Issue 74 | May 29, 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
Crime Commission closes with call to tackle some of world's most daunting challenges
Terrorism and smuggling of migrants are some of the world's most daunting challenges, UNODC's Executive Director said. "The magnitude of the problems we face is such that it is sometimes hard to imagine how any effort can be enough to confront them. But to quote Nelson Mandela, 'It always seems impossible until it is done.' We must keep working together, until it is done. [Read more]
Mekong region officials vow to counter drug threat
Ministers and senior officials from the six countries of the Mekong river region, which includes Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, together with UNODC, convened to endorse a new strategy to combat the growing and evolving drug threat to the region. As the latest data shows, the flow of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals continues to increase and threaten the Mekong sub-region. [Read more]
Assisting States in their efforts against cybercrime
During a side event at the 24th Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), UNODC launched the cybercrime repository - a database of legislation, case law and lessons learned on cybercrime and electronic evidence. This tool will assist countries in their efforts to prevent and effectively prosecute cybercriminals The repository comprises three parts: databases of legislation, case law and lessons learned
.
[Read more]
Violence against women and girls 'shames every society,' UNODC chief warns
Voicing concern over the continued killing of women and girls, UNODC Executive Director Yudy Fedotov issued a strong call to end such acts, as well as to unravel the gender bias at the heart of the "dreadful daily experiences of violence" that blight so many of their lives. According to UNODC, women and girls continue to be killed in large numbers worldwide. [Read more]
Addressing the challenges of foreign terrorist fighters at the 2015 Crime Commission
The involvement of individuals as Foreign Terrorist Fighters in conflicts and terrorist activities represents an increasingly dangerous threat to international security. While not a new occurrence, the extent of their involvement in conflicts and acts of terrorism today is unparalleled. With groups recruiting foreign fighters, the threat posed by terrorism now encapsulates target, origin and transit countries. [Read more]
Crime Commission discusses plight of smuggled migrants in Mediterranean region
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the main routes for the smuggling of migrants, an activity which generates billions of dollars a year for criminal networks. Along this route, appalling tragedies have been occurring almost daily, as vulnerable women, children and men place their lives in the hands of organized criminals in order to reach Europe. [Read more]
Migrant smuggling is a tragedy that cannot continue,
says UNODC Chief at Crime Commission opening
In his opening speech at the 24th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said he had been horrified during the 13th Crime Congress in Doha in April this year by news reports of migrants dying when their boats sank in the Mediterranean. [Read more]
Other Resources
|