An often unconsidered reality: organized crime may be impacting our daily lives more than we can imagine. As criminal groups join ever more complex networks spanning the globe, crimes become increasingly transnational and diversified, and the ways they reap profits are becoming more creative as well. So what can we do to help stop this? Education and awareness-raising are of course key and to highlight the importance of this a side event at the United Nations General Assembly was held today in New York as part of UNODC's E4J initiative. Aimed at shedding light on this issue, showcasing the invaluable role of education, and highlighting to the public the type of ways in which they can reduce their exposure to organized crime, the event followed this week's High Level Discussion on Transnational Organized Crime in the General Assembly.
Following early successes and positive experiences over recent months in piloting the Doha Declaration Global Programme's 'Line Up Live Up' curriculum in Brazil, on-the-ground work recently started in South Africa. Consultations held with a wide array of Government and non-Governmental actors at both national and provincial levels not only affirmed the recognized need for additional youth crime prevention initiatives but also highlighted the range of opportunities and potential synergies in the country to link up with.
The Education for Justice (E4J) initiative took part in a discussion in Geneva on the role of human rights education (HRE) in advancing the Education 2030 Agenda. The Seminar, entitled " How Can Human Rights Education and Training be Promoted through the Education 2030 Agenda, especially Target 4.7?" brought together key United Nations entities for a round-table on their respective education programmes. Aside from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the other UN bodies included the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Seminar focused on synergies between the various education programmes and how the Education 2030 Agenda addresses human rights education. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Maurizio Serra, Permanent Representative of Italy, highlighted the work of the States Platform on Human Rights Education and Training, which is co-chaired with Brazil, in bringing cross-regional perspectives into human rights education.