The Assembly of the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors (AIAMP) highlights the strategic support of the European Union Programme EUROsociAL+ to improve the protection of fundamental rights
The Chilean National Prosecutor, Jorge Abbott, who has presided over the General Assembly of the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors since 2019, inaugurates its 28th edition.
One of the most strategic Networks with which EUROsociAL+ has collaborated, since its inception in 2005, is the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors (AIAMP), made up of Public Prosecutor’s Offices and Attorneys’ Offices of 22 countries. The European Union Programme is the only cooperation programme that has accompanied AIAMP over the course of the last fifteen years. Such joint work has meant that significant results have been achieved in the definition of public policies which have enabled better protection and care for the victims of crime, with the emphasis being on those who are in situations of vulnerability.
On 4 and 5 November, EUROsociAL+ participated in the 28th Assembly of AIAMP, under the presidency of the Chilean National Prosecutor’s Office, where the challenges posed to the criminal justice system by the health crisis were addressed.
In the opening ceremony, Chile’s National Prosecutor, Jorge Abbott, who has presided over AIAMP since 2019, highlighted that cooperation has been the key factor, an area in which the support of strategic partners is essential. “The continuity of AIAMP’s work in the midst of the pandemic is a clear reflection of the high level of commitment of the institutions that make up the Association, and the conviction that by working together we can execute our functions and fulfil our mission in a better way. The Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors has promoted and will continue to strongly promote the importance of the autonomy and independence of Public Prosecutor’s Offices as principles that ensure due process and access to justice”, Abbott pointed out.
For her part, the Prosecutor-General (Spain), Dolores Delgado, who is AIAMP’s technical secretary, stressed that “criminal cooperation based on the bonds of trust that have been generated within AIAMP have enabled an exchange of experiences to ensure access to justice especially for the most vulnerable groups”. Likewise, she affirmed that Public Prosecutor’s Offices are called on to be key actors in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and especially regarding SDG 16+ to achieve peaceful, just and inclusive societies. “The work we do within AIAMP is essential in bringing forces together in the defence of victims, the fight against corruption and all forms of discrimination, and in the defence of the most basic social rights. In addition, we must redouble our efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence, especially against women and girls and boys during the global emergency caused by COVID-19”, she stressed.
EUROsociAL+ and AIAMP networks
The EU programme works through its Permanent Networks and Working Groups on three major key issues to protect the rights of citizens, impose the rule of law and seek reparation for victims: protection of victims and witnesses, criminal justice and gender, and the fight against corruption.
The Assembly formally adopted the “Santiago Guides for the Protection of Victims and Witnesses”, which was carried out with technical assistance from EUROsociAL+. It is a text of regional scope, which was initially approved in 2008 and which includes specific recommendations addressed to the persons ultimately responsible for public prosecutors’ and attorney generals’ offices. Updating this Guide directly impacts on social cohesion as it will provide greater support for victims who, in addition to being cared for during their procedural process will be ensured of protection, and will be able to receive support from relief and social agencies. To this end, the Guides emphasise the need for greater inter-institutional coordination and enable national prosecutors or attorneys to propose regulatory reforms or promote public policies that ensure victims are provided with these services, services that go beyond the criminal process.
The content of the document constitutes a transcendental milestone for the region regarding the right of citizens to be provided with adequate and effective access to justice. This exposes a much broader view taken by public prosecutors’ offices on criminal phenomenon, which makes clear that victim and witness support is a priority in their role as protectors of legality.
The work of the Specialised Network of Prosecutors against Corruption, which was created within AIAMP in 2017 under the coordination of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Brazil, has also been highlighted and has had technical assistance from EUROsociAL+ since its inception to improve the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, punishment and recovery of assets produced by corruption offences. A fundamental aspect of the Network’s work has been to make visible how corruption impacts women and girls in a different way. A diagnosis has been carried out that analyses how these effects occur in Latin America, particularly in relation to access to basic services and rights in exchange for sexual favours (sextortion), the facilitation of crimes such as human trafficking and impediments to the participation of women in politics, among other scenarios. To this end, an alliance has been created between the Specialised Network of Prosecutors against Corruption and AIAMP’s Trafficking in Persons Network with a joint work plan and strategy. Inter-institutional coordination mechanisms and tools have been promoted for the identification of risk maps to help fight this phenomenon, and a community of practice has been created on Capacity4dev.
The AIAMP Specialised Network on Gender, chaired by the Argentine Public Prosecutor’s Office, it is also supported by the EUROsociAL+ Gender Area, coordinated by Expertise France. Prominent at the Assembly was the value of the Regional Protocol on the Investigation of Gender Violence in Public and Private Spheres was also adopted, which includes the principles for action, the tools and procedures necessary to fight effectively against impunity and to ensure adequate protection and reparation for victims. The protocol has already been adopted by Guatemala and Chile and its incorporation into the regulations of other countries is expected. This Network is currently focusing its efforts on the preparation of a regional report on actions for the prevention and fight against gender violence in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, for which they have technical assistance from the the European Union.
