Programmes:

General Direction and Management | Training And Human Resource Development | Research And Policy Development | Information And Documentation | Advisory Services To Governments | Joint Activities And Strategies

 

General Direction and Management

This programme promotes the efficient management and administration of the staff, funds and other resources and ensures the effective and timely implementation of scheduled activities as contained in other programmes and within the general guidelines provided by the Governing Board.

Importantly, it includes mobilization of support and funds for the work of the Institute. The expected outputs from the activities under this programme are, capacity building of the Secretariat so as to effectively implement on time and within the budget of the Institute approved work plans, increasing remittance of assessed contributions by Member States, attracting donor funds, ensuring appropriate guidance to the Secretariat from the Governing Board, increasing the cooperation among Member States and enhancing the capacity of Member States to combat inter alia transnational organised crime Report. and annually report to the Board, to the Commission on Crime Prevention and prepare the report of the UN. Secretary General.

In accordance with its Statute, Staff and Financial Rules and Regulations, the Institute has continued to administer the substantive work, staff funds and other resources, thereby ensuring the effective and timely implementation of the approved programme of activities. In all these transactions, emphasis has been placed on transparency and accountability as has been affirmed by the successive reports of the meetings of the Governing Board and the committee of auditors.

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Training And Human Resource Development

The ultimate effect of this programme focuses on upgrading of skills, through research, dissemination of knowledge and consolidation of the base of expertise among crime prevention and criminal justice personnel in the Africa region. Due to limitations of logistical and financial support, priority is accorded to trainers as a basis for the anticipated multiplier effect.
Based on the needs of the member States, training materials and modules are designed for short courses with emphasis on interdisciplinary discourse to meet specific requirements. Efforts are made to undertake innovative practical measures that maximize the value of locally available knowledge/data for use in enhancing crime prevention and sustaining the criminal justice agenda in Africa in response to the daunting challenges crime imposes on the development in each of the countries.

Some of the factors that guide the choice of themes for the training seminars/workshops include: the needs of Member States; the priority areas as decided by the United Nations Congresses on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice as well as emerging demands borne out of expediency in the execution of crime prevention and criminal justice chores by the relevant authorities. The Institute has since its establishment impacted upon a cross section of appropriate levels of personnel from the civil service as well as public and civil society organizations. A spectrum of crime trends ranging from juvenile delinquency to sophisticated Transnational Organised Crime has been addressed in the workshops/seminars that have been conducted by the Institute. Lately, issues relating to contemporary strategies for crime prevention; anti-human trafficking; criminalistics science in enhancing the criminal justice administration as well as prospects for parole and probation to ease the challenges faced by correctional institutions and precautionary awareness raising against cyber crime have been addressed. The reports to these activities can be obtained on request.

Because crime has continued to affect all sectors of life, there is a growing consensus about the realization that sustainable socio-economic development needs to be guarded effectively against the disrupting effect of crime. This has led to a renewed impetus in the search for effective strategies and tailored remedial measures to curb the prevalence of crime in the African countries. The engine for this realization has focused on the essential requirement based on training and upgrading of skills, awareness raising and constant dissemination/exchange of information among all the concerned parties including the local communities, law enforcement agencies, media operatives, entrepreneurs, experts and judicial authorities. Consequently, the urge to invest and the propensity to seek current/contemporary facts about the trends of crime in an effort to form empirical body of knowledge to guide policy development and legislative frameworks to fight crime are receiving priority attention. In this respect, training has occasionally derived impetus from the preceding research and policy development sub-programmes that establish the details of the need for training as appropriate.

Owing to the challenges of limited financial resources, the Institute has through professional collaboration with sister agencies been able to source the necessary expertise and technical assistance to implement the vital components of the training. In this respect, UNODC together with all members of the United Nations Programme Network of Institutes (UNPNI) have made significant contributions towards the implementation of this programme. In a continuing effort, the Institute is contacting Member States and non-government organisations with a view to enter bilateral arrangements to further the training of personnel in accordance with the identified need.

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Research And Policy Development

Program Description: This department aims at providing an empirical basis for formulation of responsive and effective policies and programmes towards reducing crime, including  delinquency and its harmful consequences , economic and organized ( national and transnational) crimes in many African countries.

In this regard, research related studies are undertaken on crime, correctional approaches and victimization, reform of penal laws and procedures and the interrelationship between development and criminality.

Significantly, it endeavours to identify, analyze and bring to the attention of African governments trends and patterns of criminality, their interfaces with other phenomena and processes and  provides options for development of more viable crime prevention and criminal justice strategies.

As the central nerver of UNAFRI, the Research and Policy department conducts studies particularly policy/action oriented research surveys to produce.

  • Revelation on crimes and criminality trends and patterns;
  • Empirical Reports of research/survey findings;
  • Publication of a precise comprehensive African crime situation;
  • Up-to-date manual for the collection and analysis of criminal statistics and other relevant data in African countries;
  • Enhanced capacity to collect and analyze valid/reliable crime and criminal justice statistics and other related information and as well as improvement in the compilation and publication of such data/information;
  • Model legislation for crime prevention, administration of justice and correction of offenders,in addition to a greater capacity to prevent, combat and control crime;
  • Findings to serve as part of the contents of a journal: African Journal on Crime and Criminal justice (AJCJ).
  • Findings from such researches to foem the basis for guiding the African Countries' policy formulation and implementation that can reduce or even prevent crime which often hinders socio-economic development.

Progress Report:   The research unit has been vigorously reactivated in recent years particularly when seasoned researcher to Head the unit was employed.. Of recent, the following studies have been undertaken (while old ones are revised).

 

1.

 

 

 From Prisons Back Home: Social rehabilitation and reintegration as phrases of   the Same Social Process (revised, 2005). This was a study of social rehabilitation and reintegration of released prisoners back to their receiving Communities.This study's findings formed the basis of the services of workshops on corrections that weere in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia between November-Decemmber, 2007.

 
2.

 

 

The Causes and Patterns of Trafficking in Human Commodities in Nigeria (2007). This was a study that unearthed and exposed the root causes of this heinous trade commonly called modern day slavery. Nigeria is worst affected among African Countries.

 

3.

 

 

A Study on Children and Women Trafficking in Karamoja-Teso region of  Uganda (2006). This was a study of a Community in Crisis to advise on prevention of  victimization or vulnerability. There were media reports of heavy trafficking in this part of Uganda, which attracted this fact finding mission.

 
4.

 

 

 

Cyber Watch Analysis Report (2006) An ICT and documentary analysis study was undertaken on the cyber scams as High-tech Crime that is a challenge of unprecedented ingenuity. Results from this analysis were used for sensitization of the public with the result that so many victims or would-be victims reported to our offices by emails, facsimile and or physically with terrible sympathetic revelations. The sensitization saved many people that were about to be defrauded.

 
5.

 

 

Crime Victimization Study (2007).This was undertaken in collaboration with UNODC in four countries in Africa, Uganda, Ghana, Mozambique and Egypt. This was to establish the Crime victimization patterns and trends in terms of various categories such as theft of property, social crime, theft of animals, armed robbery, consumer fraud, burglary etc.

 
6.

 

 

Admission/ Affiliation Scam: An unpublished survey report on fraudulent admissions into UK, USA, India, and Canadian Universities through affiliated colleges was undertaken. The findings were used to sensitize the public using both print and electronic media.

 

7.

 

 

Many other researches are currently on-going. The findings of some reports  have been extensively used in countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, as well as findings of the studies on trafficking in Uganda and Nigeria were disseminated and concisely reported during the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) that was held in  Vienna, Australia in February, 2008, where UNAFRI actively participated.

 
8. Reports of these studies that have been completed have been presented to the public and copies are being circulated to all relevant stakeholders organisations.

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Information And Documentation

Program Description: This focuses on establishing and maintaining a specialized comprehensive reference library and developing a reliable and workable mechanism needed to promote the sharing and transfer of knowledge in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice in the service of the African region, as well as with other criminal justice networks.

The expected outputs of the programme include:

  • An up to-date specialized reference library in crime prevention and criminal justice in the African region;
  • An African information network in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice;
  • Linkages with the United Nations (UNCJIN), and United Nations Crime Justice Library and the World Criminal Justice Library Network (WCJLN).
  • Publication and distribution of periodic Newsletter;
  • Publication and distribution of reports of seminars/workshops/research findings to Governments, relevant institutions, organizations and interested individuals.
  • Development and publications of a specialized journal in crime prevention and criminal justice focusing on African region.
  • Maintenance and updating of UNAFRI's Digital Library <http:www.dspace.unafri.org> and the On-line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) <http://www.winisis.unafri.org>
  • Maintenance of UNAFRI website <http://www.unafri.or.ug>

Progress Report: The Institute has now a nucleus of a Specialized Reference Library with about 1,000 volumes of books on crime prevention and criminal justice. It has established documentation network with institutes/centres in a number of African countries. Arrangements have been made to establish an accessible data bank which has linkages with other world criminal justice information and library networks on INTERNET. Specialists in crime prevention and criminal justice who visit Uganda are always welcome to use the Institute library.

The materials has been automated and digitized with an On-line Public Access Catalogue that is running on http://www.winisis.unafri.org and a Digital Repository that is running on Dspace< http://www.dspace.unafri.org>

On top of publishing the reports of the implemented activities, the Institute publishes a bi-annual newsletter issued in English and French which is made available to all countries in the region and to the relevant organizations within and outside the African region.

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Advisory Services To Governments

Program Description: The programme aims at promoting the role of UNAFRI as an effective mechanism in providing technical assistance to individual Member States upon their request and promoting and fostering sub-regional and regional cooperation and coordination in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. Advisory services to individual countries are directed towards implementing effective measures for the prevention of crime, improvement of the quality of services provided to offenders in custodial institutions, and the promotion of the observance of human rights in the administration of justice as stipulated in the United Nations norms and standards in crime prevention and criminal justice.
The Institute is also mandated to provide advisoryservices to governments (upon request) in priority areas inter-alia, the identification of crime prevention strategies specific to the needs of African region.

In this regard, UNAFRI cooperates closely with the United Nations, UN Programme Network of Institutes on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice  in order to facilitate his work and render it more effective.

Progress Report: The Institute has so far provided advisory services to several countries in the region upon request including Burundi, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania.

In addition, at the Institute's initiative advisory services were offered on a variety of issues including the improvement of the efficiency of criminal justice systems and their administration, reduction of prison congestion, street children (juvenile delinquency), establishment of a national institute to provide governments with on-going advisory services, and establishment of a system for the regular collection, collaboration and analysis of reliable data on crime, delinquency and the administration of criminal justice.

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Joint Activities And Strategies

Program Description: This programme aims at sensitizing member States towards promoting joint activities and enhancing cooperation with related UN Institutes and other agencies in responding to the most pressing needs in crime prevention and criminal justice.

At the same time, it attempts to identify new strategies to confront transnational crime. Recent evidence has shown that African countries are faced with significant problems created by the emergence of criminal groups and their activities.

Criminal groups are diversifying their activities by reorganizing their operations in a more sophisticated fashion, limiting the use of force and violence and turning to other means of persuasion.

Organized crime in the African region is also adapting its operation to new political and economic realities, profiting from new pacts and cooperative arrangements thereby posing a long term threat to sustainable socio-economic development.

The Institute is thus, expected to play a crucial role in assisting Member States in this endeavour, in terms of legal advice, promotion of technical assistance and provision of training. Progress Report.

The Institute has continued to participate in a number of joint activities with related institutes and agencies like United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy- Vancouver, Canada. They have included organizing and planning joint training activities, research/data collection.

In addition, UNAFRI has participated in a number of regional, sub-regional and international meetings and seminars organized in different parts of the world, African Union Ministers Meeting, Addis Ababa, Commission Meeting Viebnna, Trafficking in Women in East African Reion, Kampala, Uganda.The Institute played an active role in the preparation and execution of the African Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders that was hosted by Uganda Government in Kampala, February, 1994.

The Institute played a similar role during the 9th Congress held in Cairo, Egypt, from 29 April, to 10 May, 1995. UNAFRI is often invited to participate in a number of Expert meeting , Organised by UNODC.

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