APA-Obs

Organized child sexual exploitation

Organized child sexual exploitation

...Child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) and online CSEA (OCSEA) lurk in some of the darkest corners of the criminal universe. Trends in South East Asia suggest that besides gratification-driven ind...

Posted on 03 Jul 2025

Author(s): Virginia Comolli

ESA-Obs

Hired gangs unleashed on demonstrators in Nairobi

...The deployment of organized criminal gangs by politicians to counter peaceful protests in Nairobi in June has once again raised the spectre of violence in Kenya ahead of the 2027 general elections, th...

Posted on 01 Jul 2025

Author(s): Ken Opala

Crime & Conflict, Geocriminality

The long arm of Kigali: Rwanda’s use of organized crime for geopolitical interests 

...The agreement signed on 27 June 2025 between the DRC and Rwanda represents an opportunity to make progress in resolving the M23 crisis in eastern DRC. However, the US administration’s success in spo...

Posted on 01 Jul 2025

SEE-Obs

Violent extremism and organized crime: Thematic series

Violent extremism and organized crime

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Posted on 30 Jun 2025

Author(s): Ruggero Scaturro, Giorgio Fruscione

Eco-Solve, UN Reform, UN-TOC Watch, UNTOC

A new Protocol for the UNTOC? A guidance note for the 1st meeting of the new Intergovernmental Expert Group on crimes that affect the environment

A new Protocol for the UNTOC?

...In October 2024, Brazil, France and Peru tabled a resolution at the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) for a new int...

Posted on 27 Jun 2025

Author(s): Ian Tennant, Simone Haysom, Tiphaine Chapeau

EUR-Obs

Child soldiers of Europe: Why is organized crime increasingly recruiting minors?

...On the evening of 15 January 2025, a masked 15-year-old gunman entered a Turkish restaurant in Hamburg, Germany, and opened fire on a 49-year-old man. The shooter fled the scene, pursued by the victim...

Posted on 26 Jun 2025

Author(s): Daniel Brombacher, Ruggero Scaturro

Global Organized Crime Index, APA-Obs

Beyond legacy weapons: South East Asia’s illicit arms trade is diversifying 

...Arms trafficking in South East Asia has diversified considerably in recent years, moving beyond the legacy weapons from past conflicts that have long saturated the region, and increasingly intersectin...

Posted on 25 Jun 2025

Author(s): Michael E. Picard

Gold Watch, AR-Obs

Illegal mining and gold supply chains in Ecuador

A golden crisis

...In recent years, Ecuador’s gold sector has transformed dramatically. Once a largely informal livelihood, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has evolved into a criminally exploited industry...

Posted on 25 Jun 2025

Author(s): Marcena Hunter