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Writ ing/edit ing: Raggie Johansen, Alun Jones Pict ures: M elit t a Borovansky- König
Dist ribut ion: M arie- Thérèse Kiriaky Layout and design: Nancy Cao
This publicat ion has not been formally edit ed.
The boundaries, names and designat ions used in all maps in t his report do not imply official endorsement or accept ance by t he Unit ed Nat ions. Cover: The "Journey" exhibit ion on modern- day slavery at t he Vienna Forum t o Fight Human Trafficking in February.
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22000088:: aa mmiilleessttoonnee ffoorr iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall ddrruugg ccoonnttrrooll . . . 9
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IInntteeggrriittyy aanndd ggoooodd ggoovveerrnnaannccee:: aatt tthhee ttoopp ooff tthhee aaggeennddaa . . . 39
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2009 marks a centenary of drug control. One hundred years ago, a select group of States met in Shanghai to address a global opium epidemic. Since then, the world's supply of illicit drugs has been reduced dramatically. Over the past few years, drug use and production have stabilized. Still, there are too many illicit drugs in the world, too many people suffering from addiction, and too much crime and violence associated with the drugs trade.
This A nnual Reportprovides an overview of what UNODC is doing to address the threat posed by drugs and crime.
Concerning drugs, the Office's crop surveys keep the world informed about the amount of opium in Afghanistan and South-East Asia, and the amount of coca in the Andean countries. In 2008, a Global A ssessment sounded the alarm about the use of amphetamine-type stimulants, particularly in the developing world.
Operationally, UNODC has rallied regional and interna-tional cooperation to stem the flow of Afghanistan's opium (through the Paris Pact), and to address the threat posed by drug trafficking to the security of West Africa. We are stepping up our engagement in Central America and the Caribbean to reduce the vulnerability of these regions to drugs and crime.
UNODC is a leader in enhancing drug prevention and treatment, and in assisting states to reduce the adverse health and social consequences of drug abuse (includ-ing the spread of HIV through inject(includ-ing drug use). After all, health is the first principle of drug control.
The Office is expanding its portfolio of crime control activities to strengthen the rule of law. This is not only
an important end in itself, it is the basis for socio-economic growth. In that sense, it can be considered a prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
In 2008, a major focus was on fighting human trafficking—a cause which gained considerable atten-tion and momentum as a result of the Vienna Forum against Human Trafficking.
The Office is stepping up its work against other emerging forms of crime, like environmental crime, and maritime piracy, particularly around the Horn of Africa. UNODC is also deepening its engagement in peacebuilding and peacekeeping operations to strengthen criminal justice in post-conflict situations.
Corruption enables crime, and is a crime in itself. UNODC therefore works with States to fight corruption, take action against money-laundering, prevent terror-ism financing, and recover stolen assets. This takes on added significance as criminals exploit the economic crisis to launder the proceeds of crime through a financial system starved of liquidity.
As this A nnual Report demonstrates, in an unstable world, the information and expertise provided by UNODC are in high demand. In response, UNODC is expanding its portfolio, and becoming active in new issues and theatres.
Antonio Maria Costa Executive Director
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
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coonnttrrooll..One hundred years have passed since the first international drug control conference, the 1909 International Opium Commission in Shanghai. The year 2008 also marks the end of a decade since the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem. Today, there is a high level of international consensus on drug control.
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Gooaallss..Where the rule of law is weak or absent, crime and corruption hold back development and participatory government. The rule of law is a cross-cutting issue, and strengthening the rule-of-law component of development assistance thus helps coun-tries attain the Millennium Development Goals.
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crriimmee ppoolliicciieess..Substance abuse and dependence is a public health, developmental and security problem. UNODC calls for a comprehensive approach to drug abuse in which prevention and treatment of substance use disorders make up the initial stages. Provision of public health facilities to reduce the harmful consequences of drug abuse complete the approach.
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Moonneeyy--llaauunnddeerriinngg aanndd tthhee lliinnkk ttoo tteerrrroorriissmm ffiinnaanncciinngg..
Money-laundering is the method by which criminals disguise the illegal origins of their wealth and protect their asset bases. Terrorist organizations employ tech-niques not dissimilar to criminal money-launderers to disguise money.
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Toowwaarrddss jjuussttiiccee aanndd sseeccuurriittyy ffoorr aallll..
Crime, usually organized and often transnational, profits from instability and tends to perpetuate it. Human trafficking is one example. UNODC and the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) are working to eradicate this crime that shames us all.
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UNODC's A mphetamines and Ecstasy: 2008 Global ATS
A ssessmentshows that although the number of people who have used amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) at least once in the last 12 months has stabilized, increases have occurred in parts of the world that previously had small ATS-related problems.
IInntteeggrriittyy aanndd ggoooodd ggoovveerrnnaannccee:: aatt tthhee ttoopp ooff tthhee aaggeennddaa..Across the world, corruption undermines democracy and impedes economic development. UNODC encourages good gover-nance by helping countries, particu-larly those with vulnerable, developing or transitional economies, to prepare and use solid anti-corruption measures applicable to all spheres of society.
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crriimmee aanndd tteerrrroorriissmm..Many of the issues on UNODC's agenda call for regional responses. The UNODC-coordinated Rainbow Strategy, which engages both Afghanistan and surrounding countries in finding solutions to the threat posed by Afghan opiates, is one of many examples.
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Sttrraatteeggyy iimmpplleemmeennttaattiioonn aanndd eexxppeennd dii--ttuurreess.. As part of working towards results-based management, UNODC is making the links between the medium-term strategy and the ing its partnerships to pool expertise and leverage resources.
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The following abbreviations have been used in this report:
ANCAP Administracion Nacional de Combustible Alcohol y Portland ANTEL Administracion Nacional de Telecomunicaciones de Uruguay
ATS amphetamine-type stimulants (methamphetamine, amphetamine, ecstasy) CARICOM Caribbean Community
EC European Commission
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
FIU Financial Intelligence Unit ILO International Labour Organization
INTERPOL International Criminal Police Organization IOM International Organization for Migration
MDGs United Nations Millennium Development Goals NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO non-governmental organization OAS Organization of American States
OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OIF Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
SICA Central American Integration System StAR Stolen Asset Recovery
UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNCAC United Nations Convention against Corruption
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNDEF United Nations Democracy Fund
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UN.GIFT United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
UNMAS United Nations Mine Action Service UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
UNTFHS United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security
UNTOC United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime
WHO World Health Organization
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The League of Nat ions is est ablished and becomes t he cust odian of t he Opium Convent ion. Geneva, 1920.
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Today’s international drug control system is rooted in efforts made a century ago to address the largest sub-stance abuse problem the world has ever faced: the Chinese opium epidemic. At the turn of the century, millions of Chinese were addicted to opium, which was freely traded across borders at the time. China’s attempts to unilaterally address the problem failed, and it became clear that finding a solution would require an international approach.
As a result of international pressure, drug-producing nations sat down at the negotiating table for the first time at the International Opium Commission, held in Shanghai in 1909. This Commission gave rise to the first international legal instrument dealing with psychoactive substances, the Hague Opium Convention of 1912.
The story of the Chinese opium problem and the reac-tion it brought about represents an influential chapter in international efforts to restrict substance production and abuse. Countries established several legal agree-ments in this area, and by mid-century, the licit trade in narcotics had largely been brought under control. Given that many national economies had been as dependent on opium as the addicts themselves, this was a remarkable achievement.
However, the system of legal agreements was complex, and soon needed unification and simplification. Following 13 years of negotiation, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was adopted in 1961. Once it entered into force three years later, it superseded all previous international agreements. The Single Convention, alongside the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psycho-tropic Substances, define the international drug control system to this day.
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The year 2008 also marks the end of a decade since the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drug control, where countries pledged to increase their efforts to tackle the illicit drug problem. The Political Declaration which emanated from that session has been a valuable tool to spur national efforts and strengthen international cooperation. Major successes were registered in reducing the area under coca cultivation, for instance, in Peru and Bolivia in the 1990s, and in Colombia after 2000. Morocco reduced its cannabis resin produc-tion significantly from 2003-2005. Myanmar and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic reduced their opium production, although these successes were dwarfed by rising opium production in Afghanistan.
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2008: a milestone for
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Former Unit ed Nat ions Secret ary- General Kof i Annan addresses t he UN General Assembly Special Session on t he w orld drug problem, 1998.
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Today, there is a high level of international consensus on drug control. Adherence to the three main conven-tions is now almost universal, at some 95 per cent of all countries. These are among the highest rates of adherence to any of the United Nations multilateral legal instruments.
It is also easy to forget what the world was like before controls were in place, and what an achievement the international drug control system represents. Opium production is some 70 per cent lower than a century ago, even though the global population quadrupled over the same period. If opiate use had remained the same as in the early years of the 20th century, the world would have approximately 90 million opiate users, rather than the 17 million there are today. Besides, global illicit drug use still affects far fewer
people than the many millions who use legal psy-choactive substances such as tobacco and alcohol.
This is not to say that the work is done. Cocaine use grew last century. There are new, widely abused syn-thetic drugs which did not even exist a century ago. Illicit markets are an unavoidable and extremely prob-lematic consequence of international controls.
Moreover, the implementation of the drug control sys-tem has had several other unintended consequences. Controlling illicit markets demands a strong law enforcement response, which, given the finite resources of all countries, might take away resources from public health efforts. Also, successes in supply reduction in one place, tend to lead to increased drug production elsewhere. This has been observed in the Andean countries where production has shifted away from Peru and Bolivia towards Colombia. Finally, drug users are
UNODC out reach at t he EXIT M usic Fest ival in Serbia. Phot o: UNODC Serbia
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Doo ddrruuggss ccoonnttrrooll yyoouurr lliiffee??
Every year, UNODC and it s part ners commemorat e 26 June—t he Int ernat ional Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Traf f icking—w it h a campaign and a series of event s aimed at raising aw areness of t he major prob-lem t hat illicit drug use represent s t o societ y and par-t icularly par-t o young people.
The int ernat ional campaign DDoo ddrruuggss ccoonnttrrooll yyoouurr lliiffee?? YYoouurr lliiffee.. YYoouurr ccoommmmuunniittyy.. NNoo ppllaaccee ffoorr ddrruuggss communicat es t hat drugs af f ect all sect ors of societ y in all count ries. Drugs may cont rol t he body and mind of individual consumers, t he drug crop and drug car-t els may concar-t rol f armers, illicicar-t car-t raf f icking and crime may cont rol communit ies.
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often excluded from their societies and tainted by moral stigma. Even if they are motivated, they often encounter difficulties in finding treatment.
Over the next decade, making the drug control system more ‘fit for purpose’ will require a triple commitment: reaffirming the basic principles of multilateralism and the protection of public health; improving the per-formance of the control system by carrying out enforcement, prevention, treatment and harm reduc-tion simultaneously; and mitigating the unintended consequences.
The international community has a solid understand-ing of key aspects of the drug chain, in particular the levels of illicit drug cultivation and production, and how drug use represents a public health issue. However, drug trafficking and related organized crime remain grey areas. UNODC urges Member States to tackle these aspects more vigorously by ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
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The 2008 World Drug Report, launched on 26 June, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, shows that the recent stabilization in the world drugs market is under threat. While only some 0.6 per cent of the planet’s adult population can be classified as problem drug users (people with severe drug dependence), a surge in opium and coca cultiva-tion and the risk of higher drug use in developing countries threaten to undermine recent progress in drug control.
However, the A fghan Opium Survey 2008, released in November, brought some good news. It showed that opium cultivation declined by 19 per cent to 157,000 hectares, and production dropped by 6 per cent to 7,700 tons, thus reversing last year’s increases.
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The world cannabis market is stable or even slightly down. Cannabis herb production is estimated to be some 8 per cent lower than in 2004 and cannabis resin production declined by approximately 20 per cent between 2004 and 2006. Nevertheless, there are worry-ing trends. Afghanistan has become a major producer
of cannabis resin, perhaps exceeding Morocco. In developed countries, indoor cultivation is producing more potent strains of cannabis herb. The average level of the drug’s psychoactive substance (THC) almost doubled on the US market between 1999 and 2006.
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The report confirms that there has been a shift in major drug routes, particularly for cocaine. Because of high, steady demand for cocaine in Europe and more frequent seizures along traditional routes, drug traffickers have targeted West Africa. The region’s health and security is at risk.
UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa warned that “States in the Caribbean, Central America and West Africa, as well as the border regions of Mexico, are caught in the crossfire between the world’s biggest coca producers, the Andean countries, and the biggest consumers, North America and Europe.” This is a powerful threat to poor countries. Weak governments have great difficulties facing the onslaught of powerful drug barons.
The report also discloses the fear, although not yet backed up by solid evidence, of emerging markets for drugs in developing countries. High levels of domestic drug addiction will pose significant problems for weak States.
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In Colombia, UNODC support s t he Gulf Guardian Families Project t o prot ect and keep t he Gulf of Urabá in t he nort h- w est ern part of t he count ry f ree f rom illegal t rade in narcot ic drugs. The t hree component s of t he project are ecot ourism, handicraf t s and t radit ional f ishing. M ore t han 6,700 f amilies living in t he area are engaged in product ion act ivit ies and in environment al rest orat ion and prot ect ion.
The t ow n of Capurganá has long been f amous as a t ourist dest inat ion f or nat ure lovers and people w ho w ant t o relax by t he sea, f ar f rom t he hust le and bust le of t he big cit y. At t he Iracas de Belén Ecot ourism Cent re, visit ors can st ay in lodges built and decorat ed w it h local mat erials, only t en met res f rom t he sea. The Cent re is run by t he ow ners: 32 f amilies w ho have been t rained t o meet t he needs of t ourist s.
The communit y donat ed land f or t he Cent re, and every f amily played a part in t he project planning. They out -lined t heir priorit ies, saved money, got organized and set up t he Capurganá Ecot ourism Associat ion (Asecot uc). Part icipant s had t o acquire a range of t echnical, environ-ment al and business skills t o manage t he day- t o- day operat ion of t he Cent re.
Iracas de Belén has made a big dif f erence in t he commu-nit y. In t he w ords of M anuel Julio Rodríguez, Chairman of Asecot uc, “This is t he most import ant lif elong project t o have been launched in our region, and I am very proud of it . Thanks t o t his project , w e can look f orw ard t o a bright er f ut ure f or all.”
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Woorrkkiinngg ttooggeetthheerr aaccrroossss SSoouutthh--EEaasstt AAssiiaann bboorrddeerrss
To promot e communicat ion and cooperat ion bet w een dif f erent nat ional law enf orcement agencies w orking along t he borders, UNODC has helped est ablish some 50 Border Liaison Of f ices (BLOs) in t he Great er M ekong sub-region. BLOs are t ypically st af f ed by of f icers f rom law enf orcement agencies including narcot ics, border, local and immigrat ion police as w ell as cust oms of f icers. BLO of f icers pat rol t he borders and relay int elligence inf or-mat ion t o t heir count erpart s.
“Bef ore t he joint M ekong river pat rols, w hen (drug) t raf -f ickers along t he river realized t hey had been det ect ed, t hey simply moved over t o t he ot her side w here law en-f orcement oen-f en-f icials w ere not aw are oen-f t heir act ivit ies. They t hus escaped f rom arrest and w ere able t o cont inue t ransport ing t he drugs,” says a BLO of f icer at Chieng Khong, Thailand. This BLO in nort hern Thailand has coop-erat ed w it h it s Lao People’s Democrat ic Republic coun-t erparcoun-t acoun-t Bokeo since 2005.
Current ly, BLOs f ocus on drug t raf f icking only. How ever, in 2009, UNODC w ill support t he expansion of t he BLO mechanism t o cover human t raf f icking, migrant smuggling, environment al and w ildlif e crimes, in co-operat ion w it h t he Unit ed Nat ions Environment Programme and int ernat ional NGOs.
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Maajjoorr ddrruugg sseeiizzuurree iinn TTaajjiikkiissttaann
The UNODC- t rained and support ed M obile Deployment Team (M DT) of t he Tajik int erior minist ry in 2008 made t he biggest single drug seizure in t he count ry’s hist ory. Some 560 kg of drugs w ere seized; mainly hashish, but also almost 30 kg of heroin.
The M DT w as est ablished w it hin t he f ramew ork of a UNODC project t o st rengt hen cont rols along t he Tajik-Af ghan border. The project aims t o ident if y, invest igat e, int erdict and prosecut e t hose groups involved in illicit drug t raf f icking. The seizure t ook place during t he search of a t ruck at a road checkpoint .
The M obile Deployment Team became operat ional in January 2008, having been f ully equipped and t rained by UNODC. The 15 st af f members of t he M DT w ere select ed on a compet it ive basis and underw ent specialized t rain-ing on undercover operat ions, risk analysis, search t ech-niques, inf ormant handling and int elligence analysis.
In 2008, t he M DT carried out a subst ant ial number of operat ions, including joint operat ions w it h ot her law enf orcement agencies. As a result of M DT act ivit ies, 16 persons w ere det ained and more t han 900 kg of drugs seized.
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St af f members of t he Dong Kror Lor Border Liaison Of f ice, Cambodia. Phot o: UNODC East Asia and t he Pacif ic
Homeless child sleeping on t he st at ue of Lady Just ice, Federal Supreme Court of Just ice, Brasilia, Brazil.
Promoting the rule of law, nationally and internation-ally, is at the heart of the global work of the United Nations. The rule of law refers to a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private—including the State itself— are subject to public laws that are equally enforced and independently applied, and that are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.
The safeguarding of all human rights ultimately depends on proper governance and administration of justice. In fact, the rule of law is a cross-cutting issue, and the foundation upon which the achieve-ment of most of the Millennium Developachieve-ment Goals (MDGs) rests.
Economic analysis has consistently shown a clear correlation between weak rule of law and weak socio-economic performance. Some observers also report a cause-effect relationship: in countries ravaged by crime and corruption, and where governments have lost control of their territory, the poor suffer the most. Services are either delayed or never arrive. Citizens have poor access to justice, health and education and often face rising food prices.
Poorly governed countries are the most vulnerable to crime and pay the highest price in terms of erosion of social and human capital, loss of domestic savings, reduction of foreign investment, white-collar exodus (“brain drain”), increased instability and faltering democracy. Seen in this light, the rule of law takes on a whole new importance: when established, it can unleash the welfare potential of nations. When it is lacking, underdevelopment perpetuates itself and countries risk not achieving the MDGs.
The United Nations is improving system-wide co-herence through the “One UN” concept. UNODC’s
main contribution is to strengthen the rule-of-law component of development assistance. Doing so will increase aid effectiveness and ensure that socio-economic growth is based on, and benefits from, a sound legal and institutional framework.
UNODC continues to break down institutional walls in tackling drugs, crime and terrorism, and takes a comprehensive approach to building security and justice. To this end, UNODC is developing partnerships with other agencies working in this area, whether at the headquarters level to develop joint tools and guidance or, more importantly, to provide technical assistance. For example, UNODC has developed a programme on training law enforcement and legal justice sectors in responding to domestic violence within the United Nations/Viet Nam Joint Programme on Gender Equality.
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Rule of law:
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Achieving universal primary educat ion is one of t he M illennium Development Goals.
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Moreover, UNODC has built a number of strategic partnerships with the United Nations Development Programme: for example, with its Programme on Governance in the Arab Region, in particular in the area of support for implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Efforts in that partnership include building the capacity of judicial systems to handle economic disputes, assisting with enforcement of judgements and bolstering judicial independence and integrity.
UNODC has also developed a joint workplan with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which includes producing a set of tools related to justice for children, establishing indicators on juvenile justice,
providing training on child victims and witnesses and various field-based programmes in this area. The work has been done within the framework of the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice.
At the same time, UNODC has participated in the UNICEF-led initiative to adopt a common United Nations approach on justice for children. This is being done to assist United Nations entities in leveraging support through partners to work on broader agendas related to rule of law, governance, security and justice sector reform into which justice for children can easily be integrated. A common approach is also expected to bring cost-effectiveness and to maximize the results of the efforts.
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Viiccttiimm eemmppoowweerrmmeenntt iinn SSoouutthh AAffrriiccaa——aa UUNNOODDCC ffiirrsstt
In 2008, UNODC launched a new project t o empow er crime vict ims in Sout h Af rica. Such w ork is especially relevant in a count ry w it h one of t he highest crime rat es in t he w orld. A local st udy show s t hat one Sout h Af rican w oman is killed by her int imat e part ner every six hours.
Wit h t his project , UNODC aims t o help build inst it ut ional capacit y w it hin t he Depart ment of Social Development t o lead, expand and sust ain t he vict im empow erment programme, improve coordinat ion and cooperat ion
bet w een government depart ment s and civil societ y organizat ions, promot e aw areness of Sout h Af rica’s vict im empow erment policies, and t o build capacit y among civil societ y organizat ions t o deliver vict im empow erment int ervent ions.
Crime vict ims are of t en not aw are of t heir right s as out lined in t he government ’s Vict im Chart er. Through t he “16 days of act ivism t o st op violence against w omen and children” in November and December, UNODC helped raise aw areness on vict ims’ right s and t he various services available t o t hem t hrough government and communit y organizat ions.
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UNODC, in cooperat ion w it h t he Int ernat ional Bar Associat ion, support ed t he Af ghan M inist ry of Just ice t o organize and host t he f irst General Assembly meet ing of t he Independent Af ghan Bar Associat ion (IABA) in July. All advocat es regist ered w it h t he minist ry w ere invit ed t o Kabul t o elect IABA’s leadership and vot e on it s by-law s. IABA w ill administ er licensing of advocat es, set accredit at ion requirement s f or ent ry int o t he prof ession, and help prot ect and promot e t he prof essional int erest s of advocat es.
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Somalia has developed int o a breeding ground f or piracy. Almost 100 at t acks on vessels by Somali pirat es w ere report ed in 2008. The disint egrat ion of t he government has result ed in t he t ot al collapse of t he just ice syst em. There is lit t le hope t hat Somalia w ill be able t o est ablish a syst em capable of act ually delivering just ice in t he near f ut ure.
UNODC has proposed a number of measures designed t o det er, arrest and prosecut e pirat es. Shiprider arrangement s (subject t o a special agreement ) w ould enable a law enf orcement of f i-cer f rom, f or example, Djibout i, Kenya, Tanzania or Yemen, t o join a w arship of f t he coast of Somalia as a “shiprider”, arrest t he pirat es in t he name of t heir count ry, and t hen have t hem sent t o t heir nat ional court f or t rial. The pract ice has been em-ployed in t he Caribbean t o arrest drug t raf f ickers. Ideally, suspect s should be t ried in t he count ry w here t hey came f rom, or in t he count ry t hat ow ns t he seized ship. But t he Somali criminal just ice syst em has collapsed, and count ries
like Liberia, Panama and t he M arshall Islands— w here many of t he ships are regist ered—do not w ant t o deal w it h crimes commit t ed t housands of miles aw ay.
The Unit ed Nat ions Securit y Council passed a resolut ion on t his issue in December, encouraging st akeholders t o “increase regional capacit y w it h assist ance of UNODC t o arrange ef f ect ive shiprider agreement s or arrangement s (…) in order t o ef f ec-t ively invesec-t igaec-t e and prosecuec-t e piracy and armed robbery at sea of f ences.”
While shiprider arrangement s might provide a t emporary solut ion t o t he complex issue of piracy in t he Horn of Af rica, t he long- t erm key is t o st rengt hen t he capacit y of criminal just ice syst ems in t he region t o ef f ect ively invest igat e and prose-cut e piracy cases. UNODC is t heref ore helping St at es implement t he Unit ed Nat ions Convent ion against Transnat ional Organized Crime and ot her relevant int ernat ional legal inst rument s t o f ight crime, including by t raining law enf orcement and judiciary of f icials in t he count ries concerned.
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UNNOODDCC pprrooppoosseess mmeeaassuurreess ttoo ssttoopp ppiirraaccyy iinn tthhee HHoorrnn ooff AAffrriiccaa
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The year 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—an opportune time for the United Nations to reaffirm that economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to work, food, health and education, are inalienable rights of all people.
The right to health is an inclusive right, extending not only to timely and appropriate health care, but also to the underlying determinants of health. These include access to safe and potable water and adequate sanita-tion, healthy occupational and environmental condi-tions, and access to health-related education and information.
UNODC is aware of the needs of poor farmers. It is committed to the fight against poverty, set out in the Millennium Development Goals. Achieving the right to health contributes towards achieving those goals.
It is often forgotten that health is the first principle of drug policy. Improving security (against drug traffickers and dealers) and promoting development
(to enable farmers to find sustainable alternatives to growing illicit crops) are necessary, but not sufficient, measures. Because even if the world’s entire supply of cannabis, coca, and opium was eliminated and all drugs in circulation were seized, 25 million drug users would still be looking for ways to satisfy their addic-tion. So the key to drug policy is reducing demand for drugs and treating addiction—and that is very much a health-care issue
Therefore, it is time to bring health back to the main-stream of drug policy. That means putting more resources into prevention and treatment, as well as research to better understand what makes people vulnerable to addiction.
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Substance abuse and dependence is a public health, developmental and security problem both in industrial-ized and developing countries. It is associated with health problems, poverty, violence, criminal behaviour and social exclusion, to mention some. The related costs for society are enormous.
Prevention and treatment of drug dependence are essential demand reduction strategies of significant public health importance. On the one hand, preventing and treating drug use disorders may significantly reduce the demand for illicit drugs. On the other, these strategies represent the rational response to a disease and its severe consequences. Law enforcement efforts to stop or reduce production and trafficking of illicit drugs (supply reduction) tend to be ineffective if not combined with prevention of drug use and treatment of drug dependence (demand reduction). However, countries have yet to reach an appropriate balance between supply and demand reduction, nationally as well as internationally.
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UNODC calls for a comprehensive approach to drug abuse in which prevention and treatment of substance use disorders constitute the initial stages. Provision of public health facilities to reduce the harmful conse-quences of drug abuse complete the approach. Offering non-discriminatory services to drug abusers, with the aim of protecting them from the adverse social and health consequences of drug abuse, is not in conflict with providing comprehensive treatment.
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In partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNODC has developed an action programme on drug dependence treatment. The overall aim of the initiative is to promote and support worldwide, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries, evidence-based and ethical prevention and treatment policies, strategies and interventions to reduce the health and social burden caused by drug use and dependence.
UNODC and WHO have constitutional mandates to address the issues of drug use and dependence. The two international agencies are uniquely positioned to lead a joint initiative aiming to promote and support evidence-based and ethical prevention and treatment policies.
Through this joint initiative, UNODC and WHO will strengthen their collaboration at the global, regional and country levels. In close dialogue with Member States and their relevant ministries (for example, health, interior and justice) and sectors, the two orga-nizations will promote multidisciplinary, integrated policies, including both demand reduction/health strategies and supply reduction/security/sustainable livelihood interventions.
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The family is the first arena of socialization for chil-dren and young people. Skills training for families, aimed at increasing the cohesion and organization of families, can effectively prevent various types of harm-ful behaviour, including drug use. Moreover, such pro-grammes provide long-term savings of approximately US$ 10 for every dollar spent.
To promote these effective interventions, UNODC has published A Basic Guide to Implementing
Evidence-based and Effective Family Skills Training Programmes for Drug A buse Prevention. The publica-tion will be accompanied by a web-based compendium of programmes for adaptation and implementation.
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The year 2008 marked an important milestone for participation by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in formulating international drug policy. The NGO Global Forum, held in July, was an unpre-cedented event that concluded with a consensus on civil society’s contribution to the review of the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) targets.
The Forum was organized in partnership with the Vienna Non-Governmental Organizations Committee on Narcotic Drugs. It captured the cumulative input of over 1,000 individual participants from more than 145 countries, representing millions of members and
constituents from across the world. Building on 13 consultative meetings in all regions, as well as feed-back from an online questionnaire, NGOs provided responses to the three objectives of the Forum: to highlight tangible NGO achievements in drug con-trol; to review best practices related to collaborative mechanisms among NGOs; governments and United Nations agencies, and to identify key principles within the international drug conventions.
The consensus that emerged from the Forum, in the form of a Declaration and three resolutions, will be tabled at the 2009 High-Level Segment of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
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In the last 25 years, one of the most visible negative consequences of drug dependence has been the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that more than 10 per cent of HIV infections worldwide are due to the use of contaminated drug injecting equipment. If Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean are excluded, this rate rises to 30-40 per cent.
UNODC is a cosponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the lead agency for HIV/AIDS prevention and care among injecting drug users. Research shows that an HIV epidemic among injecting drug users can be pre-vented, halted and even reversed, if responses are based on a sound assessment of the specific drug use situation and the sociocultural and political context.
To achieve this, UNODC helps countries review and develop laws, policies and standards of care that enable them to provide effective services for injecting drug users. The Office also encourages law enforce-ment agencies to be more proactively involved in HIV prevention and care, and promotes collaboration among the health and criminal justice sectors, and community-based and civil society organizations.
UNODC also tackles HIV/AIDS prevention and care in prison settings, and is responsible for facilitating the development of a United Nations response to HIV and AIDS associated with human trafficking. UNODC carries out HIV/AIDS-related activities in some 50 countries worldwide.
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Drruugg uussee aanndd HHIIVV iinn ssoommee AArraabb pprriissoonnss
In Egypt , M orocco, Jordan and Lebanon, UNODC recent ly helped f inalize sit uat ion assessment s f or drug use and HIV in prison set t ings. These st udies highlight ed know ledge gaps and risky behaviour among t he prison populat ions. The count ries bene-f it ed bene-f rom best pract ices and recommendat ions bene-f or t heir nat ional st rat egies t o increase access t o drug use and HIV prevent ion and care. Egypt w ill expand it s prison programme by of f ering more prisoners comprehensive HIV services during det ent ion and int roducing af t ercare services f or released det ainees. M oreover, f or t he f irst t ime, juvenile det ent ion cent res w ill of f er HIV preven-t ion and care.
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Taacckklliinngg HHIIVV iinn RRuussssiiaa
The number of HIV- inf ect ed people in t he Russian Federat ion is increasing st eadily, and t he epidemic is mainly a result of inject ing drug use. The project “Scaling up, and improving access t o, HIV/AIDS prevent ion and care programmes f or inject ing drug users and in prison set t ings” is t he largest such Unit ed Nat ions init iat ive in t his count ry. In coop-erat ion w it h t he non- government al organizat ion AIDS Foundat ion East - West , UNODC has est ab-lished seven cent res t hat provide comprehensive drug and HIV prevent ion and t reat ment services. Drug and HIV prevent ion w ork requires syst emat ic and sust ainable monit oring syst ems t o support evidence- based policies and int ervent ions. Theref ore, in 2008, UNODC support ed nat ional and regional part ners, in part icular t he Nat ional Research Cent re on Addict ions and t he Federal
Drug Cont rol Service, in est ablishing a regional drug inf ormat ion syst em. M oreover, as a result of UNODC assist ance, a school survey on drug use has been complet ed, and a large- scale nat ional household survey is being planned.
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Stteeppppiinngg uupp eeffffoorrttss iinn MMyyaannmmaarr
UNODC in M yanmar aims t o ensure t hat drug users, prisoners and vict ims of human t raf f icking have universal access t o comprehensive HIV pre-vent ion, t reat ment , care and support . This is in line w it h Unit ed Nat ions M ember St at es’ 2006 commit ment t o pursue t his goal by 2010. For maximum impact , UNODC w orks w it h relevant government al agencies, ot her int ernat ional organi-zat ions, civil societ y groups and research/academic inst it ut ions. An import ant element of UNODC’s w ork is t o develop local capacit y t o manage HIV prevent ion and t reat ment init iat ives.
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Glloobbaall aaccttiioonn oonn HHIIVV//AAIIDDSS
UNODC Execut ive Direct or Ant onio M aria Cost a (right ) w it h t he Direct or of t he Russian Federal Drug Cont rol Service, Vikt or Ivanov, on 13 November 2008. Phot o: UNODC
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Oppiiooiidd ssuubbssttiittuuttiioonn tthheerraappyy iinn SSoouutthh AAssiiaa
Opioid dependence is a big problem in Sout h Asia. To address t his issue, UNODC is promot ing a comprehensive approach t o drug prevent ion and t reat ment , w hich includes opioid subst it ut ion t herapy (OST). Research has show n t hat OST is an ef f icient , saf e and cost - ef f ect ive w ay t o manage opioid dependence. It is also a met hod t o curb HIV inf ect ions as prevalence rat es are usually high among inject ing drug users.
Wit h assist ance f rom UNODC, in 2008, t he Tihar prison in New Delhi became t he f irst prison in Sout h Asia t o launch OST f or prisoners w ho are subst ance users. Building on t he lessons learned f rom Tihar, in 2009 rolling out OST act ivit ies in t he prisons of M aldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhut an and Sri Lanka w ill be a priorit y f or UNODC in Sout h Asia.
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In t he Pakist ani cit ies of Karachi and Lahore, UNODC is assist ing st reet children w it h drug abuse problems by est ablishing comprehensive prevent ion and t reat ment services. Abdul Wahab, a 17- year- old f rom Lahore, explains how his lif e has improved due t o drug t reat -ment at t he UNODC- support ed Child Prot ect ion Inst it ut e:
I used t o w ork in a f urnit ure shop unt il lat e at night . I didn’t like t o do house chores at home. So one day I lef t in anger and joined some children w ho w ere living on t he st reet s. St af f f rom t he Child Prot ect ion Inst it ut e
rescued me, gave me shelt er and sent me t o school. I w as very happy t hen, but one day, my mot her came t o t he cent re and t ook me back home. She promised t o send me t o school or w ork, but didn’t f ulf il her promise, so I ran aw ay again. This t ime, I st art ed smoking ciga-ret t es, and lat er st art ed using glue and cannabis. Then, one day CPI st af f came t o our area and recognized me. They w ere upset t o learn about my drug use, and mot i-vat ed me t o st art drug t reat ment at t heir cent re. I also w ent back t o school. So now, I st udy in t he morning, and w ork at a cycle st and in t he evening. Af t er w ork, I ret urn t o t he cent re. I f eel very happy, saf e and comf ort able here, and I w ant t o cont inue my educat ion and become an elect rician.
An inject ing drug user under t reat ment receives buprenorphine at a UNODC project sit e in India. Phot o: UNODC Sout h Asia
Money-laundering is the method by which criminals disguise the illegal origins of their wealth and protect their asset bases in order to avoid suspicion of law enforcement and to prevent leaving a trail of incrimi-nating evidence. Moreover, money-laundering empow-ers corruption and organized crime. Corrupt public officials need to be able to launder bribes, kick-backs, public funds and, on occasion, even development loans from international financial institutions. And organ-ized criminal groups need to be able to launder the proceeds of crime, such as drug trafficking and com-modity smuggling.
Terrorists and terrorist organizations also rely on money to sustain themselves and to carry out terrorist acts. Money for terrorists is derived from a wide variety of legitimate and illegitimate sources. In fact, terrorists are concerned with both disguising the origin and destination of funds, and the purpose for which they are collected. Terrorist organizations therefore employ techniques not dissimilar to criminal money-launderers to hide and disguise money.
UNODC works to strengthen the ability of Member States to combat money-laundering and to prevent the financing of terrorism. Upon request, UNODC helps countries enhance their capacity for detecting, seizing and confiscating the proceeds of crime by providing relevant and appropriate technical assistance.
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Some countries may not have the resources or expertise to develop or purchase appropriate software to collect and store financial transaction information and carry out complex financial analysis and in-vestigations. Therefore, UNODC has developed the government officeor “go” family of software packages, which form part the Office’s strategic response to crime, particularly serious and organized crime, including money-laundering.
The go family includes integrated investigative case management and intelligence analysis tools for Financial Intelligence Units, law enforcement, regulatory, prosecution and asset recovery agencies, and for courts and other government agencies involved in the criminal justice process. All the software products include multifaceted integration, and can function as stand-alone applications or together to form one system, depending on the needs of the requesting Member State.
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In today’s complex and interwoven international economy, terrorism financing and money-laundering are global problems that threaten the security and stability of financial institutions and undermine eco-nomic prosperity.
GoAML is an intelligence analysis system intended to be used by national Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).
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These units are usually independent bodies responsible for receiving, storing, processing, analysing and disseminating suspicious financial transactions in line with domestic anti-money laundering laws and regulations. GoAML aims to provide FIUs—irrespective of size, resources and volume of financial transactions to analyse—with a comprehensive and efficient IT solu-tion to fulfil their mandates.
The software can analyse large volumes of data and help identify and understand complex patterns of financial transactions. It also aims to introduce some standardization in practices for gathering and processing financial intelligence information worldwide, in order to make
international cooperation easier in the fight against financial crime.
UNODC assist s St at es in handling t he legal aspect s of count er- t errorism w ork. In part icular, t he w ork f ocuses on helping count ries rat if y and implement t he universal legal inst rument s against t errorism and st rengt hen t he capacit y of t heir criminal jus-t ice sysjus-t ems jus-t o apply jus-t heir provisions in compli-ance w it h t he principles of t he rule of law. One of t he w ays t his is done is by of f ering M ember St at es comprehensive and accurat e legal inf ormat ion on t he st eps t aken by t he int ernat ion-al communit y and individuion-al count ries in t he f ight against int ernat ional t errorism. A key t ool is t he Elect ronic Legal Resources on Int ernat ional Terrorism dat abase, w hich includes t he f ull t ext of t he universal inst rument s against t errorism and t he st at us of t heir rat if icat ion, searchable by region, count ry, t reat y and dat e. This dat abase also cont ains legislat ion and case law f rom more t han 145 count ries.
M odel law s, legislat ive guides and ot her legal t ools are also available t o assist nat ional aut hori-t ies in sehori-t hori-t ing up hori-t he shori-t ruchori-t ures and adophori-t ing hori-t he necessary legislat ion t o f ully implement t he global legal f ramew ork against t errorism.
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UNODC estimates that the value of the opiates produced and trafficked from Afghanistan was US$ 3.4 billion in 2008. Opium farmers receive approximately one quar-ter of this, while the rest goes to criminal groups and warlords who con-trol the production and distribution of drugs. The combined income of traffickers and farmers is equivalent to 34 per cent of the licit Afghan gross domestic product. This money benefits terrorists and fuels corruption.
Much of the money is reinvested abroad. An under-developed banking sector and high banking commis-sion rates discourage Afghans from using the formal financial sector to transfer money. As a result, a large “non-bank informal” financial sector exists in Afghanistan, known as Hawala. Afghans rely heavily on this alternative remittance system, which is commonly used to transfer money within, into and out of the country. While alternative remittance businesses are essential to the functioning of the Afghan economy, they can be easily misused for criminal purposes and serve as vehicles for the laundering of drug money. The situation is similar in neighbouring countries.
The Rainbow Strategy is a UNODC-coordinated regional response to the threat posed by Afghan opiates. One of the Strategy’s components is a paper titled Financial flows linked to the illicit production and trafficking of A fghan opiates. This paper summarizes the current knowledge about the illicit financial flows. Produced in close cooperation with the Egmont Group, the Eurasian Group on combating money-laundering and financing of terrorism, the International Monetary Fund, INTERPOL and the World Bank, the Paper articulates some initial recommenda-tions to increase the knowledge about these financial flows. The paper also addresses the challenges and vulnerabilities to money-laundering at the national, regional and international levels.
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Brreeaakkiinngg tthhee lliinnkk iinn VViieett NNaamm aanndd WWeesstt AAffrriiccaa
Through t he project “St rengt hening capacit y of t he legal and law enf orcement inst it ut ions in prevent ing and combat ing money- laundering and t errorism f inancing”, UNODC has t rained some 300 invest igat ors and law enf orcement of f icers and some 150 procurat ors and judges in Viet Nam. As a result , t he count ry now meet s most int ernat ional st andards relat ed t o ant i- money laundering and count ering t he f inancing of t errorism.
M oreover, UNODC has provided direct t echnical assist ance t o new ly creat ed Financial Int elligence Unit s in Benin, M ali, Burkina Faso and Togo.
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Sttrreennggtthheenniinngg tthhee lleeggaall rreeggiimmee aaggaaiinnsstt tteerrrroorriissmm iinn AAffrriiccaa
As part of it s global count er- t errorism w ork, UNODC t rained more t han 110 nat ional criminal just ice of f icials f rom 10 West ern Af rican coun-t ries coun-t o becoun-t coun-t er underscoun-t and and make use of coun-t he int ernat ional legal inst rument s against t errorism. The assist ance t hat UNODC provides on count er-t errorism in Weser-t Af rica aims er-t o elaboraer-t e naer-t ion-al count er- t errorism law s in accordance w it h int ernat ional st andards and t o promot e int erna-t ional cooperaerna-t ion in relaerna-t ed criminal maerna-t erna-t ers, in part icular w it h regard t o ext radit ion and mut ual legal assist ance.
Lack of security enables criminal activity to thrive. It is no coincidence that illicit drugs are grown in parts of Afghanistan and Colombia largely uncontrolled by the central government. It is also no coincidence that routes for smuggling drugs, people, money and arms follow the path of least resistance—where border controls and law enforcement are weak, officials are corrupt and seizure rates poor. And it is no coinci-dence that the illicit exploitation of resources—whether diamonds, precious metals, timber or oil—occurs in unstable regions. Crime, usually organized and often transnational, profits from instability and tends to perpetuate it.
To enhance human security in the face of these border-crossing threats, countries need to make more effective use of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), of which UNODC is the guardian. This Convention is the main international legal instrument in this area and a key to spur concerted, coordinated action.
The Convention is supplemented by three Protocols which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime, namely the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition.
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Human trafficking is a crime that shames us all and a priority area of action for UNODC. In the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), the Office partnered with the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, as well as the private sector, the media and civil society, to unite against human trafficking. In a short time, UN.GIFT has become a world-renowned brand. The UN.GIFT-organized Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking, held from 13-15 February, not only helped raise awareness, it also stimulated cooperation and partnerships among governments, civil society groups, international organizations, the media, academics and other stake-holders. The Forum gathered over 1,600 international participants, half of whom were government officials or parliamentarians.
The day before the Forum, some 200 parliamentarians from around the world gathered at the Austrian Parliament to discuss their role in fighting human trafficking. This Parliamentary Forum, organized in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, encouraged members of parliament to place human trafficking high on their domestic agendas and urge their respective countries to adopt concrete measures and good practices.
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Around 150 journalists attended the Vienna Forum, resulting in more than 6,000 separate reports on human trafficking in print, broadcast and online media outlets. In-depth reports appeared in media such as Newsweek, Al Jazeera, the BBC, the South China Morning Post, and TVRI Indonesia.
The Forum also inspired the establishment of a
“Women Leaders’ Council to Fight Human Trafficking”, designed to harness and strengthen the contribution of women’s leadership towards preventing, suppressing and punishing trafficking in persons, especially women and children. The council is co-chaired by the Baroness Mary Goudie, Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom and Dr. Aleya Hammad, founder and member of the board of the Suzanne Mubarak International Peace Movement.
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Instability, lack of security, humanitarian crises, weak institutions and extensive corruption are among the main characteristics of fragile, post-conflict States. These countries are vulnerable to criminal and terrorist networks, which consequently aggravate instability and affect regional and global security. The widespread poverty in fragile States is of particular concern, making those countries unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
UNODC is providing assistance to fragile States within the framework of the Conventions on drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and corruption, as well as the United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice.
UNODC’s involvement in post-conflict/fragile States has been driven by an increase in requests from peace-keeping missions and governments for specialist assistance in the rule-of-law sector. Inputs from UNODC complement broader governance programmes provided by the United Nations system. In the past years, UNODC has been developing rule-of-law assistance programmes in a number of fragile post-conflict settings, in close coordination with relevant stakeholders.
The largest UNODC programme in post-conflict/fragile States is in Afghanistan, where the Office contributes to the democratic reconstruction of the country. In particular, UNODC is carrying out necessary adminis-trative reform, strengthening the legal framework and rebuilding human and physical capacity. In addition, UNODC supports the elaboration of national sector policies (in areas such as counter-narcotics, justice and drug abuse-related public health), standards and model practices.
In addition, UNODC conducted several assessment missions in 2008, increasing its involvement in post-conflict/fragile societies such as Haiti, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Palestinian territories and Sierra Leone, to mention some.
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UNODC recently started assisting the Southern Sudan Prison Service with its prison reform process. Undertaken in cooperation with the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy and the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), this is the first UNODC project in Sudan. The project follows a specific need identified by the Southern Sudan Prison Service to help build and strengthen the capacity of prison management to lead the prison reform process. The first step was for UNODC to conduct an exploratory assessment mission to determine the kind of support that could be pro-vided. This mission also examined the feasibility of establishing a longer-term penal reform assistance programme.
In order to achieve sustainable reform, the resulting project focuses on three areas: the first is information management, as the Prison Service at present operates with hardly any reliable information on the prison population; secondly, policy development and
regula-tions, to improve the management of the Prison Service and develop durable penal policies; and finally, human resource development, as senior officials are currently not adequately trained to manage the reform process.
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Recognizing the key role of forensic sciences to effec-tive, fair and objective criminal justice systems, the Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit, designed and launched by UNODC and the OSCE in 2006, has been updated with a new module to assess forensic services and infrastructure. This additional module has been developed by UNODC in collaboration with external forensic experts. It will help practitioners and organi-zations identify areas for technical cooperation activi-ties, aiming at establishing and strengthening quality forensic services, from crime scene investigations to laboratory analyses and examinations.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2009
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In M ay 2008, UNODC and t he Naif Arab Universit y f or Securit y Sciences (NAUSS) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, joint ly organized an ext ensive t raining w orkshop f or Saudi Arabian criminal just ice pract it ioners on combat ing human t raf f icking. The w orkshop not only result ed in a bet t er underst anding of t raf f icking- relat ed issues, including indi-cat ors of t raf f icking, vict im prot ect ion and int ernat ional cooperat ion among t he criminal just ice pract it ioners, but also provided UNODC w it h an insight int o t he role of Sharia law in t he f ight against t raf f icking. As a f ollow - up t o t he w orkshop, UNODC st art ed t o prepare a publicat ion on “Islamic law and t raf f icking in persons”.
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The Global Cont ainer Cont rol Programme, implement ed joint ly by UNODC and t he World Cust oms Organizat ion, est ablished a Joint Port Cont rol Unit in t he port of Dakar, Senegal, in 2007. The unit , consist ing of st af f f rom cust oms, police and gendarmerie, is f ully operat ional and cont inues t o cooperat e w it h ot her unit s creat ed under t his programme in Ecuador and Pakist an.
M oreover, building on t his success, UNODC est ablished and equipped a Joint Port Cont rol Unit in t he Port of Tema, Ghana in 2008. The t eam consist s of of f icers f rom t he Narcot ics Cont rol Board, police, cust oms, Bureau of Nat ional Invest igat ion and Ghana Port s and Harbours Aut horit y.
UNODC cont inues t o explore f urt her possibilit ies f or expanding t he Global Cont ainer Cont rol Programme t o ot her count ries in t he region. In t his cont ext , expert s have undert aken a needs assessment mission t o Benin, w it h similar missions t o Côt e d’Ivoire and Togo planned f or 2009. Addit ionally, act ivit ies in t hree Cape Verdean port s have been aligned w it h t he Global Cont ainer Cont rol Programme.
Training w orkshop f or Saudi Arabian criminal just ice of f icials on combat ing human t raf f icking, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Phot o: Naif Arab Universit y f or Securit y Sciences
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Human t raf f icking is increasing in Cent ral America. Taking advant age of povert y and desperat ion, organized criminal groups recruit vict ims t hrough f raud, f orce and decept ion. To t ackle t his issue, in 2008 UNODC st art ed assist ing ant i-t raf f icking unii-t s in several Ceni-t ral American couni-t ries. The aim is t o t rain prosecut ors t o compile t he right evidence and present sound cases in court s, w hich w ill help reduce impunit y and rest ore public conf idence in t he rule of law. To make t he t raining as relevant and ef f ect ive as possible, UNODC and t he Unit ed Nat ions Lat in American Inst it ut e f or t he Prevent ion of Crime and t he Treat ment of Of f enders are conduct ing a regional assessment t o ident if y st rengt hs, w eaknesses, opport unit ies and t hreat s in addressing human t raf f icking of f ences. The f indings w ill help design t ailor-made courses t o be delivered in t he next t w o years.
The most common f orm of human t raf f icking is sexual exploit at ion.
