I never thought I would present on my back!
Meeting the energetic ‘Judge’ – the latest expert to join our panel of e-Evidence gurus for UNODC – was quite the spectacle!
Using his vast experience of Pakistan and the region we were entertained with his ‘can do’ attitude. This infectious approach will no doubt have the desired impact for all those that attended the UNODC and EU funded workshop on requesting e-Evidence across borders in counter-terrorism and organised crime investigations.
This decorated veteran – with a purple heart worn proudly on his blazer lapel – even got me to lay flat out in one session – a unique way to demonstrate how inactivity effects international cooperation!
Having a briefing on the cabinet approved Mutual Legal Assistance Bill for Pakistan, seeing how the different agencies worked together to solve our cross-border exercises and the inquisitive questions to the service providers attending – demonstrated the willingness to learn and no doubt take the experiences into practice.
This was also the first opportunity to share the printed Practical Guide for Requesting e-Evidence Across Borders and demonstrate the recently launched online directory for competent authorities for counter-terrorism investigations on the UNODC Sherloc portal.
I can’t leave a post about Pakistan without fondly remembering my mentor Ian Dawson. After moving from my home city to London, Ian took me under his wing as I faced the daunting prospect of working on trans-border cases. Ian took on this challenge, as he often said, to smooth my rough edges. Some would say he didn’t completely succeed, but he also inspired me to work overseas, after he was our first UK Liaison Prosecutor to Pakistan. Ian made great friends in Islamabad and beyond, as his work became an exemplar for combining capacity building with advancing international cooperation. I owe him so much, including giving me the courage to talk for the first time to my now wife! Ian sadly passed away six years ago, but his influence and inspiration remains strong!
Great stuff! And Ian Dawson was a rock star. Much missed.