20/07/2018
Deontological codes and working groups in the programmes´ roadmap funded by the European Union, which shared experiences of Latin America and the EU
The participants exchanged experiences of the two regions
The annual meeting of the EL PAcCTO programme , held in Quito (Ecuador), brought together 15 Latin American countries and representatives of institutions from this region and the European Union to discuss: ” Corruption as a facilitator of organized crime “.
Specifically, the meeting focused on the three lines of work of the project funded by the European Union and managed by the FIIAPP and Expertise France:police cooperation, cooperation between prison systems and cooperation between justice systems, in collaboration with the Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA) and the Camoes Institute of Portugal.
For three days, high-level officials and technicians specialized in different topics, as well as anti-corruption networks and organizations from Latin America and the European Union, such as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) shared their experiences and learning with the aim of improving the fight against corruption and increasing international cooperation between institutions .
The ambassador of the European Union in Ecuador explained during the inauguration that “the objective is mutual learning, getting to know each other and creating work dynamics”. The Minister of the Interior of Ecuador and the Coordinator of the Office of the Attorney General of Ecuador also took part in the meeting, which confirmed that “the fight against organized crime is an international challenge and requires specialized action by judicial institutions”.
Among the points discussed, the participants agreed to enhance deontological codes and internal control systems in institutions. The Ibero-American Code of Judicial Ethics, developed by the Ibero-American Judicial Summit, serves as a reference in Latin America .
It was also concluded that coordination between national institutions should be encouraged through stable figures or communication protocols, such as the creation of joint working groups between prosecutors, police, financial intelligence units, etc., as well as the development of prison intelligence models. Joint research teams are an interesting coordination tool for this venture.
