Mozambique launch manual for investigation and criminal procedure on Wildlife crimes
Attorney General, Beatriz Buchili, and the United States Ambassador, Dean Pitmman, launching the new Manual for Investigation and Criminal Procedure on Wildlife Crimes
The Attorney General, Beatriz Buchili, and the United States Ambassador, Dean Pitmman, launched the new Manual for Investigation and Criminal Procedure on Wildlife Crimes at a formal public event at the Attorney General’s Office in Maputo. The manual was developed, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through SPEED+ Project, as a training tool and reference for investigators and prosecutors on how to successfully prosecute organized crime cases involving wildlife trafficking.
The legal manual is a reference guide to be used by public sector magistrates, prosecutors and investigators in cases of crimes against the environment. The legal handbook focuses on the crime of wildlife, crime investigation techniques and criminal networks, witness protection, among other related matters.
The population of Mozambique’s wildlife, especially elephant and rhinos, has decreased significantly due to poaching and wildlife trafficking. Over the past 50 years, Mozambique’s elephant population decreased from 50,000 to less than 10,000, and rhinos are extinct.
“The manual will also serve to transmit didactic information and good practices to the prosecutors working in districts with high incidence of wildlife crime” said the Mozambican Attorney-General, Beatriz Buchili
The first training on the use of this legal handbook took place at Gorongosa National Park on September 17, 2018, and two more trainings will be held for prosecutors, investigators, and wildlife law enforcement officers in the provinces of Niassa and Gaza.
"We strongly encourage the Government of the Republic of Mozambique to extend the scope of this manual to the police, rangers and other officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of wildlife crimes" noted United States Ambassador, Dean Pitmman
The Mozambique Attorney General’s Office and its Central Anti-Corruption Office are long-time U.S. Government partners. In 2017, the U.S. Mission, through USAID, entered into an agreement with the Attorney General’s Office to implement the milestone-based two-year Wildlife Crime Prosecution Support Program.