NCJ Number
219437
Date Published
January 2007
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the policy directives and describes the work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Abstract
The UNODC aims to make the world safer from drugs and criminality by fighting against "uncivil society," supporting the main United Nations policymaking bodies in the areas of drugs and crime and member states through technical assistance, legal advice, and research. The UNODC has been mandated to assist member states in implementing the provisions of several international legal instruments pertinent to drugs, transnational crime, corruption, and terrorism. The UNODC is also the custodian of the body of internationally recognized principles in crime prevention and criminal justice that have been developed over the years and cover a wide variety of issues such as juvenile justice, the treatment of offenders, international cooperation, good government, victim protection, and violence against women. UNODC also assists countries in reforming their criminal justice systems. In providing details on the work of the UNODC, one section of this report discusses actions related to sustainable development and poverty eradication in source countries for illicit drugs. Topics addressed are illicit crop cultivation and poverty eradication along with illicit crop monitoring, as well as the promotion of public health. The latter effort focuses on drug treatment and countering HIV/AIDS in the context of drugs abuse, prison settings, and trafficking in humans. Other major sections of this report consider the UNODC's work in promoting the rule of law and good government as well as peace and security. The latter section focuses on UN conventions against crime, international cooperation against terrorism, countering money laundering, and treaty implementation.