UNODC supports Central Asia and Southern Caucasus States’ efforts in developing national and regional strategies to counter transnational organized crime

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National and regional strategies and plans of action against transnational organized crime play a key role in the fabric of the global response to the threats presented by organized criminal groups. To maximize the efficiency of such strategies and increase their cumulative impact, it is vital to ensure that these documents are comprehensive, coherent and evidence based.  

In order to support the development of such documents based on international experience and best practices, the Global Programme on Implementing the Organized Crime Convention: from Theory to Practice in cooperation with UNODC’s Regional Office for Central Asia has organized a multi-stakeholder meeting on “Strategies to Prevent and Combat Organized Crime in Central Asia and Southern Caucasus”. The meeting was organized in the framework of a global project on strategies against organized crime supported by the Home Office of the United Kingdom. 

The meeting, which was held on 9-10 March in Tashkent, brought together policymakers and representatives of law enforcement agencies from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives from civil society, international and regional organizations, to discuss key regional priorities in the fight against transnational organized crime.

Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia in her opening remarks emphasized: “UNODC Organized Crime Strategy Toolkit assists the development of such strategies by providing a set of overarching principles as well as a menu of more granular objectives, tactics and capabilities that can be tailored to different regional and country contexts. It encourages cooperation and partnerships from across all sectors in what amounts to a whole of society approach and fosters a response that is in line with the requirements of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime”.

Svetlana Artikova, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in her welcoming speech noted: "If we are talking about the globalization of the economy of states, it is necessary to recognize that transnational organized crime is also on the path of globalization, and in some way is ahead of us. It is gratifying that we are all interested in having as little organized crime as possible in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, as this factor directly affects human rights. We are grateful to UNODC for its contribution and fruitful work carried out in cooperation with national partners."  

The meeting provided participants with the opportunity to share their experiences and good practices in preventing and combating organized crime and to identify potential cooperation priorities on the regional level, as well as between relevant authorities and UNODC. 

Participants also learned about existing international frameworks, available tools and good practices in the development and implementation of strategies against organized crime through presentations delivered by representatives of INTERPOL, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Conference on Interaction & Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and UNODC. The participants also discussed the practical examples of strategy development, both from the countries in the region and beyond it.

During the meeting, the participants familiarized themselves with the key elements of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and with the UNODC Organized Crime Strategy Toolkit. The Toolkit, launched in 2021, supports States in developing effective and comprehensive national strategies against organized crime based on the strategic framework of “4Ps” (Prevent, Pursue, Protect and Promote), which was highlighted as a good practice in Resolution 11/2 of the Conference of the Parties to the Organized Crime.

The meeting also included training activities for small groups – such as practical exercises on mapping organized crime and responses to it and on building a strategy to prevent and combat organized crime. As a result of the meeting, UNODC will develop a regional chapter of the Toolkit highlighting key challenges, good practices and opportunities relating to the development and implementation of organized crime strategies in the region.

 

UNODC is grateful to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for all its support to the Office in the implementation of the project on the global, regional, and national levels.  

 For more information:

Global Programme on Implementing the Organized Crime Convention: from Theory to Practice

UNODC’s Regional Office for Central Asia 

 

  

For further information please contact:         

Arifa Fatikhova  

Communications and External Relations Officer

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 

Regional Office for Central Asia

Mobile: (+998 99) 825-05-43 | Email: arifa.fatikhova[at]un.org