24/05/2023
In a conference organised by the FIIAPP, specialists from Spanish and Bolivian justice institutions have met to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and human trafficking
Representatives of the institutions involved in the meeting
The Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, in Sucre, hosted the international conference “The crime of drug trafficking and human trafficking and smuggling as transnational phenomena: comprehensive examination and new perspectives“. The conference brought together representatives of Bolivian and Spanish justice institutions to address the problem jointly from an institutional and academic perspective.
The meeting was organised by the FIIAPP within the framework of the programme financed by the European Union to support special anti-drug forces in the application of Bolivian law, whose objective is to reduce drug trafficking through the efficient control of the illicit trafficking of substances, the sustained reduction of surplus coca crops and the prevention of drug consumption.
As a result of the academic sessions, the experts took a comprehensive look at these crimes and discussed new perspectives, emphasising the need to strengthen inter-agency cooperation against drug trafficking and human trafficking.
“Drug smuggling, trafficking and human smuggling greatly influence the life of a region and the life of an entire country. This activity aims to create a space for inter-institutional analysis of the instruments of international legal cooperation as a tool in the fight against these crimes,” said the Rector of the University, Engineer Walter Arízaga.
“These crimes represent serious and complex problems that affect not only Bolivia, but also the international level. These conferences will be of great importance in the fight against the evil that affects our country, Latin America and the world,” announced the president of the Human Rights Commission, Magaly Gómez, during the inauguration of the conference.
“We have the obligation to generate these spaces for academic reflection to debate the problems that afflict our country. The University has to encourage this dialogue of knowledge between institutions,” said the Vice Rector, Erik Mita.
Eduardo Serrano, Director of the Bolivian School of Public Prosecutors: “Thanks to this conference we will be able to express the experience we have had in the fight against this crime.
“We have to thank the two institutions that have made it possible to hold this conference, the European Union and its delegation in Bolivia, and this University for hosting us,” said the director of the FIIAPP’s Justice Department, Mariano Guillén.
The conference was attended by several specialists including Dr. Carmen Baena Olabe, Prosecutor of the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office of Spain, Magistrate Olvis Egüez, President of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Bolivia, Dr. Elva Cáceres, Prosecutor of Paraguay (AIAMP’s RFAI Representative), Dr. Marcos Parera. Technical Secretary of AIAMP’s REDTRAM (Argentina), Rosa Marín, prosecutor and specialist of the programme “Support to special anti-drug forces in Bolivian law enforcement” and Margarita de la Barga, prosecutor and coordinator of the same programme.
Prosecutors, judges, police officers, public servants involved in these issues, independent lawyers and law students participated as the main audience of this meeting.
