CRIMJUST

The Challenge

Law enforcement and criminal justice responses to drug trafficking and organized crime too often stop at drug seizures and arrests of drug couriers. Lack of awareness, technical capacity and international cooperation are just some of the factors preventing investigations from resulting in the disruption of organized crime groups, conviction of the facilitators and benefactors of drug trafficking or the seizure of proceeds of crime. Against this background, CRIMJUST advocates for a shift in mindset for investigators and prosecutors to prioritize post-seizure actions and to build stronger cases for prosecution.

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The CRIMJUST Global Programme, implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in partnership with INTERPOL, seeks to disrupt the organized crime groups responsible for the flow of illicit drugs along trafficking routes through Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa to destination countries. Recognizing the specialized skills required by criminal justice actors to undertake transnational investigations, CRIMJUST delivers an end-to-end capacity building programme in several countries, covering all aspects from intelligence collection and analysis, to investigation, prosecution and adjudication.

CRIMJUST provides support to countries to progress cross-border post-seizure investigations through the following four pillars:

Enhancing capacities of law enforcement and judicial agencies to undertake investigations of transnational drug trafficking cases targeting the organized crime groups carrying out this criminal activity.
Bolstering international cooperation to promote complementary and effective regional counter-narcotic strategies.
Strengthening institutional integrity to implement anti-corruption measures as well as fair and transparent internal procedures.
Providing regional and global strategic knowledge of drug production, trafficking and related organized crime to facilitate evidence-based policymaking.

Goals we are supporting through this initiative

Through its Strategic Vision for Africa 2030, UNODC will enable tangible and sustainable progress in response to Africa’s most pressing challenges, intensifying its focus in five investment areas, including “more protection from falsified medical products”.

United Nations

UNODC West and Central Africa

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WHAT WE DO

Goals we are supporting through this initiative

INVESTMENT AREAS