NATIONS

Council

GENERAL

E/CN.15/1996/12

20 March 1996

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

COMMISSION ON CRIME PREVENTION

AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Fifth session

Vienna, 21-31 May 1996

Item 3 of the provisional agenda [*E/CN.15/1996/1.]

V.96-81681T

Paragraphs, Page

INTRODUCTION 1-2, 2

I. SUBSTANTIVE BACKGROUND 3-11, 2

II. ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INSTITUTES COMPRISING THE

UNITED NATIONS CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

PROGRAMME NETWORK 12-39, 4

A. Publications and information 13-20, 4

B. Meetings and conferences 21-23, 5

C. Research projects 24-36, 6

D. Technical cooperation 37-39, 9

III. CONCLUSION 40-42, 10

1. The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, in its resolution 3/1, entitled "Violence against women and children", invited the institutes of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme network to report to the Commission at its fifth session on practical measures that could be taken in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice to combat violence against women and children. The Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 1995/27, section IV, invited those institutes to promote and undertake practical activities to eliminate violence against women, including the provision of training and advisory services, to develop proposals on other measures that could be taken in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice to eliminate violence against women and to submit a report on those issues to the Commission at its fifth session.

2. The Commission at its fourth session considered a report of the Secretary-General on activities of United Nations bodies and institutions with regard to the issue of violence against women and child-ren (E/CN.15/1995/15). That report highlighted past, present and envisaged activities concerning violence against women and children. It was considered in the light of the outcome of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Cairo from 29 April to 8 May 1995, in particular, the deliberations under agenda item 6, Ninth Congress resolution 8 [Note 1: Report of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Cairo, 29 April-8 May 1995 (A/CONF.169/16/Rev.1), chap. I. The report will subsequently be issued as a United Nations sales publication.] and the discussion at the workshop on the prevention of violent crime (A/50/373, annex). The Commission at its fourth session stressed the fact that violence against women was one of the most frequent forms of violence. In addition, the Commission noted that, at its third session and at the Ninth Congress, violence against women had emerged as an issue of pressing importance. It was stated that the Commission at its fifth session should discuss the formulation of a draft plan of action on the elimination of violence against women. [Note 2: Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1995, Supplement No. 10 (E/1995/30), para. 78.] The Commission will have before it a report of the Secretary-General on the draft plan of action (E/CN.15/1996/11).

3. Recommendations pertaining to violence against women in its various forms have been made, over the years, by the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the specialized policy-making bodies in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. These have contributed to progress on the understanding and treatment of this issue by the world community.

4. The first resolution on the matter was General Assembly resolution 40/36, on domestic violence, adopted on the recommendation of the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Milan from 26 August to 6 September 1975. In that resolution, the Assembly dealt with the matter from a criminological perspective, inviting Member States to adopt specific measures to make the crime prevention and criminal justice system more responsive to domestic violence, for example, by enacting criminal law and procedure and improving the situation and the fair treatment of the female victim.

5. An important step towards a more effective global criminal justice response to female victimization was taken by the Seventh Congress in considering the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of women as victims (A/CONF.121/16) and the report of the Secretary-General on the fair treatment of women by the criminal justice system (A/CONF.121/17 and Corr.1 and Add.1). Subsequently, the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Havana from 27 August to 7 September 1990, considered a report of the Secretary-General on domestic violence (A/CONF.144/17).

6. General Assembly resolution 45/114, on domestic violence, adopted on the recommendation of the Eighth Congress, emphasized a victimological perspective towards violence against women. The Ninth Congress, in its resolution 8,1 strongly condemned all violations of the human rights of women and urged Member States to adopt initiatives in order to eliminate all forms of violence against women. In the same resolution, the Ninth Congress recommended that the in-sessional working group of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, at its fourth session, should seek ways in which practical activities could be developed in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice to achieve the goal of preventing and eradicating violence against women.

7. Within its own specialized field of competence, the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, [*The Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Secretariat was upgraded to a division by the General Assembly in its resolution 50/214. For convenience, the Branch is referred to throughout the present report as the Division.] together with the institutes comprising the programme network, has contributed over the years to a number of activities of other United Nations programmes, most notably in the fields of human rights, children's rights and the advancement of women, in particular: the preparation of the report of the special rapporteur on the traffic in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others; the preparations for the world conferences on women and the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993; the formulation of the justice-related provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25, annex); and the preparation of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (General Assembly resolution 48/104), which contains a definition of violence against women.

8. The Division has long dealt with violence against females. In the early 1980s, it began to deal with the rights of women in justice administration, female victimization and gender-based discriminatory acts of violence, abuse and exploitation perpetrated against females, in the context of the differential treatment and handling of females, as offenders and victims, and their "fair treatment" by criminal justice systems, at all levels and stages of operations. The results of the United Nations Survey on the Situation of Women and the Administration of Criminal Justice Systems, 1970-1982, were presented to the Seventh Congress. [*See the report of the Secretary-General on the fair treatment of women by the criminal justice systems (A/CONF.121/17 and Corr.1 and Add.1), the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of women as victims of crime (A/CONF.121/16) and the working paper prepared by the Secretariat on youth, crime and justice (A/CONF.121/7).]

9. The Division has presented a number of technical policy-oriented reports and has undertaken various studies, programme activities and initiatives in attempting to promote "fair treatment" responses by criminal justice systems to female victimization. The issues that it has tackled have included the rights of women and girls in the administration of justice; the exploitation of trafficking in and prostitution of women and children; the specific needs of women prisoners; violence in the family; domestic violence; violence against females in institutions and in detention; women as victims of violence, abuse and exploitation; violence against females; the prevention of female criminality; juvenile justice and the prevention of delinquency, [**See the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules) (General Assembly resolution 40/33, annex), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines) (General Assembly resolution 45/112, annex) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (General Assembly resolution 45/113, annex); see also the working paper prepared by the Secretariat on youth, crime and justice (A/CONF.121/7).] and the equal participation of female personnel in justice administration at all levels.

10. More recently, the Division has provided input to the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-2001, and has become one of the partner agencies in the system-wide exercise to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (A/CONF.177/20, chap. I, resolution 1, annexes I and II), adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995, particularly in respect of strategic objectives D.1-D.3, on violence against women, and strategic objectives L.1-L.9, on the girl child (A/CONF.177/20, chap. I, resolution 1, annex II, paras. 124-130 and 274-285).

11. The Division has coordinated the activities of the institutes comprising the programme network and has benefited from its supportive and complementary activities and input, in fulfilling its global responsibilities and its mandates in respect of female victimization and the response thereto on the part of criminal justice systems. As can be seen in section II below, the activities of those institutes have progressively expanded in response to calls by the international community to accord priority to the elimination of violence against women. [***For example, after Strategies for Confronting Domestic Violence: a Resource Manual (ST/CSDHA/20), was issued by the Division in 1993, follow-up activities were undertaken to promote its usage through technical cooperation.]

12. The relevant activities undertaken by the institutes comprising the programme network are summarized below under the following categories: publications and information; meetings and conferences; research projects; and technical cooperation.

13. The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) has recently issued, inter alia, the following reports: Violence in the Family: An International Bibliography with Literature Review; [Note 3: Violence in the Family: An International Bibliography with Literature Review, UNICRI Issues and Reports series, No. 4, 1994.] an overview of problems and interventions related to violence against women and children in the family; and Women's Victimization in Developing Countries. [Note 4: Women's Victimization in Developing Countries, UNICRI Issues and Reports series, No. 5, 1995.]

14. UNICRI provided sexual assault data for the second edition of The World's Women 1995: Trends and Statistics, [Note 5: United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.XVII.2.] prepared by the Statistics Division of the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis of the Secretariat. And UNICRI prepared a paper on the victimization of women, the publication of which is forthcoming.

15. In cooperation with the departments of justice and of social welfare and health of Canada and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations, participated in the preparation of Strategies for Confronting Domestic Violence: a Resource Manual, [Note 6: ST/CSDHA/20.] which was designed for criminal justice practitioners. The European Institute financed the publication of the manual in English.

16. A contribution from the Government of Australia is enabling the Australian Institute of Criminology to provide comparative data on the effectiveness of different legal system responses to violence against women, for which a steering committee was established in January 1996 and workshops and programmes of research will end by June 1996.

17. The Australian Institute of Criminology has undertaken a review of policy-related research achievements regarding violence against women in Australia. The starting-point for its review was an extensive information search using its own database as a resource. The results of the search are being developed into a research bibliography. Other reviews on violence against women are being undertaken as activities of the clearing-house of the Institute.

18. Recent publications issued by the Australian Institute of Criminology include: Promise of Crime Prevention: Leading Crime Prevention Programmes, describing prevention strategies aimed at reducing violence against women and children, and Domestic Violence as a Form of Child Abuse: Identification and Prevention.

19. In 1995, the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy published a bibliography on the effects of organized crime on women and children, which is available in printed and electronic form.

20. Recent publications of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law include the following:

(a) A Guide to the Human Rights of Women: Global and Regional Standards Adopted by Intergovernmental and Non-Governmental Organizations and Professional Associations; [Note 7: G. Alfredsson and K. Tomaevski, eds., A Guide to the Human Rights of Women: Global and Regional Standards Adopted by Intergovernmental and Non-Governmental Organizations and Professional Associations (The Hague and London, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1995).]

(b) The Equal Status and Human Rights of Women: A Compilation of Country Reports from the Advanced International Programme in Lund; [Note 8: The Equal Status and Human Rights of Women: A Compilation of Country Reports from the Advanced International Programme in Lund (Lund, Sweden, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, 1994).]

21. UNICRI participated in the following events:

(a) Panel discussions, organized within the framework of the Fourth World Conference on Women, on women, drug abuse and addiction, on the human rights of women and on violence against women, its causes and consequences;

(b) The organization, within the framework of the Ninth Congress, of the workshop on the prevention of violent crime;

(c) The Expert Group Meeting on Measures to Eradicate Violence against Women, organized by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat, in collaboration with the Centre for Women's Leadership at Rutgers University. [*The meeting, held at Newark, New Jersey, from 4 to 8 October 1993, was aimed at assessing measures for eliminating violence against women, placing emphasis on causation, including the subordination of women in society, the lack of enforcement of criminal law and sanctions, and legitimization or non-criminalization of certain traditional victimizing practices not codified in criminal law. Special attention was given to the responsibility of the State in preventing the victimization of women. The Meeting was convened with a view to making a contribution to the work of the Commission on the Status of Women and of other bodies concerned.]

22. Since 1991, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute has organized an academic programme on the dissemination of human rights standards and democratic values. For the past two years, the programme has focused on countries in central and eastern Europe. The programme is interdisciplinary, involving aspects of law and the social sciences, and covers the areas of development and democratization. It is open for participants from developing countries and is primarily designed for women's organizations, senior staff members of government agencies responsible for issues related to equality and gender and researchers dealing with gender-related issues.

23. As an integral part of the programme, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute held a course in 1994 and 1995 on the equal status and human rights of women, focusing on human rights and gender-related issues, international standards of equality and policies aimed at enhancing gender equality. The course covers the protection of the human rights of women in all pertinent areas, encompassing civil, political, economic and social rights, as well as relevant issues of humanitarian law. It provides an overview not only of international human rights standards, but also of policies aimed at gender equality, parliamentary democratization and sustainable development. Attention has been paid to various methods of disseminating information on human rights. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute is planning to hold the course in 1996 as well. Other courses and activities in humanitarian law, focusing on women in armed conflict, are also being planned.

24. A UNICRI educational project on promoting women's action in substance abuse prevention in Mediterranean countries deals with women's rights, equality, sentencing female drug offenders and violence prevention. It is being carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and in consultation with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, the World Health Organization and the non-governmental organizations concerned; it is being funded by the European Commission. The first phase of the project deals with the role of women in drug abuse education. The second phase of the project, the implementation of which will take place in the period 1996-1998, will take a peer educational approach to demand reduction. [*Country reports on Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia will contain socio-demographic data on the status of women, legislation, drug abuse and related problems. Publication of a report in the UNICRI Issues and Reports series is envisaged for 1996.] Funding for the second phase is still being explored.

25. The Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders has been involved in a number of relevant regional projects. It conducted a regional training project on domestic violence in the period 1991-1993, the goal of which was to develop and implement a standing training programme for justices of the supreme court and for staff of the prison system of Costa Rica. The main results of the project were:

(a) Preparation, validation and implementation of three training modules and support material (on a gender-specific theoretical legal approach to violence, on violence against women and girls and on women and justice) that were included in the permanent judicial and prison training programmes;

(b) Training of 545 technical staff members from Costa Rica and 10 officials from other Central American countries in the prison and judicial systems;

(c) Publication of several training manuals, 160 information leaflets on women and justice, 160 leaflets on violence against women and children and 60 leaflets on elements of non-sexist research;

(d) Formation and training of teams of therapists within the prison system of Costa Rica to deal with the treatment and rehabilitation of sex offenders and with victim support;

(e) Creation, within the prison system, of group treatment programmes for physical and sex offenders and for victims of intra-family violence;

(f) Provision of technical assistance to the national inter-institutional commission of the Government of Costa Rica in the revision of legislation and practice for the prevention and control of violence against women;

(g) Provision of technical assistance to the legislative commission responsible for drafting legislation on violence against women.

26. The Latin American Institute's training of trainers project on domestic violence for police in the national police school of the Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica was conducted from July to October 1995. The project was aimed at developing and implementing a permanent training programme on domestic violence for instructors of the national police school. The main results of the projects were:

(a) Preparation, validation and implementation of a training of trainers manual for the police that incorporated the prevention and control of violence against women and children in the basic police training curriculum at the school;

(b) Development of a practical judicial instrument by police working on cases of family violence, such as a pocket manual on legal procedures.

27. The Latin American Institute's El Salvador project on the prevention and control of violence against women and children and their human rights, which was conducted for 15 months, was aimed at contributing to the reduction and elimination of human rights violations against women and children and the prevention and control of family violence. The main results of the project were:

(a) Training of police forces and the validation of results;

(b) Sensitization of deans and professors of university schools of law, social work, psychology and sociology;

(c) Training of community workers in El Salvador;

(d) Dissemination of information on the experience gained in other countries in the region.

28. The Latin American Institute's research project on the situation of female inmates in Central American countries focused on the status of women in detention. Phase I, conducted in the period 1993-1995, was aimed at contributing to the improvement of the administration of justice and involved an analysis of the situation of women detainees in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. Phase II involved a continuation of research in other countries in the region to evaluate action to improve the situation of women detainees. The main results of the project were:

(a) Preparation of a diagnostic study of the situation of women inmates in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama in order to identify the principal strengths and weaknesses of the system with regard to respect for the human rights of the population;

(b) Formation and training in violence, self-esteem and human rights of administration of justice officials from prison centres, women's sentence completion centres, public defence departments and non-governmental organizations;

(c) Conducting of workshops among governmental and non-governmental entities for the analysis of actions to improve the situation of women inmates.

29. The project on women, justice and gender of the Latin American Institute, conducted in the period 1993-1995, was aimed at encouraging training and technical assistance on the improvement of the status of women in the administration of justice, from a gender perspective, and focusing on the judiciary. The main results of the project were:

(a) Conducting of studies leading to an improved judicial approach to women;

(b) Preparation of a manual on the training of trainers and training methodology; [*The methodology has been incorporated into university study programmes in Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. In the application of the methodology, training and other forms of technical assistance in different areas of law have been provided to the Latin American Parliament, the Central American Parliament and the legislative assemblies of Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru.]

(c) Development of model legislation for family, criminal and labour law for the Latin American Parliament;

(d) Conducting of 55 seminars, workshops and courses in 16 countries in the region;

(e) Development of curriculum reforms in universities in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru and Venezuela for the purpose of incorporating the gender perspective in the law and social work study plans.

30. Project-related activities in 1996 will include a continuation of the following activities: training and other forms of technical assistance being provided under the programme; curricula reforms in the schools of law, social work and sociology in countries in the region for the purpose of incorporating the gender perspective in their study programmes; promotion and dissemination of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (General Assembly resolution 34/180, annex) among criminal justice personnel in the region; and research and work on violence, law and gender with regard to discriminated populations of women and girls.

31. The Australian Institute of Criminology has initiated a new research project on violence against women indicators, aimed at compiling and consolidating existing research on criminal justice responses to violence against women in order to provide the Government of Australia with reliable national data on the subject. The project is to establish a framework for ongoing data compilation and analysis and the development of indicators required for a national approach to the collection of data on violence against women. The project will involve the following activities: assessment and description of the availability of reliable criminal justice data on violence against women (domestic violence and sexual assault in particular); promotion of compatibility and usefulness of criminal justice data collections; annual compilation and analysis of data, by country and by jurisdiction; and development of indicators for a national, coordinated approach to the collection of data on violence against women.

32. Supplementary research projects of the Australian Institute of Criminology are expected to further an understanding of obstacles to women's access to justice in relation to violence against women. Research could include field studies designed to assess the views of women on the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in meeting their special needs. A series of workshops on the topic will assist in the coordination process. The compilation and publication of data, by country and by jurisdiction, are also being planned.

33. The Arab Security Studies and Training Centre has undertaken research on family violence and the maltreatment of female spouses. It has found that role conflict, especially within the family, has become a growing problem of societies in transition, leading to frustration, which in turn translates into expressions of various forms of aggression. It has been found that, in the subregion, most acts of violence in the family, except those resulting in death, do not come to light. Nevertheless, based on a number of court cases, it appeared that the maltreatment of female spouses was on the rise, particularly among inhabitants of cities in which the movement for the emancipation of women appeared to be a phenomenon. In the course of its research and studies, the Centre has found the following variables to be associated with violence against women in the family: age, level of education, social position, area of residence and psychological state of mind. In one study, the Centre conducted interviews of female victims at Beirut and Tripoli.

34. The International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, in cooperation with other institutes in the programme network and together with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the Justice Institute of British Columbia, is developing a training project on domestic violence that will result in an adaptable training curriculum and delivery plan that could be of assistance to requesting States in terms of strengthening their capacity to eliminate domestic violence. For that endeavour, the Centre created an international advisory committee, composed of 25 representatives from governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the first meeting of which was held in January 1995.

35. In connection with the training project, courses will be offered in different regions. The primary target group is criminal justice practitioners from different agencies; the secondary target group includes policy makers, social workers and other individuals working on matters related to domestic violence. UNICRI will assist the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control in holding in Slovenia in 1996 a pilot course for countries in central and eastern Europe, in cooperation with Slovene authorities. Consultations have been held with authorities of Estonia and Poland on the possibility of organizing a course for their criminal justice practitioners.

36. The International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council developed a research project related to the traffic in women and children. The Council also conducted research on conjugal violence in the Milan area, based on a study of sentences imposed by the Milan courts between 1986 and 1988. The results of the research, which were published in 1990, highlighted the many causal factors involved in conjugal violence in the area at all levels of society. It was found that, in the cases reviewed, female victims were alone in confronting the problem; they enjoyed little social and legal protection but had hopes of escaping the violence and exercising their legal rights.

37. The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Hungary, organized the central and eastern European training course and workshop on domestic violence, held at Budapest in April 1994, to discuss follow-up to the publishing of Strategies for Confronting Domestic Violence: a Resource Manual. The participants in the workshop made the following recommendations, applicable to countries in central and eastern Europe: [*Services established for the victims of domestic violence in many countries, often by voluntary non-governmental organizations, were reported to be of the nature of telephone hotlines and counselling. They were typically lacking in resources, being effected significantly by the adverse economic situation in the region. Housing shortages had the affect of forcing victims and perpetrators of domestic violence to continue to cohabit, even after divorce. In several countries police intervention generally followed a victim complaint. It appeared that criminal justice personnel were not prepared to deal with domestic violence and thus were not fulfilling their role as well as might be expected. In a number of countries, criminal law and procedures were reported to be under review, thus affording an important opportunity for reformative legislative action. There appeared to be a need for research on the matter, as well as for an integrated approach thereto.] criminal law and procedure should be reviewed to determine any discriminatory provisions and effects; consideration should be given to making rape in marriage a criminal offence; criminal justice practitioners should be sensitized to the dynamics of domestic violence; the police should be given specific and intensive training in crisis intervention and in the collection of evidence in domestic disputes. Training modules for police, prosecutors and judges should be developed, in line with the principles outlined in Strategies for Confronting Domestic Violence; Governments should be made aware of the importance of providing and funding facilities and services, including telephone hotlines, crisis centres, refuges and the like, for victims; non-violent education should be promoted at all levels of formal education and in public education and awareness-raising campaigns; and all forms of media should be used to raise awareness of domestic violence and to provide information to victims and perpetrators of options and available services.

38. The African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders has addressed the issue of women as victims of crime, including violence, in some of its activities, particularly in the context of its training seminar on victims of crime and the prevention of victimization in Africa, held in 1992, and its training workshop on law, women and crime in Africa, held in 1994. The African Institute is currently developing a proposal for a training workshop on violence against women in Africa, to be held in 1996, for which preliminary negotiations on funding have been undertaken.

39. Initiatives of the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy contributed to efforts to combat domestic violence through the development of a training curriculum for criminal justice professionals. In 1995, the Centre's international advisory committee on domestic violence, comprised of experts from the United Nations and, federal and provincial government and experts from abroad, met at Vancouver, Canada, to consider a programme delivery plan for implementing a training programme and the development of a core training curriculum. Developed with the assistance of the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the curriculum was revised on the basis of the input of the advisory committee and will be further revised to reflect practical experience gained as a result of project courses in several regions, as well as the insights offered through consultations held at the international level. The Centre provided the curriculum for use by the European Institute for a project in Slovenia and is exploring the feasibility of preparing a training course in Indonesia, as well as assisting the Latin American Institute and the African Institute in their training initiatives.