On July 1, 2024, the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the Third Multi-Stakeholder Technical Cooperation Workshop for Europe and West African Countries, in Siracusa, Italy. Following the success of the two multi-stakeholder meetings in September 2019 and June 2022, this meeting focuses on the Liaison Magistrate Initiative (LMI).
The LMI stands at the forefront of enhancing international judicial cooperation, addressing transnational organized crimes, and specifically targeting trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants (SOM) by facilitating the execution of mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests and other judicial cooperation mechanisms under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).
To achieve this objective, the workshop convened African Liaison Magistrates previously deployed in Italy and Spain, Central Authorities from both deploying and host countries, judicial officers, Eurojust, WACAP representatives, as well as representatives from observing countries and relevant partners. Participants are specifically focusing on evaluating the effectiveness and significance of the Liaison Magistrate Initiative, raising awareness about the importance of judicial cooperation and its activation with Africa, validating a draft best practice brief on international cooperation concerning trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants (SOM), and enhancing interactions between criminal justice practitioners in Africa and Europe on TIP and SOM cases.
Additionally, the event serves as a vital platform for fostering exchanges and building mutual trust between investigators, prosecutors in Europe, and West Africa, as well as African Liaison Magistrates and EU agencies like Eurojust and Interpol.
