UN helps Togo meet global legal standards on counter-terrorism, drug smuggling

The United Nations anti-narcotics office is assisting the West African country of Togo to change its national criminal laws to satisfy international legal standards on combating terrorism, organized crime and drug smuggling.

National experts, ministry representatives and staff members from UN Office and Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in the capital, Lomé, today wrapped up a two-day seminar on how best to implement the 12 universal pacts against terrorism, as well as the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols.

Togo is already bound by that Convention as well as 11 of the counter-terrorism instruments. Among the workshop’s recommendations to the country’s parliament are ways of adapting Togolese laws to meet requirements in these treaties.

UNODC previously conducted similar assistance missions in such sub-Saharan African countries as the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo and Guinea.