EL PAcCTO launches the Covid Channel for information exchanges between Europe and Latin America

This communication channel is called the Covid Channel and includes 17 Latin American countries which EL PAcCTO is working with, as well as France, Italy, Portugal and Spain in Europe. It is the first initiative of its kind to promote the coordination, cooperation and prevention of the pandemic in the two regions.

The pandemic first hit Europe, before reaching Latin America, which is why EL PAcCTO considers it is essential to share the lessons learned between peers.
 

Sharing information on cybercrime

The law enforcement officials from the two regions – Europe and Latin America – are already sharing information and lessons learned about the situation. A colonel from the Spanish Civil Guard has been appointed coordinator of the Covid Channel and is in contact with colleagues from several Latin American countries to inform them about the coordination needs and efforts arising from the health crisis in Spain.

The importance of the data exchanged on the technological crimes detected should be noted. Crime never stops and ransomware has been adapted to the health crisis. There is currently a proliferation of fake websites, phishing e-mails containing malicious files and fraudulent applications for mobile phones. All this information is shared between the two regions.

Situation in prisons and coordination in the judicial system

The team of the prison component of EL PAcCTO has also held a video conference with experts from the Italian Department of Prison Administration and representatives of Channel Covid in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Paraguay.

This first meeting analysed the challenges facing prisons in Latin America and Europe due to the health crisis. Recommendations were shared and the needs of Latin American countries to address this emergency were identified. The objective is to be able to rapidly launch the initial cooperation actions under the Covid Channel.

In terms of the judicial systems, the experts appointed to coordinate the Covid Channel met to clarify the strategy to be followed in the coming weeks to support Latin American judicial institutions. The programme will act separately but in a coordinated manner to support the judicial branches, Prosecutors’ Offices and Ministries of Justice. The objective is to strengthen the existing international mechanisms in order to address the initial phase of the epidemic.

EL PAcCTO: Fighting against organised transnational crime

EL PAcCTO is an international cooperation programme financed by the European Union with a 5-year budget of EUR 19m. Its main objective is to promote security for citizens and the rule of law in Latin America by fighting more effectively against organised transnational crime. It concerns the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

It is the first time that a European regional programme has worked with all the actors in the criminal justice system to strengthen cooperation. It has three components (police, judicial and prison cooperation) with five crosscutting areas (cybercrime, corruption, human rights, gender equality and money laundering) and includes two closely related complementary projects (EL PAcCTO: Support to AMERIPOL and INTERPOL: Support to EL PAcCTO). The Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Públicas, FIIAPP, (Spain) and Expertise France (France) are responsible for the implementation of the programme with support from IILA (Italy) and Camões (Portugal).

More about the EL PAcCTO programme: www.elpaccto.eu

EL PAcCTO on Twitter: @ELPAcCTO