UNODC, the Government of Germany and countries in Eastern Africa are also partnering at the policy and programmatic levels. At a side event, held on the margins of the 28th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna on 24 May, UNODC, the Government of Germany, and senior law enforcement officers from Kenya, Somalia and Uganda discussed the terrorism threats in the region, ways to address these challenges jointly, as well as the significant progress being made on the ground as a result of the training, mentoring and equipment provided by UNODC. It was noted that several terrorist attacks in the region had been foiled as a result of support and assistance provided by UNODC and international partners.
At the side event, Mr. Johan Kruger, Head of Transnational Organized Crime, Illicit Trafficking and Terrorism Programmes, UNODC Regional Office on Eastern Africa, thanked the Government of Germany and the Eastern Africa Member States for their partnership with UNODC, noting that "terrorism is a complex threat, affecting regional and international peace and stability. UNODC is pleased to be supporting countries in the region to strengthen their specialized intelligence and investigation skills to effectively prevent and counter this threat. We commend the countries of the region for the very real progress that has been made so far and we look forward to continuing to support these efforts in the future".