Officer examining scanned images.
Established in April 2022, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Border Management Branch (BMB) brings together a range of global programmes working with Member States to ensure a comprehensive approach to border management and crimes that affect the environment.
One year on, the Branch is now taking on another important task: the launch of a BMB Gender Network. Building on the well-established work of the BMB global programmes, the BMB Gender Network will work globally to advocate for the empowerment of women.
“Inclusion and equal representation matter always and everywhere.”
Ms. Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC, spoke this “essential truth” at an event promoting the “Women in Justice/for Justice” campaign earlier this year.
She was referring to the need for gender representation across the spectrum of justice, where women often face more challenges, such as biased recruitment criteria, a lack of training opportunities and stagnant career progression in systems predominantly designed for men.
The barriers faced by women are starkly revealed in statistics – UNODC data from 2018 shows that between three and 37 per cent of police officers across all countries studied were women. Meanwhile, women hold only 33.6 per cent of judgeships in Supreme Courts in states belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and 30 per cent across Latin America.
Effective crime prevention, criminal justice, and victim protection can only be ensured through the inclusion of diverse perspectives and experiences that women contribute.
Through meetings, workshops, study tours, training modules, research, advocacy efforts and continuous promotion of the importance of including women in its technical assistance, BMB programmes have already noted achievements. For example, more women participate in training activities compared to some years ago and enhanced communication between women officers has been established.
The Branch’s elaborate activities in all regions of the world give solid and ample opportunity to drive concrete impact. Moving forward, BMB’s goal is to empower women professionals and to establish operational professional networks.
Part of this effort is the publishing of the new BMB Gender Network quarterly newsletter. The first edition focuses on the importance of networks and showcases activities in Latin America and West Africa.To learn more about UNODC’s Border Management Branch Gender Network, please read the
