UN teams up with European Commission to fight drug trafficking, crime and terror

In a joint move against the threats of drugs, organized crime and terrorism, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has teamed up with the European Commission (EC) to fight the three-fold scourge on a wide front, ranging from the Balkans and Central Asia to Latin America and Africa.

“Without a doubt, the greatest single threat today to global development, democracy and peace is transnational organized crime and the drug trafficking monopoly that keeps this sinister enterprise rolling,” UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said yesterday in Brussels, Belgium, of the joint commitment with the EC.

He called it a “clear recognition of the links between drugs, organized crime and terrorism, and our shared responsibility to combat this immediate, three-dimensional threat.”

The agreement reflects a renewed determination to increase common efforts and provide joint financing for projects aimed at preventing and controlling drug addiction, production and trafficking – problems both organizations agree must be viewed in the larger context of organized crime, especially in developing countries.

“Organized crime continues to rely on billions of narco-dollars to fund a host of heinous enterprises – from child trafficking to prostitution to arms smuggling, and wholesale efforts to sabotage legal institutions and democratic governments across the world via invasive, systemic corruption,” Mr. Costa said.