9 August 2018 - In order to expand academic knowledge on transnational organized crime, the University of Belgrano, launched the first edition of the "Diploma Program to Address Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking".
The program, which is coordinated by Dr. Luis Ignacio Garcia Sigman, aims to increase the professionalization of stakeholders interested in the subject and constitutes an innovation for Argentina's academic offer in terms of security.
In order to provide a consolidated in-depth material, the Diploma program is taught by staff with academic and management experience at national and international organizations. Several of the academic staff also participated in capacity building activities organized by The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) under the framework of the project CRIMJUST "Strengthening criminal investigation and criminal justice cooperation along the cocaine route in Latin America, the Caribbean, and West Africa". The overall experience and knowledge gained by participating in CRIMJUST initiatives, underline an operational and strategic utility, which has empowered local initiatives in Argentina and is currently disseminated and replicated in the Diploma Program.
During a whole semester, students will be introduced to a wide variety of subject matter to understand the current trends of drug trafficking and organized crime as a global phenomenon. Key topics such as, different
modus operandi of drug trafficking and its political, social, and economic impact will be addressed, as well as, changes in the structures of criminal organizations, money laundering, crypto-markets, drug trafficking in prison settings, chemical precursors, synthetic drugs, new psychoactive substances and the regulatory framework to fight against illicit drug trafficking at national and regional levels.
The program will also provide practical tools to develop effective strategies and mechanisms to efficiently address the challenges posed by drug trafficking at multidimensional levels.
Students with different backgrounds, such as advisors, lawyers, accountants, officials of criminal justice institutions, diplomats, journalists, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students of the areas of political science, international relations, law and related disciplines have qualified to the Program.
Based on the success achieved, the University of Belgrano will launch a new edition during 2019 that, in addition to drug trafficking, will include other branches of organized crime such as human trafficking, cybercrime, among others. Within the framework of CRIMJUST, UNODC will continuously support to strengthen the capacities and skills of the trainers to continue the activities.
Under the framework of the CRIMJUST project, UNODC and its partners (INTERPOL and TI) aim to assist Member States to enhance their capacity and integrity of criminal justice institutions to detect, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate illicit cocaine trafficking cases, and to foster cooperation at the interregional level for effective action to tackle drug trafficking and related organized crime.
For more information:
- European Union "Cocaine Route Programme"
