View source for United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

{{Short description|Intergovernmental organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| image        = United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Logo.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert
| image_size   = 
| name         = United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
| map          = 
| map_size     = 
| map_caption  = 
| type         = Secretariat office
| leader_title = Head
| leader_name  = [[Ghada Waly]] (since 2020)
| status       = Active
| established  = 1997 
| headquarters = [[Vienna]], Austria
| coordinates  = {{Coord|48|14|0|N|16|25|1|E|type:landmark_region:AT-9|display=title,inline}}
| website      = {{URL|https://www.unodc.org/}}
| parent_organization       = [[United Nations Secretariat]]
| subsidiaries = 
| footnotes    = 
}}
[[File:Austria august2010 0073.jpg|thumb|right|UNODC headquarters in Vienna]]
{{United Nations series}}
The '''United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime''' ('''UNODC'''; [[French language|French]]: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a [[United Nations]] office that was established in 1997 as the '''Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention''' by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the [[United Nations Office at Vienna]], adopting the current name in 2002.

The agency's focus is the trafficking and abuse of [[illicit drugs]], [[crime prevention]] and [[criminal justice]], international [[terrorism]], and [[political corruption]]. It is a member of the [[United Nations Development Group]]. In 2022–23, it had an estimated biannual budget of US$822 million.

==History==
The United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the [[United Nations Office at Vienna]] were merged to form the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. This was renamed United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2002.<ref name="UN_A51950_page49">{{UN document |docid=A-51-950 |type=Document |body=General Assembly |session=51 |document_number=950 |highlight=  |page=49 |accessdate=2007-11-16| date=14 July 1997|title=Renewing the United Nations: A Program for Reform}}</ref><ref name="UN_STSGB20046_page1">{{UN document |docid=ST-SGB-2004-6 |type=Secretary-General's Bulletin | body=Secretariat|highlight=rect_177,895_814,952 |page=1 |accessdate=2007-11-16|date=15 March 2004|title=Organization of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime}}</ref>

== Organisational structure ==
[[File:Yury Fedotov (01113312) (9775899852).jpg|260px|thumb|right|Yury Fedotov, former Director General of the United Nations Office in Vienna and former Executive Director of UNODC, delivers his welcome address at the first day of the 57th IAEA General Conference. M-Building, IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, Austria. 16 September 2013.]]

=== Locations ===
UNODC, which as of 2020 employs around 3400 people worldwide, has its headquarters in [[Vienna]], Austria, with 115 field offices and two liaison offices in [[Brussels]] and in [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/field-offices.html|title = UNODC around the world |website=UNODC }}</ref> The [[United Nations Secretary-General]] appoints the agency's Executive Director. [[Yuri Fedotov]], the former Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, held this position from 2010 until 2019, when the [[United Nations Secretary-General]] announced that Ms. Ghada Fathi Waly of Egypt would replace him as both executive director of UNODC and Director General of the [[United Nations Office at Vienna]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ms. Ghada Fathi Waly of Egypt - Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna (UNOV) {{!}} United Nations Secretary-General |url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/personnel-appointments/2019-11-21/ms-ghada-fathi-waly-of-egypt-executive-director-of-the-un-office-drugs-and-crime-(unodc)-and-director-general-of-the-un-office-vienna-(unov) |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=www.un.org}}</ref>

Main operating locations:
* Africa and Middle East
* Europe and West/Central Asia
* Latin America and the Caribbean
* Southeast Asia and the Pacific
* South Asia
;Liaison Office(s) · Brussels<ref>[https://www.unodc.org/brulo/index.html Brussels Office]</ref> · New York<ref>[https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/newyork/index.html NY Office]</ref>

=== Sub agencies ===
<!---redirect United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network to this section header for now.--->
The {{illm|United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network|lt=United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network (PNI)|wikidata|Q125028029}}<ref>{{cite web | title=Links | website=ISPAC | url=http://ispac.cnpds.org/links.html | access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref> is a network consisting of UNODC as well as many crime-related institutes and other centres around the world. Its aim is to strengthen international co-operation in the areas of crime prevention and criminal justice. The network facilitates the "exchange of information, research, training and public education".<ref>{{cite web | title=Institutes | website=United Nations : Office on Drugs and Crime | url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CCPCJ/PNI/institutes.html | access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref>

UNODC incorporates the secretariat of the [[International Narcotics Control Board]] (INCB).<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/terrorism/about-us.html
 |title        = About Us
 |year         = 2014
 |publisher    = UNODC
 |access-date  = 2014-10-28
 |quote        = The Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the key United Nations entity with the mandate and expertise to deliver counter-terrorism legal technical assistance to Member States for the ratification, legislative incorporation and implementation of the international legal instruments against terrorism. [...] Since 2003, the Branch administers the Global Project on Strengthening the Legal Regime against Terrorism which provides the operational framework for UNODC's specialized legal and capacity building assistance related to terrorism.
 |archive-date = 2014-10-10
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141010040759/http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/terrorism/about-us.html
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

UNODC's Terrorism Prevention Branch was headed by International [[terrorism studies]] expert [[Alex P. Schmid]] from 1999 to 2005.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/53842/1/9.Alex%20P.%20Schmid.pdf |title=The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research|editor-first=Alex P.| editor-last=Schmid|date=2011| isbn= 978-0-203-82873-1|publisher=Routledge|series=Routledge Handbooks| page=xii,74, 1–718 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112111729/http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/53842/1/9.Alex%20P.%20Schmid.pdf |archive-date= Jan 12, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | editor1-last=Brunton | editor1-first=Gillian | editor2-last=Wilson | editor2-first=Tim | title=Discussion 1 - Revisiting the wicked problem of defining terrorism| journal=[[Contemporary Voices: St Andrews Journal of International Relations]] | volume=1 | issue=1|others=Issue title: Terrorism: Its Past, Present & Future Study - A Special Issue to Commemorate CSTPV at 25 | date=7 October 2020 | issn=2516-3159 | doi=10.15664/jtr.1601 | page=|first=Alex P. |last=Schmid| doi-access=free |url=https://cvir.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/up/article/view/s100 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519030443/https://cvir.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/up/article/download/s100/1074 |archive-date= May 19, 2024 }}</ref>

The agency is a member of the [[United Nations Sustainable Development Group]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=UNDG Members |url=http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=13 |publisher=UNDG |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511144047/http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=13 |archive-date=May 11, 2011 }}</ref>
 
===Budget===
In 2022–2023 it had an estimated biannual budget of US$822 million.<ref name="UN_BPP_20162017">{{UN document |docid=A-70-6 |type=General Assembly document | body=Secretariat |access-date=2016-07-20|date=9 April 2015|title=Organization of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime}}</ref>

== Aims and functions ==
UNODC was established to assist the UN in better addressing a coordinated, comprehensive response to the interrelated issues of illicit trafficking in and abuse of drugs, crime prevention and criminal justice, international terrorism, and political corruption. These goals are pursued through three primary functions: research, guidance and support to governments in the adoption and implementation of various crime-, drug-, terrorism-, and corruption-related conventions, treaties and protocols, as well as technical/financial assistance to said governments to face their respective situations and challenges in these fields.

The office aims long-term to better equip governments to handle drug-, [[crime]]-, [[terrorism]]-, and [[corruption]]-related issues, to maximise knowledge on these issues among governmental institutions and agencies, and also to maximise awareness of said matters in public opinion, globally, nationally and at community level. Approximately 90% of the Office's funding comes from voluntary contributions, mainly from governments.

These are the main themes that UNODC deals with: alternative development, [[anti-corruption]], [[criminal justice]], [[prison reform]] and [[crime prevention]], drug prevention, treatment and care, [[HIV/AIDS|HIV and AIDS]], [[human trafficking]] and [[People smuggling|migrant smuggling]], [[money laundering]], [[organized crime]], [[piracy]], terrorism prevention.

== The ''World Drug Report'' ==
The ''World Drug Report'' is a yearly publication that presents a comprehensive assessment of the international drug problem, with detailed information on the illicit drug situation. It provides estimates and information on trends in the production, trafficking and use of opium/heroin, coca/cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants. The Report, based on data and estimates collected or prepared by Governments, UNODC and other international institutions, attempts to identify trends in the evolution of global illicit drug markets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Drug Report – Global Illicit Drug Trends |url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/data-and-analysis/WDR.html |publisher=UNODC}}</ref>

Through the ''World Drug Report'', UNODC aims to enhance member states' understanding of global illicit drug trends and increase their awareness of the need for the more systematic collection and reporting of data relating to illicit drugs.

== Treaties ==
United Nations Conventions and their related Protocols underpin all the operational work of UNODC.

=== Crime-related treaties ===
==== United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime ====
{{Main|United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime}}
The convention is a legally binding instrument that entered into force on 29 September 2003, through which States parties commit to taking a series of measures against transnational organized crime. States that ratify the convention has the duty of creation of domestic offences to combat the problem, the adoption of new, sweeping frameworks for mutual legal assistance, extradition, law enforcement cooperation, technical assistance and training. The convention signifies an important stage in dealing with [[transnational crime]] by recognizing the seriousness of the problem that the crime poses, and gaining understanding from the member states of the importance of a cooperative measure. The convention is complemented by three different protocols:

* the [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children]]; 
* the [[Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air]]; and
* the [[Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition]].

The [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children]] aims to provide a convergence in the states' domestic offences in the investigation and the persecution process. Another objective of the protocol is to protect the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect.

The [[Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air]] is concerned with the aggravating problem of organized crime groups for smuggling persons. The protocol aims to combat and prevent transnational smuggling as well as to promote cooperative measures for enhancing protective measures for victims.

The [[Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition]] was adopted to prevent and provide a cooperative measure for illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition. By adopting the protocol, the member states commit to adopt domestic criminal offences for illegal manufacturing, providing governmental licensing ammunition, and keeping track of the ammunition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto, 2000 |url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/index.html|publisher=UNODC}}</ref>

==== United Nations Convention against Corruption ====
{{Main|United Nations Convention against Corruption}}

In its resolution 55/61, the General Assembly recognized that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was desirable. The text of the convention was negotiated during seven sessions held between 21 January 2002 and 1 October 2003. The convention was adopted by the General Assembly on 31 October 2003.
In 2003, the United Nations adopted the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The Convention came into force in December 2005. {{As of|2012|11|9|post=,}} 140 countries had signed and 164 countries (States Parties) had ratified the UNCAC. UNODC serves as the Secretariat for the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) to the UNCAC.

UNCAC is a legally binding instrument (perhaps the only anti-corruption legally binding global instrument). A highlight of UNCAC is the inclusion of a specific chapter on asset recovery which aimed at returning assets to their rightful owners including countries from which they had been taken illicitly.

UNODC, as the custodian of UNCAC, is also one of the main initiators of the establishment of the [[International Anti-Corruption Academy]] (IACA), whose main function is to, among other things, facilitate more effective implementation of the UNCAC.

=== Drug-related treaties ===
[[File:Treaty decades.png|thumb|Timeline of the three drug-related treaties]]

There are [[United Nations drug control conventions|three drug related treaties]] that guide UNODC's drug related programs. These are: The [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]] of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol; the [[Convention on Psychotropic Substances]] of 1971 and the [[United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances]] of 1988.

These three major international drug control treaties are mutually supportive and complementary. An important purpose of the first two treaties is to codify internationally applicable control measures in order to ensure the availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes, and to prevent their diversion into illicit channels. They also include general provisions on trafficking and drug abuse.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 |url=http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/conv/convention_1961_en.pdf |publisher=INCB |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131143416/http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/conv/convention_1961_en.pdf |archive-date=2012-01-31 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 |url=http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/conv/convention_1971_en.pdf |publisher=INCB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988 |url=http://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1988_en.pdf |publisher=UNODC}}</ref>

== Campaigns ==
UNODC launches campaigns to raise awareness of drugs and crime problems. On 26 June every year, UNODC marks the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. 
On 9 December every year, UNODC commemorates the International Anti-Corruption Day.

=== "Do Drugs Control Your Life?" – World Drug Campaign ===
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) started this international campaign to raise awareness about the major challenge that illicit drugs represent to society as a whole, and especially to the young. The goal of the campaign is to mobilize support and to inspire people to act against drug abuse and trafficking. The campaign encourages young people to put their health first and not to take drugs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the World Drug Campaign |url=http://www.unodc.org/drugs/en/about-the-world-drug-campaign/index.html |publisher=UNODC}}</ref>

=== "Your No Counts" – International Anti-Corruption Campaign ===
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has teamed up with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to run this campaign as a focus on how corruption hinders efforts to achieve the internationally agreed upon MDGs, undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to human rights violations, distorts markets, erodes quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ACT Against Corruption: About the Campaign |url=http://www.unodc.org/yournocounts/en/about-the-campaign/index.html |publisher=UNODC |access-date=2010-03-26 |archive-date=2012-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405102821/http://www.unodc.org/yournocounts/en/about-the-campaign/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== "Think AIDS" – World AIDS Campaign ===
Young people aged 15 to 24 account for an estimated 40 per cent of new adult (15+) HIV infections worldwide. In some parts of the world, and in some marginalized sub-groups, the most frequent modes of HIV transmission for these young people are unsafe injecting drug use and unsafe sexual activities.

Because young people are also often more likely to use drugs, The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) targets this population with a campaign to raise awareness about drug use and its connection to the spread of HIV and AIDS. The slogan: "Think Before You Start ... Before You Shoot ... Before You Share" is used to provoke young people to consider the implications of using drugs, and particularly injecting drugs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Think AIDS? |url=http://www.unodc.org/thinkaids/what-is-think-aids.html |publisher=UNODC}}</ref>

=== Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking ===
The Blue Heart Campaign seeks to encourage involvement and action to help stop trafficking in persons. The campaign also allows people to show solidarity with the victims of human trafficking by wearing the Blue Heart. The use of the blue UN colour demonstrates the commitment of the United Nations to combat this crime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the Blue Heart Campaign? |url=http://www.unodc.org/blueheart/en/about-us.html |publisher=UNODC |access-date=2010-03-26 |archive-date=2018-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330211611/http://www.unodc.org/blueheart/en/about-us.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Criticism ==
In 2007, the five largest donors to UNODC's budget in descending order were: [[European Union]], [[Canada]], [[United States]], the UN itself, and [[Finland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/12/16/26/48e55079.pdf |title=Svensk bedömning av multilaterala organisationer - FN:s organ mot brott och narkotika, UNODC |page=2 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finnish |year=2008 |language=sv |trans-title=Finnish assessment of multilateral organizations - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612204317/http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/12/16/26/48e55079.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-12 }}</ref> According to the [[Transnational Institute]] this explains why, until recently, UNODC did not promote [[harm reduction]] policies like [[needle exchange]] and [[heroin-assisted treatment]]. (This despite the actions of the [[United Nations|Organization]]'s bodies that support these policies, such as the [[WHO]] and [[UNAIDS]].)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The United Nations and Harm Reduction Overview and Links |url=http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?page=drugsreform-docs_unharmred |publisher=[[Transnational Institute]]}}</ref> UNODC promotes other methods for drug use prevention, treatment and care that UNODC sees as "based on scientific evidence and on ethical standards".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug-prevention-and-treatment/index.html |title=Drug use prevention, treatment and care |publisher=UNODC}}</ref>
The UNODC has been criticized by human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International]] for not promoting the inclusion of adherence to international human rights standards within its project in [[Iran]], where there are "serious concerns regarding unfair trials and executions of those suspected of drug offences."<ref>{{cite web |title=Addicted to death: Executions for drug offenses in Iran |publisher=Amnesty International |year=2011 |url=http://www.amnesty.nl/sites/default/files/public/mde130902011en.pdf |access-date=2012-03-12 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210335/http://www.amnesty.nl/sites/default/files/public/mde130902011en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

UNODC has signed a partnership with the controversial [[Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center]], which was founded by [[Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri]], the General-Prosecutor of Qatar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2016/December/international-anti-corruption-day-recognizing-excellence-in-combatting-corruption.html|title=International Anti-Corruption Day: recognizing excellence in combatting corruption|website=www.unodc.org|access-date=2019-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2014/October/attorney-general-of-qatar-reappointed-as-unodc-advocate-for-anti-corruption-in-mena-region.html|title=Attorney General of Qatar reappointed as UNODC advocate for anti-corruption in MENA region|website=www.unodc.org|access-date=2019-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hamel |first=Ian |date=2018-02-26 |title=Le Monsieur Anticorruption du Qatar et son hôtel particulier |url=https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/le-monsieur-anticorruption-du-qatar-et-son-hotel-particulier-26-02-2018-2197953_24.php |access-date=2019-02-16 |website=[[Le Point]] |language=fr}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Crime|Law|Politics}}
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking]]
* [[CARICC]], Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre
* [[Convention against Transnational Organized Crime]], 2000
* [[Convention on Psychotropic Substances]], 1971
* [[Drug policy]]
* [[European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction]] EMCDDA
* [[International Anti-Corruption Academy]]
* [[International Narcotics Control Board]] (INCB)
* [[ISO 37001|ISO 37001 Anti-bribery management systems]]
* [[Illegal drug trade in Latin America]] ([[Maritime drug trafficking in Latin America|Maritime]])
* [[Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour]]
* [[Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms]]
* [[Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air]], 2004
* [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children]], 2003
* [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]], 1961
* [[United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice]]
* [[United Nations Convention against Corruption]]
* [[United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances]], 1988
* [[West Africa Coast Initiative]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.unodc.org/}}

{{United Nations}}
{{International criminal law}}
{{Drug use}}
{{Police}}
{{Humanitarian partners of the European Commission}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Office On Drugs And Crime}}
[[Category:Drug control law]]
[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Organizations established by the United Nations]]
[[Category:Drug policy organizations]]
[[Category:Drug policy]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1997]]
[[Category:Human trafficking]]
[[Category:Counterterrorism]]
[[Category:United Nations Development Group]]
[[Category:Criminal justice reform]]
[[Category:United Nations organizations based in Vienna]]
[[Category:Drug control treaties]]