Director-General/Executive Director
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to welcome you to this special event for the launch of UNODC’s new Global Study on Homicide.
I would like to thank Deputy Secretary-General Amina in particular for being with us today, your presence adds immeasurable value to this critical discussion. And we are grateful for all the work you do in support of UN entities and our work on the ground.
Excellencies,
Eight years ago, the international community made a pledge to significantly reduce all forms of violence by 2030.
Today, we find ourselves falling short of that promise.
Violence is on the rise globally, and homicide deaths are a central part of the equation, casting a grim shadow over our communities and our aspirations to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.
Our new Global Study on Homicide seeks to shed light on this dark menace by unpacking the trends and dynamics behind the violence, to inform policy responses while taking into account regional and contextual differences.
The data we’ve collected paints a stark picture.
Despite relatively consistent homicide numbers over the past decade, 2021 stands out as an exceptionally lethal year, witnessing over 450,000 intentional homicides worldwide.
To put that into perspective, this is more than four times the number of people killed in conflicts in 2021.
While preliminary data for 2022 shows some decline in homicides and a large increase in conflict deaths, the number of homicide victims remains disproportionately higher, at more than twice the number of victims killed by conflicts.
While no region is untouched, homicide rates vary considerably across countries and continents, as do the factors driving the deadly violence.
Europe, for example, has experienced a modest decline in its homicide rate over the past decade, yet there are signs of increased lethal violence connected to organized crime.
In Asia, a decade-long decline in homicides was disrupted by a sharp rise in violence in 2021, notably in Myanmar.
Africa accounted for 38 percent of all homicide victims, and had the highest absolute number of homicides of any region.
The Americas face a higher risk of intentional killings than any other region, with an estimated rate of 15 homicide victims per 100,000 people.
Nearly 22 percent of global homicides are connected to organized crime and gang violence, claiming over 700,000 deaths between 2015 and 2021, the majority of which occurred in the Americas.
This violence is being driven by a complex web of factors, ranging from criminal groups vying for control over territory, illicit markets and resources, to weakened rule of law, social inequalities, youth unemployment, and rising drug production and illicit firearms trafficking.
Ecuador, for example, which had experienced years of relatively low homicide rates, has seen a staggering 407 percent increase in homicides between 2016 and 2022, fuelled largely by rival drug groups competing for control.
Drug trafficking through the Caribbean has also brought with it a wave of violence in the region.
Haiti’s homicide rate has increased by 35 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, primarily due to rampant gang violence, and where the illicit flow of firearms is adding fuel to the fire.
Elsewhere, in the Sahel, firearms trafficking is driving a vicious cycle of violence and conflict.
Globally, firearms were found to be the primary instrument of death in almost half of all homicides.
The ease with which criminal groups are acquiring such weaponry is being enabled in part by weak oversight and control mechanisms.
Organized criminal groups are increasingly procuring firearms through various channels, including private dealers, black markets, and military stocks.
Meanwhile, homicides are disproportionately being committed by and against men, accounting for 81 percent of victims globally, and 90 percent of suspects.
A rise in violence against women and girls also requires our urgent attention. Our new Femicide report published last month together with UN Women revealed that in 2022 nearly 48,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members.
Criminal justice responses are falling short in protecting these victims and in addressing the broader issue of homicide.
Data from 82 countries indicates that only four individuals are convicted for every 10 homicides.
Impunity remains unchecked, and justice is too often out of reach, as a result of insufficient law enforcement capacities, weak rule of law, and overburdened criminal justice systems.
Excellencies,
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to these problems.
Some responses must focus on reducing gender-based violence against women and girls, others on curbing organized crime and violence, and others still on reforming firearm laws and regulations, or on reducing the backlog of cases in the criminal justice system.
This Global Study fills an important gap in our understanding of homicide trends that can help guide and tailor these responses.
As the guardian of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Firearms Protocol, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime is ideally placed to support Member States in addressing these deficiencies and more.
From enhancing equal access to justice for all, to revising firearms legislation, to strengthening law enforcement and criminal justice institutions through capacity building and technical assistance, UNODC stands with you as we look to reduce homicidal violence.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Preventing and reducing homicides is vital to achieving Agenda 2030 and its goals to create safer, fairer, and more just societies.
In his New Agenda for Peace, the UN Secretary-General emphasized that “every violent death is preventable, and it is our collective moral responsibility to achieve this goal.”
I believe that if we act together, we can end the cycle of violence, prevent further killings, and save human lives.
Thank you.