UNODC Eastern Africa News and Stories

You are here: Home / News

UNODC supports Kenya's efforts in Countering Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants

Nairobi, Kenya, 5 June 2020 – UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa recently conducted two virtual consultative workshops with the Government of Kenya on developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and training curricula for police-prosecutor cooperation in countering trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.

The first workshop took place on 27 May 2020 and involved officers from the Transnational Organized Crimes Unit (TOCU) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit (AHTCPU). The second workshop was held on 4 June 2020 and was attended by representatives of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) and Kenya Magistrate and Judges Association (KMJA). Both meetings assessed existing SOPs and guidelines as well as existing training curricula and other training in the areas of countering trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.  

As part of the Better Migration Management (BMM) programme Phase II, UNODC, together with CIVIPOL, the technical cooperation operator of the French Ministry of the Interior, will be assisting the DCI,  ODPP and the Judiciary to draft comprehensive SOPs for more effective coordination in  handling cases of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. The two workshops also aimed at analyzing the training needs of law enforcement entities to enhance their capacity to effectively detect and investigate trafficking in persons cases. In addition, the assistance will focus on enhancing cooperation between investigators, prosecutors, and judicial officers.  

The respective consultations provided UNODC and CIVIPOL with very good insight and guidance on existing practices and areas for strengthening cooperation and capacity building. As part of the BMM programme, UNODC is also supporting the Government of the Kenya to reinforce the capacities of criminal justice practitioners to better investigate and prosecute transnational organized crime, including trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, through enhancing inter-agency national coordination and cooperation in countering these crimes.

As implementing  partner of the BMM programme Phase II, funded by the EU Commission and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Republic of Germany, UNODC is implementing BMM programme activities within the framework of the UNODC Regional Programme for Eastern Africa (2016-2021) and its regional Countering Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Programme. In coordination with GIZ, IOM and CIVIPOL, the BMM programme is implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan and South-Sudan. UNODC has the following twofold objective in context of the BMM programme: First, to support beneficiary countries in aligning their national legislations on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants in accordance with international conventions and standards, namely the United Nations Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and the supplementary Protocols against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants; and secondly, to enhance the capacities of criminal justice practitioners in the East and the Horn of Africa to better investigate and prosecute trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants cases while effectively protecting and supporting victims of trafficking as well as vulnerable migrants through a victim-centered and human rights based approach.

For more information please contact:

Mr. Johan Kruger

Head of Transnational Organized Crime, Illicit Trafficking and Terrorism Programmes

johan.kruger@un.org