UNODC - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

As a global, multi-billion dollar concern, there is a strong link between counterfeiting and transnational organized crime. This PSA produced by UNODC highlights this link and urges consumers to 'look behind' the production and sale of counterfeit goods. Visit www.unodc.org/counterfeit for the full campaign.

Transnational organized crime is a global concern. Generating around US$ 870 billion a year, organized criminal networks profit from the sale of illegal goods wherever there is a demand and represent a threat to peace, human security and prosperity.

The UNODC-led campaign on transnational organized crime highlights the various aspects of this threat. Visit the campaign website on www.unodc.org/toc or follow the conversation on Twitter through @UNODC.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Mr. Yury Fedotov of the Russian Federation Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) on 9 July 2010. He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

International Conference on Migrant Smuggling: Challenges and progress in implementing the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air

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The first international conference to address the challenges and progress in the implementation of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air in Central America and Mexico, opened in Mexico City on the 16th of April of 2012.

The meeting was organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the United Mexican States and with the support of the European Union. Experts from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe gathered during three days with more than 200 governmental officials and civil society representatives from Central America and Mexico with the aim of promoting a greater knowledge of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

UNODC Representative for Mexico, Antonio Mazzitelli, affirmed that "every day more migrants use the services of smugglers to cross the borders. Every day hundreds of thousands of migrants are been smuggled in increasingly inhuman conditions. Other crimes are more publicized, but this is certainly one of the crimes that generate more gains to organized crime and more pain to migrants object of smuggling".

The flows of Africans smuggled to Europe, and of Latin Americans smuggled to North America are the largest at the global level. The latter alone is estimated to produce 7 billion dollars a year, a possibly increasing amount given the significant risen of transcontinental flows. Limited knowledge of this type of crime and institutional weakness in its prosecution facilitate the proliferation of transnational smuggling networks, which are enabled to operate without major risks.

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Conferencia Internacional sobre el Tráfico Ilícito de Migrantes: retos y avances en la implementación del Protocolo contra el Tráfico Ilícito de Migrantes por Tierra, Mar y Aire

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La primera conferencia internacional para abordar los retos y avances en la implementación del Protocolo contra el tráfico ilícito de migrantes por tierra, mar y aire en América Central y México fue inaugurada en la Ciudad de México el pasado 16 de abril. El encuentro fue organizado por la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito (UNODC), en alianza con los Estados Unidos Mexicanos y con el apoyo de la Unión Europea.

Expertos/as de las Américas, África, Asia y Europa se reunieron durante tres días con más de 200 funcionarios/as de gobierno y representantes de la sociedad civil de América Central y México con el objetivo de promover el conocimiento y utilización del Protocolo contra el tráfico ilícito de migrantes por tierra, mar y aire.

El Representante Regional de la UNODC en México, Antonio Mazzitelli afirmó que " Cada día más migrantes recurren a los servicios de traficantes para cruzar las fronteras. Cada vez resultan más inhumanas las condiciones en que cientos de miles de migrantes son traficados. Otros delitos tienen más publicidad, pero éste sin duda es uno de los que más riqueza genera a la delincuencia organizada y dolor a los migrantes objeto de tráfico".

A nivel mundial, el tráfico ilícito de africanos a Europa y de latinoamericanos hacia América del Norte conforman los mayores flujos de migrantes objeto de tráfico. Se estima que solamente este último genera 7 mil millones de dólares por año y que esta cifra podría estar en aumento por el incremento significativo de flujos transcontinentales. El escaso conocimiento de esta figura delictiva y las debilidades institucionales para perseguirla, facilitan la proliferación de las redes transnacionales de traficantes quienes operan sin mayores riesgos.