UNODC and ICOS will work together against organized crime and drug trafficking in the Southern Cone

Bo Mathiasen and Emmanuel Reinert sign the MoU. (Photo: UNODC)21 June 2010 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) signed today a memorandum of understanding that expresses their interest in creating a partnership to develop collaborative activities related to crime prevention, criminal justice, countering organized crime and increasing the institutional capacity of public security and criminal justice system within the Southern Cone.

The agreement strengthens the partnership between these two institutions, which already work together on a project to develop the capacity of the Federal Police Department in countering organized crime and drug trafficking in Brazil.

ICOS is an international policy think tank working to combine grassroots research and policy innovation at the intersections of security, development, counter-narcotics and public health issues. It is sponsored by The Mecator Fund.

With this partnership, UNODC and ICOS strengthen the idea of, given the transnational nature of organized crime, only coordinated action between different countries may be effective to achieve the objective of improving safety of its citizens. "It is important that we work together in order to address the challenges faced by Southern Cone countries", said Emmanuel Reinert, Executive Director of ICOS, while signing the memorandum with UNODC.

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