Virtual Briefing by Ghada Fathi Waly, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, on ‘Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’: Linkage of Counterterrorism and transnational organized crime, during the Security Council Open VTC.
The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ghada Waly said, “as the Security Council has recognized, linkages between terrorism and organized crime are complex and multifaceted, posing a serious threat to international peace and security.”
Addressing the Security Concil via video link today (06 Aug), the UNODC’s chief presented the findings of the report of the Secretary-General on actions taken by Member States and UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact Entities to address linkages between terrorism and organized crime.
She said, “the COVID-19 crisis poses a host of new challenges to national authorities,” adding that “organized criminal groups and terrorists may seek to capitalize on and exploit new vulnerabilities, and transit patterns are shifting in view of travel restrictions and lockdown measures, adding further challenges for border security.”
Waly reiterated that “comprehensive and cooperative responses are needed more than ever.”
She explained that the report identified several areas for intensified action to fully respond to Resolution 2482 and to further develop and disseminate the good practices reported by Member States.
Waly said, “national legal frameworks could be updated to include precise definitions of terrorism and organized crime offences and criminalization of facilitation acts,” adding that “more resources could be directed towards reinforcing national intelligence and criminal justice coordination and capacity through the establishment of specialized units and inter-agency mechanisms, as well as through a greater focus on intelligence-led policing, and evidence collection and preservation, including for electronic evidence.”
She also stated that targeting entire organized criminal or terrorist networks when building criminal cases should also be a priority.
