Global Initiative

Fake drugs, real impact: Western Asia’s counterfeit medicine epidemic 

...From everyday painkillers to drugs for treating serious illnesses, Western Asia is awash with counterfeit medicines, which account for more than a third of its total pharmaceutical supply. With health...

Posted on 08 Sep 2023

Author(s): Sarah Fares, Laura Adal

Gold Watch, ESA-Obs

All that glitters: Revelations from a Kenyan gold smuggler

All that glitters

...Despite minimal domestic production, gold has figured prominently in Kenya’s recent history. Many Kenyans can still vividly recall the ‘Goldenberg’ scandal of the 1990s, a gold export and foreig...

Posted on 07 Sep 2023

Crime & Conflict, Global Organized Crime Index

Stronger together: Can responses to the war in Ukraine pave the way for further international cooperation on organized crime?

...In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe showed unprecedented unity in providing Ukraine with comprehensive and sustained support. As international cooperation has become a significant t...

Posted on 31 Aug 2023

Drug Policy, ESACD

Maritime-based drug trafficking in Eastern and Southern Africa

Maritime-based drug trafficking in Eastern and Southern Africa

...The coastal states and islands of the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) region are being buffeted by illicit drug markets. While the dynamics of drug markets are shaped by a range of domestic politic...

Posted on 31 Aug 2023

Drug Policy, ESACD

Drug policy reform in Eastern and Southern Africa

Drug policy reform in Eastern and Southern Africa

...The seductive but one-dimensional war on drugs policy deployed against Africa’s illicit drug markets has failed, as it has globally. In the six decades since UN member states agreed the Single Conve...

Posted on 30 Aug 2023

ENACT, WEA-Obs

A growing threat? Online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cape Verde

A growing threat?

... Urgent action is required to prevent devastating consequences for individuals in West Africa. This report examines the prevalence of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA)...

Posted on 29 Aug 2023

Author(s): Thi Hoang, Livia Wagner

SEE-Obs

South Eastern Europe Risk Bulletin #16

Observatory of illicit economies in South Eastern Europe

...Risk Bulletin Download PDF Observatory of Illicit Economies in South Eastern Europe Issue 16 August 2023 Summary highlights Increasing migratory pressures in Serbia have led to conflict between people...

Posted on 29 Aug 2023

Drug Policy, ESACD

Law enforcement strategies to disrupt illicit markets

Law enforcement strategies to disrupt illicit markets

...Eastern and Southern African countries are significant illicit drug transit hubs and consumer markets. Drug markets are now a major component of the region’s illicit economies. These markets are ‘...

Posted on 27 Aug 2023

Author(s): Yvon Dandurand