Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security

Pakistan's policing services continue to be in need of reform, in particular regarding police services that are community responsive, while utilizing modern policing strategies and techniques to solve crimes. A report by UNODC in 2010,"Policing in Pakistan: an overview of institutions, debates and challenges"noted a growth in organized criminal activities in the Punjab. The report also listed several areas where reform should be concentrated, including improving relations with communities; crime intelligence; investigation and evidence handling; personnel management and skills/capacity building. UNODC Pakistan, as part of its Country Programme (2010-2015) is providing support to police departments across Pakistan, including training to build capacity of law enforcement personnel to manage crime scenes and process the collection of evidence. In addition, a programme to promote cooperation between police and prosecutors is being rolled out.

UNODC and representatives of the Embassy of Norway Pakistan have met with the Inspector General (IG) of Police Punjab and his executive staff.  The IG has acknowledged the need for improvement in the law enforcement capacity of the Department.  However, he also noted that while the instances of training support provided by the international community (including UNODC) are welcomed, it does little to reach the vast number of the department.  As a result, he has requested Norway and UNODC to design a more comprehensive approach that will reach a larger segment of his Department’s personnel.  The suggested approach involves the following tasks:

1) Undertake a comprehensive assessment of training in all police colleges and training centres to include specialized training offered to the current police corps.

2) Using the results of the assessment, undertake a revision of the training platform offered to police personnel in these training institutions to include specialized training offered to senior officers.

3) Assist the Department to implement this revised training platform

4) Provide specialized training to develop the investigative capacities of investigators to include the collection, preservation and use of forensic evidence to identify and prosecute perpetrators of crimes.

5) Implement the recommendations as outlined in the report by NCIS (2013).

Scoping Mission

At a meeting in Oslo on 14 February, where also UNODC was represented, there was agreement across the Norwegian Government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Police Directorate, and the Norwegian Police University College (PHS)) that a scoping mission should be carried out to assess the feasibility of a more comprehensive assessment (Task 1 above).

In 2007, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security established the Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova (NORLAM). The programme, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has deployed active justice practitioners from Norway to provide advisory support to Moldova in various aspects of criminal justice system reform. The NORLAM team composition has usually included judges, prosecutors, probation officers, defence lawyers and corrections officers supported by Moldovan legal advisors. While the programme components have changed over time, notable focal areas of work have included commentary of draft laws, supporting development of a juvenile prison (Goian), pre-trial detention, and various aspects of juvenile justice reform. The programme with its holistic approach to the criminal justice chain remains a unique example in global justice and security sector reform practice.

A decision has been taken to close down all programme components and activities of NORLAM by 30.06.2017.  Norwegian experts (2) and local staff will be present on the ground until end of June. Given the important role of NORLAM in supporting justice sector reform in Moldova for a decade, the Norway is seeking to develop a structured transition strategy that will promote sustainability of NORLAM reform efforts, ensure continuity of work, and reduce the potential risks associated with the eventual closure of the programme.

The training will bring together approximately 40-45 participants representing the Norwegian criminal justice chain, as well as new and experienced experts, including police officers. Participants and speakers from other Norwegian agencies and ministries such as the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also be invited.

The primary focus of the training will be the criminal justice chain, including police and justice reform and their linkages to other processes. Key topics covered during this training will include the fundamentals of the Justice and Security Sector Reform (JSSR), the adoption of a gender-sensitive approach to JSSR, JSSR programming and effective advising.

Concrete case studies and interactive co-learning methodologies that encourage participants to share their own experiences will be used throughout the course.

The Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova (NORLAM) was established in March 2007 and is planned to terminate in 2016. This is a bilateral cooperation project between Moldova and Norway. The overall objective of the cooperation is promoting good governance, strengthening the rule of law and promoting human rights in Moldova. Furthermore, the program should work in line with the European Integration Process of Moldova and support the aims of the EU-Moldova Action Plan (Strategy for Justice Sector Reform 2011- 2016), as well as strengthening bilateral cooperation between Moldova and Norway.

NORLAM`s  activities in Moldova are based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) from 2007. Details of the agreement are as follows:

• Competence-building within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the judicial system, the General Prosecutor`s office and the legal profession,
• with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the institutions guaranteeing human rights and the rule of law in the Republic of Moldova in line with Moldova`s European objectives and commitments.

ISSAT completed a review of NORLAM in August 2014 to provide guidance as to whether the program should continue beyond 2016, and if so, what should be the scope of the work and how should it be organized in the future.

The Norwegian MoJ and the Norwegian MFA is in the process to consider an extension of NORLAM beyond 2016, in light of the ISSAT report.

In this respect NORLAM and the MoJ organizes a seminar in Chisinau Wednesday 4th of March 2015 to discuss NORLAM’s further contributions to justice sector reform in the light of Moldova's needs and other providers of justice assistance.

The Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MoJ) decided to develop a 3-year overall strategy and planning cycle to support the Rule of Law (RoL) in Moldova and Ukraine. As a starting point for discussions, the following outline was designed:

1.    Overall priorities Rule of Law
2.    Reform agenda Ukraine/Moldova – Including political commitment and context
3.    The Norwegian Rule of Law response pool:
   • Working concept/approach: Full Justice Chain – holistic, flexible and responsive approach to support justice reform
   • Process for identification of projects and priority areas of engagement
   • The essential policies and procedures required for effective implementation and accountability
   • Recruitment of experts
   • Training
4.    Theory of change: Ukraine/Moldova
5.    Resultsframework and reporting chain: Ukraine/Moldova
6.    Local ownership and sustainability
7.    Risk
8.    Gender
9.    Anti-corruption
10.    Donor-co-ordination Ukraine/Moldova
11.    Exit Strategy