At the same ceremony, certificates of training of trainers were also delivered to Technicians and Justice Officials within the scope of PACED, according to a note sent to Lusa.
The manual was developed by 28 technicians and justice officials from the Supreme Court, Superior Council for the Judiciary, Attorney General's Office, Criminal Investigation Services and Angola's provincial courts, divided into three groups, of inquiry, judgment and appeal, jointly with the trainer-coordinators and the coordination of the training of the National Institute of Judicial Studies (INEJ).
According to the note, this manual is available for free access and will also be distributed in future national trainings.
The first phase of training and judicial training for technicians and justice officers, provided by the Training Center of the Directorate-General for Administration of Justice (DGAJ) of the Ministry of Justice of Portugal, in conjunction with the INEJ, the Ministry of Justice and the Human Rights of Angola, was completed in December 2020.
"As the end of the PACED implementation period approaches, it is important to underline the high rate of technical execution of the project, with more than 2500 participants in training activities and 9610 participants in conferences, workshops and seminars, making a total of 12,151 people, of which 7796 participated in the activities in digital/online format and 4355 participated in person", underlines the note.
The deputy head of mission of the Portuguese embassy in Angola, José Correia, who was speaking on behalf of Ambassador Francisco Duarte Alegre, underlined that 94.2 percent of technical execution had been achieved in the implementation of PACED, and 90.8 percent of financial execution.
José Correia highlighted that five of the six PACED partner countries improved their position in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, released by Transparency International (TI).
"Angola, for example, rose two positions in the list and now occupies the 136th position, with 29 points, maintaining the trend of improvement for the fourth consecutive year", he said.
Regarding the manual, José Correia stressed that it is "a different work" that is part of a training plan with different phases, developed in partnership with the DGAJ Training Center and INEJ, which focused on the training of 28 national and in creating innovative tools.
"It was not an easy or quick job. It was an innovative work, essentially collaborative and with a practical concern, carried out by technicians and justice officials from Angola, in a disinterested way, often under difficult conditions", he stressed.
The note underlines that the production of specific manuals for PACED's partner institutions, in the context of preventing and fighting corruption, money laundering and organized crime, in particular, drug trafficking, was one of the project's priorities, in addition to this Manual of the Angolan Penal Process, nine other publications launched within the scope of PACED with universal and free access on the project's website.
PACED, scheduled to last until this month, has a global budget of 8.4 million euros, financed through the 10th European Development Fund of the European Union, co-financed and managed by Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language.
PACED is part of the Multiannual Regional Program between the European Union, its Member States and the PALOP and Timor-Leste, and its objectives are the affirmation and consolidation of the Rule of Law, as well as the prevention and fight against corruption, money laundering and organized crime in particular and drug trafficking.
Its intervention focuses on actions aimed at institutionally empowering the competent authorities at the legislative, executive and judicial levels, promoting the exchange and sharing of knowledge and good practices.
