13/03/2024
The second phase of the European programme against organised crime PACCTO 2.0 is presented in Panama with the leadership of the Spanish Cooperation
Strengthening the rule of law and combating organised crime by promoting coordination between the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and their strategic partnership with the European Union. This is the objective of the programme presented at a high-level event in Panama City that brought together 300 representatives of justice and security institutions from Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union, including 50 ministers and deputy ministers of justice and security, attorneys general, presidents of judicial bodies and the highest authorities of the regional bodies of the European Union, Latin America, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The main novelty of this phase is the incorporation of 15 Caribbean countries and the integration of the Netherlands as an implementing partner of the programme together with Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. In total, 33 countries from Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union will work together to strengthen the rule of law and fight organised crime.
European Commission Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, highlighted the success of PACCTO 2.0 in bringing together European and Latin American partners in the fight against transnational organised crime. “As a key outcome of the EU-CELAC Summit in July 2023, I am delighted that this new phase, which will now include our Caribbean partners, will boost our joint investment and commitment to the rule of law, increasing the capacity of criminal justice systems and responding adequately to different types of crime, including trafficking in human beings, drug trafficking and cybercrime”.
Panama’s Deputy Minister of Security, Ivor Axel Pittí, also participated in the inauguration of the event: “The first phase of PACCTO consolidated the necessary foundations so that, in this stage, PACT 2.0 continues to strengthen the three pillars of work on which the project is based: judicial, police and penitentiary. These three pillars are essential to counter common security threats. The launch of this EU-funded cooperation programme should aim at the expansion and consolidation of CLASI. This is why we reiterate our determination to continue to work together for the benefit of dialogue between all parties.
“The EU-CELAC summit held under the Spanish presidency of the EU last July identified security and the fight against organised crime as a priority, emphasising the need to develop capacities for this challenge. We at the FIIAPP are convinced that direct exchange between institutions is the best way to learn from each other and contribute to operational results. It will be an honour to continue institutionalising these relations and to contribute to a rule of law that guarantees people and is fundamental for social cohesion,” said Francisco Tierraseca, Director of the FIIAPP, at the opening of the event.
The President of the Supreme Court of Panama, María Eugenia López Arias, the Attorney General of Panama, Javier Caraballo Salazar and the Minister of Legal Protection of the Netherlands also participated in the closing ceremony.
PACCTO 2.0 will take a comprehensive approach to the fight against organised crime through three central lines of action (strategic, institutional and operational) in order to work in a more specialised, in-depth and coherent manner.
In fact, in the framework of the event, several high-level events were held in parallel, such as the ministerial meeting of the Latin American Committee on Internal Security (CLASI) and the Cycle of Shared Justice Policies between the European Union and Latin America. These meetings have served to consolidate the strategic dialogues started in the first phase of the PACCTO that allow for the identification of political priorities for action in the face of criminal threats in Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union. Threats such as cybercrime, human trafficking, environmental crime and drug trafficking.
In its first phase, the programme supported 247 institutions in 17 Latin American countries, 41 laws and policies in the region, 34 strategies and agreements, and 28 plans or guidelines and protocols. 49 operations or investigations against organised crime were supported by the programme.
The creation of the Latin American Committee for Internal Security (CLASI), the launch of the Latin American Threat Assessment and Documentation Instrument (IDEAL), the support to Regional Prison Cooperation and the consolidation of more than 10 anti-crime networks and working groups are also among the main achievements of the first phase.
