Corruption serves as an enabler for various forms of organized crime, facilitating their execution and allowing such crimes to remain undetected. Corruption exacerbates the harms of organized crime by fostering the infiltration of crime in the economic and social fabric of countries.
The intertwining and mutually reinforcing relationship between corruption and organized crime serves to amplify these harmful effects: When criminal groups use corruption and violence to facilitate other forms of crime, the risk of instability increases and governance structures are undermined, which in turn poses a threat to the safety and security of societies.
To respond to these joint threats, countries need strong institutions capable of maintaining law and order and delivering justice. The United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime complement each other and serve as vital global tools through which countries can take comprehensive action to counter corruption and organized crime. The resolutions of the Conference of the States Parties and the political declaration adopted by the General Assembly during its special session against corruption in 2021 underscore the need for better understanding and concerted action to address the interlinkages between corruption and other forms of crime, in particular organized crime and economic crime.
Human trafficking, or trafficking in persons, is a lucrative business that exploits millions of people and violates their basic human rights. Corruption allows traffickers to operate with facilitation and impunity and evade justice. Many countries face challenges with corruption operating as a facilitator of trafficking in persons and other forms of organized crime, but a solid understanding of the country and regional context is often still missing. More risk and threat awareness are needed regarding which kinds of crimes are prevalent, which actors are involved, to what degree organized criminal groups have undermined the public sector, which sectors and institutions are particularly vulnerable and which corruption prevention measures could address these vulnerabilities.
By the end of 2024, UNODC will launch a global study that will identify and categorize the main entry points for corruption along the trafficking chain, with a view to creating an evidence base to map where and how criminal networks target the public sector to facilitate trafficking and assess if anti-corruption interventions can disrupt the trafficking chain.
UNODC, 2023
This resolution was adopted by the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption at its tenth session (11-15 December 2023).
UNODC, 2023
This note was prepared by UNODC, as the secretariat of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption, for the tenth session of the Conference (11-15 December 2023).
UNODC, 2021
This resolution was adopted by the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption at its ninth session (13-17 December 2021).
