The UNDOC and UPS senior management held a consultative meeting on the Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism in Prisons at the Sheraton Hotel.

With the terrorism threat Worldwide, it has become is increasingly evident that the prison environment is a fertile ground for recruitment and radicalization of prisoners detained for different offences into violent extremism.

The consultation meeting between UPS Senior Management and UNODC was to update senior management on the progress of the implementation of the Joint Global Programme in Uganda.

The existing curriculum for training prisons officers in Uganda was developed before the problem of violent extremism was an issue and as such did not cover the subject of violent extremism in the prison context and how prisons officers can prevent and counter such.

The Commissioner General of Uganda Prisons Service, Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, and Ms. Vera Tkachenko, the Global Programme Coordinator, Justice Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) based at UNODC Headquarters, Vienna, Austria officially launched the publications which have been in development for the past one year between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime under the Joint Global Programme “Supporting the Management of Violent Extremist Prisoners and the Prevention of Radicalization to Violence in Prisons” with trainers from the Prisons Academy and Training School of the Uganda Prisons Service .

The commissioner General of Prisons Can. Dr. J. O. R Byabashaija applauded the UNODC for developing tools that will be used in preventing radicalization and reducing the spread of violent extremism in Prisons and pledged full support in the improvement and implementation of the developed tools focusing on four (4) key priority areas of security and safety mechanisms in Prisons; Risks and needs assessments of Prisoners; Prisons based disengagement interventions and social rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.

The Uganda Prisons Service is currently in custody of 102 inmates on terrorism related charges of which nine (9) are convicted and 93 are still undergoing trials.

Ms. Vera Tkachenko, the UNODC global coordinator extended much gratitude to the Uganda Prisons Service top management for the continued partnership in reducing violence in Uganda, "Our major challenges have been congestion in Prisons globally brought about by poor living conditions, case back logs and increase in prison population". She added.

The objective of this initiative by UNODC and UPS is to contribute to strengthening the resilience of prisoners against violent extremism and radicalization while respecting human rights standards.