Publications

The Conflict in Ukraine and its Impact on Organized Crime and Security - November 2022

      This report assesses the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and its implications for organized crime and security-related issues for neighbouring countries, with a focus on Moldova. These include: Organized crime and illicit trafficking (including trafficking in persons, drugs, arms, illicit tobacco, and other goods);  Cybercrimes and fraud;  Disinformation and propaganda; and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats. This study provides key recommendations to inform concerned stakeholders at the national and regional levels to identify lessons learned and guide future initiatives to mitigate risks in the above-mentioned areas.  UNICRI has been present in Ukraine and in the European Union’s Eastern Par...

A Policy Framework for Responsible Limits on Facial Recognition. Use Case: Law Enforcement Investigations - November 2022

The World Economic Forum, in partnership with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), and the Netherlands police, published A Policy Framework for Responsible Limits on Facial Recognition Technology, Use Case: Law Enforcement Investigations. While the adoption of facial recognition technology (FRT) has many socially beneficial uses in various industries, it also creates a unique set of challenges that require an appropriate governance process to ensure its ethical and human rights compliant use. To address these challenges, the World Economic Forum and project community published its initial vision for a policy framework for the responsible use of FRT in law enforcement investigations in 2...

Perceptions of climate change and violent extremism - October 2022

  The report Perceptions of climate change and violent extremism: Listening to local communities in Chad has been produced by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in partnership with SWISSAID. Building upon UNICRI’s previous research it explores the lived experiences of community members and their perceptions on the role climate change and degradation of natural resources have in exacerbating local conflicts, as well as the impact of climate change on violent extremist groups’ recruitment narratives. The research is based on primary data collected through more than 100 in-depth interviews across four provinces of Chad — Hadjer-Lamis, Lac, Logone Occidentale and Mandoul. The report specifically analyses the effects of clima...

UNICRI and Asset Recovery

  This brochure presents an overview of the Programme on Asset Recovery and Illicit Financial Flows implemented by UNICRI. The Institute has over 25 years of experience in helping countries in their effort of tracing, freezing, seizing and confiscating illicitly obtained assets - including high-profile cultural assets. UNICRI’s Asset Recovery experts have assisted countries in recovering assets and in facilitating the establishment of relevant laws and regulatory frameworks to streamline the asset tracking and recovery processes. UNICRI also provides technical advice to Member States on how to resolve cases and hunt down assets linked to corruption and organised crime.    ...

The Taliban in Afghanistan: Assessing New Threats to the Region and Beyond - October 2022

This brief threat assessment report by UNICRI aims to analyse and assess the recent developments in Afghanistan and their broader implications on the security context at the domestic, regional, and international levels. This is a prelude to a more comprehensive report that will aim to explore and identify: (i) current sources of Taliban funding; (ii) the relationship between the Taliban and foreign terrorist groups, notably Al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K); (iii) the use of sanctions, and their unintended consequences; (iv) regional relations and dynamics; and (v) potential implications for the European security context. This research aims to provide actionable recommendations to guide the design of an integrated programme for neighbouring countr...

Countering Emerging Threats and Challenges of Transnational Organized Crime from Thailand's Perspective in the Context of the ASEAN Community - January 2021

This report on Thailand represents a milestone in assessing the risks, strengths and gaps to prevent and counter transnational organized crime, in particular linked to the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the introduction in 2015 of the ASEAN Economic Community. Free trade, including the movement of people, goods, capital, labour and investments, have exponentially increased the socio-economic growth of the ASEAN community. New opportunities and development, however, are often exploited by organized criminal groups to infiltrate economies and take advantage of enhanced connectivity. This report highlights the trends of transnational organized crime in Thailand, focusing on several areas spanning from tr...

Illicit Financial Flows and Asset Recovery in the Eastern Partnership Region - New Report in Ukrainian - July 2022

Незаконні фінансові потоки та розшук активів в регіоні Східного партнерства відображення потреб та рекомендацій   "Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) region can be estimated at around EUR 29 billion every year. Undocumented flights of wealth to and from, as well as within, the EaP region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) have severe repercussions on government revenues and development opportunities. IFFs, particularly those related to serious crimes, drain funds from the economy and may force governments to divert more resources to prevent and respond to criminal activities. The depletion of resources and loss of tax revenues caused by IFFs have a serious impact on the delivery of basic public servic...

Illicit Financial Flows and Asset Recovery in the Eastern Partnership Region - New Report in Armenian - July 2022

  Ապօրինի ֆինանսական հոսքերը և ակտիվների վերականգնումը Արևելյան գործընկերության տարածաշրջանում կարիքների և առաջարկությունների քարտեզագրում "Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) region can be estimated at around EUR 29 billion every year. Undocumented flights of wealth to and from, as well as within, the EaP region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) have severe repercussions on government revenues and development opportunities. IFFs, particularly those related to serious crimes, drain funds from the economy and may force governments to divert more resources to prevent and respond to criminal activities. The depletion of resources and loss of tax revenues caused by IFFs have a serious impact on ...

Learn Better, Together: Independent Meta-synthesis under the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

  This innovative study was commissioned by the Sub-Group on Evaluation of the Resource Mobilization, Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact. It provides collective results from an analysis of over 118 evaluation and oversight reports across Compact entities and has led to aggregated findings, conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations for use by Compact entities in the delivery of quality technical assistance. The study was implemented with the support from the State of Qatar and in-kind contributions from UNODC, UNOCT and UNICRI, and other Sub-Group members.