UNODC

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

President: Jeshua Isaí Jordan López

Chair:

Topic A) Measures to address human trafficking for forced criminality in scam compounds across the Mekong sub-region, with emphasis on transnational cooperation and the protection of trafficking victims.

Topic B) Strategies to dismantle the laundering of drug trafficking profits enabled by corruption in the Sahel region, with emphasis on the cocaine route between South America and Europe.

Background and faculties

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was founded in 1997 to assist member states in addressing illicit drugs, crime and extremism to achieve the fulfillment of human rights and development. UNODC emerged after the unification of the United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, due to the need for a more efficient agency to counteract the growth of transnational drug trafficking networks that encompassed both drug trafficking and criminal activities such as human trafficking, government corruption and the financing of armed groups. It adopted its current name in 2002. UNODC has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and a network of field offices in around 150 countries, working with governments to identify current criminal trends and threats through strategic and efficient action.

In order to establish mechanisms and promote cooperation in response to the increasing challenges posed by illicit drug trafficking, organized crime, corruption and extremism, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is entitled to:

Provide technical assistance and specialized training for law enforcement personnel, judicial authorities, healthcare professionals and social workers in accordance with international legal frameworks;
Advise Member States on criminal justice policies and legal reforms in accordance with UNCAC and UNTOC frameworks;
Promote rehabilitation programs, alternative livelihood initiatives and drug prevention strategies in cooperation with Member States and public health institutions;
Promote cooperation networks among Member States, judicial institutions, law enforcement agencies and civil society organizations to combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime;
Collect and analyze data regarding criminal trends and the impact of international anti-crime initiatives in order to support Member State policymaking;
Support prison and judicial reform initiatives aimed at strengthening human rights protections and social reintegration mechanisms.