United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Letter from the Chairperson

Dear Delegates,
It is a tremendous honour and privilege to welcome you to another iteration of the Shishukunj MUN conference. I, Pranavi Agrawal, on behalf of the entire executive board, cannot wait to begin what is sure to be one of the most stimulating and fun conferences ever!

I’m currently in grade 11 and aspire to pursue a degree in economics, along with a minor in legal studies. My passions include dancing, debating, playing the piano, and of course, MUNning. In committee, I expect you to mix the right amounts of logic and creativity to solve the problems presented before you.

The agenda for the committee, Transnational Organised Crime, has been set to allow delegates to become advocates, facilitators, diplomats and leaders to address this crucial issue through focus and wise decision making. To best represent your nations, I urge you to not let yourself be restricted to the confines of the background guide, as it does not attempt to cover all probable areas of discussion. When researching, go beyond the guide and use it only as a jump-off point.

This committee is sure to be engaging and incite constructive debate. With emphasis on substance, creativity, and tactical negotiation, I hope to give you a unique experience at this unique conference. Along with the Secretariat, the Executive Board will be working tirelessly to ensure that this committee ranks among your favourites! Feel free to contact me for any queries or assistance you might need.

I wish you luck for the conference!
Thank you!
Pranavi Agrawal
Chairperson
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
unodc@shishukunjmun.com

Organ Description

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established in 1997 by merging the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention. It operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices, and 90% of its budget depends on voluntary state contributions. UNODC is mandated to assist member states in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism. The organisation reflects today’s modern recognition of the interconnectivity between crime, drugs, terrorism and the international dimension. Its work also operates on ‘three pillars’:

The three pillars of the UNODC work programme are:

• Field-based technical cooperation projects to enhance the capacity of member states to counteract illicit drugs, crime and terrorism.
• Research and analytical work to increase knowledge and understanding of drugs and crime issues and expand the evidence base for policy and operational decisions.
• Normative work to assist states in the ratification and implementation of the relevant international treaties, the development of domestic legislation on drugs, crime and terrorism, and the provision of secretariat and substantive services to the treaty-based and governing bodies.

In short, the UNODC serves as a liaison between all states in the fight against transnational organised crime and the drug trade – it is also the main body assisting states in the ratification and implementation of international agreements and treaties.

Agenda: Transnational Organised Crime

Transnational organized crime (TOC) is a type of well organized crime which involves a group of people planning and executing highly secretive illegal trades which benefit the interests of corrupt people in different nations. Transnational organized crimes has many branches included in it like drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering and property threats. It is a big chain of various people starting from the demanders to the facilitators and finally to the ones who execute the crime, and due to this long chain the real culprits are never caught. The severity of transnational organized crime varies from place to place with the change in the demand of the goods. For example, in the Balkan strait and the Russian region and the middle east, illicit trade of weapons is prevalent (which include the weapons for mass destruction, nuclear weapons and chemical weapons) unlike in Latin America, where drugs are in a great demand. Many major powers also play a significant role in this crime. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime was established to provide aid to the issues related to illicit drug trafficking, crime prevention, political corruption and money laundering, and has come up with some phenomenal treaties and conventions like the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on human trafficking, migrant smuggling and trafficking of firearms, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and many more. Still, much work has to be done and thus the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime must come up with collaborative efforts to tackle this issue.