Issue 72 | April 28, 2015
A quick and easy update of the latest UNODC and international drugs and crime news. Can't read this newsletter? View it online
here.
UNODC News
Stemming the flow of illegal drugs: building cross-border cooperation in Central Asia
As part of a regional approach to address drug trafficking in Central Asia, a new UNODC-supported Border Liaison Office (BLO) was opened between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The facility will allow for direct communication between the countries' border control agencies and has been established as part of UNODC's wider work aimed at countering Afghan opiate trafficking via the northern route. [Read more]
UNODC advocates transparent and merit-based appointments for the justice sector in Nigeria
Nigeria is working towards a more transparent and merit-based judicial appointment system, with the approval in late-2014 of the country's revised guidelines for the appointment of judicial officers. Revisions to the guidelines followed a conference organized by UNODC under a multi-year European Union-funded project to reform the justice sector in Nigeria. [Read more]
How evaluation improves lives
Ten million people are estimated to be incarcerated in prisons across the globe. Some of these individuals face prison conditions, including overcrowding, that can contribute to HIV transmission through drug use, needle sharing, tattooing and other risky behaviours. Prisoners' welfare is sometimes overlooked in these challenging conditions and HIV prevention and care programmes remain rare in some countries. [Read more]
13th UN Crime Congress closes with vow to implement Doha Declaration for crime's victims
In closing the 13th Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, UNODC's Executive Director noted that the event had set a very high bar for the future and that the key task was to turn the Doha Declaration into action. The Declaration stresses the commitment and political will of Member States to implement comprehensive crime prevention and criminal justice strategies. [Read more]
Crime Congress highlights 'epidemic' prison overcrowding
At any given point, over 10 million people worldwide are in prison and with this, prison overcrowding has reached epidemic proportions in many countries - an issue raised during the 13th Crime Congress. In 2014, 77 countries worldwide were reported as having a prisoner occupancy rate higher than 120 per cent, with some as high as almost 400 per cent. [Read more]
We must take the fight to the traffickers along maritime routes, says UNODC Chief
The Indian Ocean could become a haven for criminal activity, participants heard at the recently concluded Crime Congress. Speaking in Doha, Yury Fedotov said: "Recent research conducted by the Global Maritime Crime Programme indicates an increase in Dhow traffic between known departure points for heroin trafficking and the east coast of Africa and South Asia." [Read more]
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