Legislative Assistance and Capacity Building

 

Legislation is an essential instrument in combating organized crime, including human trafficking, corruption, and money laundering, as well as terrorism. All countries/territories in the region have ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and most of the 16 international instruments on countering terrorism, as well as the three major drug control treaties. UNODC will provide assistance to the countries/territories of the region to review and align current national legislation with existing international conventions. Further assistance will also be provided to the countries/territories to harmonise relevant legislation with each other. In addition, UNODC is supporting efforts in the region of South Eastern Europe to enhance the ability of the national authorities to detect and repress illicit enrichment in accordance with Article 20 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

UNODC will also support the national entities' efforts to implement the legislation previously aligned with international standards. Trainings will be organized to improve the professional skills and the operational effectiveness of the judicial, prosecutorial, and law enforcement authorities and criminal intelligence analysts across the region. UNODC is promoting new pilot projects in the region such as the already established joint interdisciplinary teams in the area of anti-human trafficking. Guidelines on international legal cooperation instruments for combating human trafficking and smuggling of migrants are currently being developed. UNODC is inviting legal practitioners from the region to discuss legislative gaps in their national legal framework and the difficulties they are facing in implementing the provisions of UNTOC in the area of international cooperation.

South Eastern European countries/territories will be supported with the necessary equipment to be better prepared to respond to threats such as organized crime and illicit trafficking. Specific assistance is needed to enhance the cooperation and communication between judiciary and criminal justice institutions in the region, especially in the areas of mutual recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions and the provision of mutual legal assistance.

 

As part of the Regional Programme, the following activity in this area is already planned for 2010:

  • Meetings on the correct use and execution of Mutual Legal Assistance will be held, in addition to the implementation of guidelines on MLA