UN office on drugs, crime to extend technical aid to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) of the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reiterated its commitment to extend technical assistance to the Philippines for the implementation of UN Counter-Terrorism Treaties.

The Philippines and the TPB discussed the technical assistance to Manila during a meeting between the Branch and the Philippine Delegation to the 17th Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) held in Vienna, Austria, last April 14-18.

The Philippine side was led by Justice Assistant Secretary for Legislation Teresita Domingo and Minister Meynardo LB Montealegre and Second Secretary Josel Ignacio of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Vienna.

The TPB offered to extend assistance to country, upon request, in areas such as the harmonization of Philippine laws with universal counter-terrorism instruments, international legal cooperation against terrorism, international best practices and tools, as well as models for mutual legal assistance and extradition requests.

The TPB and the Philippine delegation also discussed the possibility of jointly hosting similar training activities on a regional scale.

Since 2005, the Philippines has been a recipient of TPB technical assistance chiefly in the form of training and workshops for prosecutors, law enforcers, legislative staff and other national experts regarding the implementation of the existing 13 universal conventions and protocols against terrorism developed under the auspices of the UN and its specialized agencies.

The TPB provides legal advice to states on the ratification and implementation of the counter-terrorism instruments, in compliance with the principles of the rule of law.

Specific assistance covers the alignment of national penal codes with international legal instruments, training criminal justice officials on new laws on engaging in international cooperation in criminal matters relating to terrorism.

The Philippines is a State Party to the 12 instruments developed between 1963 and 1999. It is already a signatory to the Nuclear Terrorism Convention.