Civil Service in the news
Crown Prosecution Service shows the way in the international fight against corruption
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) representatives have visited Afghanistan to deliver an anti–corruption conference, held at the Afghan Attorney General's Office in Kabul.
The three–day conference was organised with the assistance of CPS secondee and Senior Legal Adviser to the British embassy in Kabul, Francis Davis, with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the US Department of Justice and State Department.
Representing the CPS were Head of International Affairs, Moira Andrews, Deputy Head of International Affairs, Patrick Stevens, and Special Crime Division Prosecutor, Mark Carroll.
“The conference was a great success,” said Moira.
“It tied in practical investigative techniques with wider rule of law considerations, such as the rights of the individual, the need for the highest professional standards, the importance of consistency and for proportionality and demonstrably fair processes that ensure the supremacy of the law.”
The main CPS objectives for the visit to Kabul were twofold:
- To further the UK government's agenda of securing the Afghan AG's agreement to the establishment of an anti–corruption unit within his office
- To deliver on the CPS Director's promise to the Afghan Attorney General to provide assistance with his work on anti–corruption.
Mark delivered a training course to 70 participants, providing his insight and experience as a specialist corruption prosecutor.
“The training course aimed to inform the Attorney General and his staff of methods and tactics to prevent, detect and prosecute corruption,” he said.
Moira commented that while the Afghan Attorney General, Dr Abdul Jabbar Sabit, welcomed the CPS warmly at the conference, he “painted a dismal picture of the all–pervasive extent of corruption in Afghanistan – including within his own department – and reiterated his firm personal commitment to fighting corruption at all levels”.
During their stay, Moira and Patrick also had a number of meetings with a variety of UK and international interlocutors, including the UNODC, UNDP and the US Embassy.
“Each supported the anti–corruption project unequivocally, seeing it as an important first step towards the establishment of an effective criminal justice system, at least in Kabul, and therefore something that would undoubtedly have a very positive impact on their own areas of operation,” said Patrick.
He continued: “Corruption was acknowledged universally, not only as a major detractor from any attempt to tackle other forms of serious crime such as narcotics, insurgency and terrorism, but also as a barrier to access justice and protection of citizens from the abuse of power by public officials.”
Patrick and Moira said that on reporting to the Director on their successful visit, he has given his full support to ongoing CPS engagement with Afghanistan.
