Search
  1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. West Africa

ECOWAS experts discuss UN crime convention

    ABIDJAN

    A meeting of legal experts from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) started on Thursday in the capital Ouagadougou, to discuss ratification and implementation of the United Nations convention against organised trans-national crimes, news agencies reported.

    The convention, adopted by the General Assembly last year, aims to strengthen the global fight against all forms of organised crime, including money laundering, trafficking in human beings, arms smuggling, international fraud, drug trafficking and corruption.

    Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of the UN Drug Control Programme and Crime Prevention told a global meeting against crime held on 12 December 2000, in Palermo, Italy, that the convention would enter into force after 40 countries have ratified it. He said the convention offers the international community universally recognised definitions of fundamental concepts of criminal law linked to organised crime.

    The legal experts meeting in Burkina Faso hope that by ratifying the convention, their member states would collectively fight organised crime in the sub-region. Already sub-regional instruments on judicial mutual assistance and extradition within ECOWAS exist, PANA reported.

    The meeting of experts was expected to be followed by that of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice on Friday, the news agency added.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join