Taking-on Organised Crime

“Organised crime should be viewed as a major spoiler to peacekeeping and peacebuilding. One of the most insidious features of organized crime is the corrosive and toxic effect it has through the corruption of officials. It is a catalyst for instability and if it is left unchecked it can undermine all of our efforts to build long-term security in fragile, post-conflict societies.”

Andrew Hughes, Commissioner
UN Police Adviser 2007 – 2009

As part of its mandate to create stable and secure environments UN Police are working with international policing and law enforcement experts to find ways to prevent, disrupt and dismantle organized crime in post-conflict situations. UN Police assist domestic law enforcement authorities to establish mechanisms to deal with organized criminal activities, including drug production and trafficking, human trafficking, exploitation of natural resources and weapons trafficking.

Three Nigerian Police Officers walking with riffles in tall grass.A Nigerian Formed Police Unit conducting a joint raid with National Police in Bong County, Liberia. Photo UNMIL/Christopher Herwig.

The UN Police Division is working closely with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Criminal Police Organisation-Interpol, regional groups (African Union and European Union) and Member States to design effective and sustainable strategies that will help to better protect transitional societies from this scourge.

West African Crime Initiative

In early July 2009 the UN launched the West African Crime Initiative with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in cooperation with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL). The Joint Initiative responds to the growing recognition of the serious and far-reaching nature of the threat posed by organized crime to security and stability in West Africa.