unodc

The potency of cannabis has increased by as much as four times in parts of the world over the last 24 years.
Unsplash/Wesley Gibbs

COVID pandemic fuelling major increase in drug use worldwide: UN report

24 June 2021
Law and Crime Prevention

Around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, up by 22 per cent from 2010. That’s among the key findings of the latest annual report released on Thursday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which also provides an overview of global drug markets, as well as their impact on people’s health and livelihoods.

Forensic police investigation in developing countries is a key part of tackling organized crime.
UN Photo/Martine Perret

Greater cooperation urged worldwide as criminals seek to profit from COVID-19

12 October 2020
Law and Crime Prevention

With criminal networks looking to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical for governments to work together in line with a landmark UN treaty to combat human trafficking, gun smuggling and other cross-border crimes, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday. 

The UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand, Gita Sabharwal (centre background) joins a patrol on the Mekong River.
© UNODC

Fighting drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle: a UN Resident Coordinator blog

20 September 2020
Law and Crime Prevention

Drug trafficking has long been a problem in the Golden Triangle, the region where Thailand’s Chiang Rai province meets Myanmar and Laos. In this blog, Gita Sabharwal, UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand, and Jeremy Douglas, who represents the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, explain how the United Nations and the Thai government are working together to tackle the issue.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (r) addresses the UN Security Council on 25 September 2019, as the UN Secretary-General António Guterres (l) looks on.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Security Council debates closer links between multilateral organizations in Europe and Asia

25 September 2019
Peace and Security

Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the move to increase cooperation between the UN and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Wednesday.

Two girls apply make-up at Kandapara, a brothel in the city of Tangail, Bangladesh. A man offered them to find them jobs, but instead sold them to Kandapara. (2009)
© UNICEF/UNI91025/Noorani

Human trafficking cases hit a 13-year record high, new UN report shows

29 January 2019
Law and Crime Prevention

The latest Global Report On Trafficking In Persons, released on Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at UN headquarters in New York, shows a record-high number of cases detected during 2016, but also the largest recorded conviction rate of traffickers.

Secretary-General António Guterres speaks to the media at UN Headquarters. (file)
UN Photo/Mark Garten

‘Much work to do and no time to waste’ in cybercrime fight, says UN chief

14 May 2018
Law and Crime Prevention

The UN body focussing on crime prevention and criminal justice, opened its annual session in Vienna on Monday, calling for a more integrated global response to continuing and emerging challenges, including cybercrime.

Cannabis plants.
UN Photo/John Robaton

Uruguay’s move to legalize cannabis endangers global anti-drug effort, UN agency says

11 December 2013
Amid growing debate over international drug control policy in Latin America, the United Nations drug and crime agency today said that a decision by the Uruguayan parliament to legalize cannabis is a strike against international cooperation.
UNODC Goodwill Ambassador Falcao: UNODC drug awareness project, Bogotá, Colombia.
UNODC

UN anti-drug agency names Colombian footballer Falcao new Goodwill Ambassador

20 November 2013
The United Nations anti-drug and crime agency today named Colombian footballer Radamel Falcao García Zárate as its Goodwill Ambassador for drug prevention.
Photos: Central Narcotics Bureau, Singapore: University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; UNODC. Please note that the products (pills and bathsalt) shown in the photos are simulated.
Central Narcotics Bureau, Singapore: University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; UNODC. Please note that the products (pills and bathsalt) shown in the photos are simulated.

Designer drugs on the rise as demand for traditional drugs levels off, UN reports on World Drug Day

26 June 2013
While the use of traditional drugs is largely stable, demand is soaring for untested concoctions of psychoactive substances that threaten to be more dangerous, the head of the United Nations drug and crime agency said, marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov.
UNODC

Fighting international crime is key to sustainable development, UN official says

22 April 2013
International crime undermines sustainable development, hinders access to education and discourages investment opportunities, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said today, adding that disrupting the flow of illegal profits had become a crucial for successful crime fighting.