OSCE hosts Central Asia legal workshop to help boost fight against organized crime

ALMATY, 9 July 2008 - International legal experts joined 68 counterparts from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Ukraine today at an OSCE-hosted workshop focusing on confiscating criminal assets, combating money laundering and mutual legal assistance across borders.

The event, which continues until July 11, is being hosted by the OSCE's Strategic Police Matters Unit, in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.

"This workshop is a response to an OSCE Ministerial Decision that recognizes the importance of implementing the United Nations Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime. We feel this event will be an effective contribution to improving cross border co-operation in the fight against organized crime," said Kevin Carty, the OSCE's Senior Police Adviser.

The governments of Norway, Belgium and the United States financed the workshop, which attracted top-level national experts from Ireland, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Netherlands. Interpol and Europol representatives also participated, along with senior legal advisers from the UNODC. The OSCE Centre in Astana supported the event.

Participants will discuss ways to enhance legal co-operation in the field of mutual legal assistance, particularly in freezing and confiscating criminal assets. The workshop also aims to establish informal links among law-enforcement and judicial personnel, and contribute to improving domestic laws and implementing practices to bring them into compliance with the UN Convention.