UNIS/CP/505
22 December 2004
United Nations Holds Workshop in Egypt on International Cooperation against Terrorism
VIENNA, 22 December (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Ministry of Justice of Egypt jointly organized a workshop on international cooperation against terrorism and promotion of regional cooperation in criminal matters in Cairo, Egypt, from 21 to 22 December 2004. The workshop was attended by high-level Egyptian officials, including chief justices, members of the civil and military judiciary, prosecutors, ambassadors, law enforcement officers and university professors.
The main objective of the workshop was to share information and practical experience in matters related to methods and techniques of combating terrorism, including the legal aspects. The results of the workshop and the experience gained will be used in the organization of national workshops in the region in the context of the implementation of the UNODC Regional Action Plan on combating terrorism.
The workshop included presentations by UNODC and Egyptian experts, and discussions of case studies and extradition and mutual legal assistance practices related to terrorism. It followed Egypt’s ratification of 9 out of 12 counter-terrorism instruments, as well as the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants recommended the finalization of the guide for the incorporation of the universal instruments against terrorism in national legislation as well as the elaboration of a training manual on implementing these instruments and on international cooperation in combating terrorism.
They also recommended the establishment of anti-terrorism national committees in order to coordinate actions at the national and regional levels among the various agencies involved in combating terrorism, thus contributing to international efforts in this regard. The participants emphasized the need to create a training infrastructure within the UNODC Regional Office in Cairo to provide specialized training in the field of organized crime, terrorism, corruption and money laundering.
The workshop followed a UNODC regional expert seminar for 19 African countries held from 8 to 10 December in Praia, Cape Verde, on the subject of the ratification and implementation of the universal instruments against terrorism, transnational organized crime and corruption and on the drafting of reports to the Counter -Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council.
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For more information:
Jean-Paul Laborde, Chief, Terrorism Prevention Branch, UNODC
Email: Jean-Paul.Laborde@unodc.org
