Global Organized Crime Index

State-embedded criminality places the criminal justice treaty framework under strain

...The body of criminal justice treaties dealing with organized crime, of which the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) is the central pillar, has been built on the as...

Posted on 27 May 2024

Author(s): Stefano Betti

Latinoamérica y el Caribe, HT-Obs

Delays and new court challenge threaten Kenya’s police deployment in Haiti

...As a contingent of Kenyan police officers were due to arrive in Haiti as part of a multinational police force, delays and a pending court case, which seeks to interdict their deployment, may derail th...

Posted on 24 May 2024

Author(s): Ken Opala

Global Organized Crime Index, UN - Security and Rights

Countering the arms race in Somalia

...After more than 30 years, in 2023 the UN arms embargo on the government of Somalia was fully lifted. However, questions have been raised about the risks associated with this decision, with many fearin...

Posted on 23 May 2024

Author(s): Chiara Gentili

Drug Policy, EUR-Obs

Challenge accepted? Germany steps up against organized crime

...In the early hours of 25 April 2024, employees of a well-known supermarket chain in southern Berlin made a startling discovery: while unpacking a delivery of bananas, they came across several packages...

Posted on 22 May 2024

Author(s): Daniel Brombacher

Assassination Witness, ESA-Obs, SA-Obs

The politics of murder: Criminal governance and targeted killings in South Africa

The politics of murder

...The GI-TOC, through its South Africa Observatory (SA-Obs), has recorded at least 10 politically-related assassinations between January and April 2024. This contrasts with 31 political assassinations r...

Posted on 20 May 2024

Author(s): Rumbidzai Matamba, Chwayita Thobela

Crime & Conflict, Global Organized Crime Index, Resilience Fund

Reframing resilience

...From Ukraine and Gaza to Haiti and Sudan, conflict is one of the major issues of our time. According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), which specializes in conflict data...

Posted on 17 May 2024

Author(s): Laura Adal

Crime & Conflict, Latinoamérica y el Caribe, North America Strategic Platform on Organized Crime, HT-Obs

Green light for Kenyan police boots on the ground in Haiti

...Barring any further unforeseen roadblocks, Kenyan police officers look set to arrive in Port au Prince as part of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti. Torn apart by gang violenc...

Posted on 15 May 2024

Author(s): Ken Opala

Crime & Conflict, Crime Terror Nexus, Sanctions and organized crime, NAS-Obs, WEA-Obs

US sanctions missing their mark

...Recent US sanctions aimed at deterring the kidnapping of American nationals by Islamist militants in the Sahel may send a message, but are unlikely to impact the growing kidnapping ecosystem in the re...

Posted on 15 May 2024

Author(s): Flore Berger, Matt Herbert, Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo

Extortion in Central America, CAM-Obs

Action manual for community resilience

Action manual for community resilience to extortion in Central America

...In the heart of Central America, communities in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras face a persistent challenge: extortion. This scourge, fuelled by violence and instability, affects not just individu...

Posted on 13 May 2024

Geocriminality, APA-Obs

China’s new model of global governance and its impact on the fight against organized crime

A changing landscape

...Under the concept of Community of Common Destiny for Mankind, the People’s Republic of China (henceforth referred to as ‘China’) has brought together a suite of initiatives that represent a new ...

Posted on 09 May 2024

Author(s): Martin Thorley