Spotlight: Transnational crime strategies and training for African prosecutors

The ISS partnered with the African Prosecutors Association to develop new strategies and train prosecutors on transnational crimes.

Published on 06 November 2014 in Impact

In October, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) partnered with the African Prosecutors Association (APA) to host the APA’s conference and annual general meeting. Joint training was also provided for prosecutors on two priority crimes – sexual and gender based violence, and environmental crime.

The Transnational Threats and International Crime division of the ISS has collaborated with the APA since 2010. Through this work, the ISS strives to combat transnational crimes by building a common understanding of the threats, and training officials at the front-line of criminal justice to respond effectively.

Approaches that can reduce transnational crimes

The APA’s annual gathering in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa was attended by prosecutors from 16 African countries. Topping the agenda were prominent transnational crimes now facing Africa and how prosecutors should deal with them. These include environmental crime, sexual and gender based violence, cyber crime, human trafficking, kidnapping, money laundering and terrorism financing.

For several years the ISS has provided technical assistance and training to African criminal justice officials on cooperation and mutual legal assistance. This emerged as a key APA strategy to respond to transnational crimes. A continent-wide legal framework for mutual legal assistance was included in the meeting’s Kinshasa Declaration of 2014.

The annual APA meetings were preceded by three-day training workshops in Kinshasa on sexual and gender-based violence, and environmental crime.

Preparing prosecutors for sexual and gender-based crime cases

Prosecutors play a key role in preventing sexual and gender-based crimes. Officials from various countries that work on these crimes shared practical lessons and best practices. The training drew attention to harmful traditional practices and the need to be sensitive to the social context. Topics covered were female genital mutilation, domestic violence, international and regional legal frameworks, and mobile gender courts.

The training outcomes will inform a manual which is being drafted in collaboration with the ISS to harmonise prosecutorial approaches across the continent. Recommendations from the training were adopted by the APA and will be available on their website.

Preparing prosecutors to deal with environmental crime

Environmental crime is fast becoming a priority in Africa. The three-day course in Kinshasa exposed prosecutors to innovative techniques and best practices from across the continent and internationally. The training focused on the legal requirements for dealing with these crimes, and also covered DNA barcoding to track environmental crime, the use of asset forfeiture and racketeering principles, mutual legal assistance and the role of specialised courts. Given the cross-border nature of many environmental crimes, the training allowed prosecutors to develop networks that can facilitate cross border prosecutions.

Recommendations from the training were adopted by the APA and will be available on their website.