UN agencies say conditions are deteriorating further across North Darfur and neighbouring Kordofan, while independent human rights experts on Thursday warned that the collapse of protection following the city’s fall has sharply increased the risks facing women and children. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of El Fasher –...
Last year alone, more than 37,000 cultural objects – including archaeological artifacts, works of art, coins, and musical instruments – were seized during an international operation carried out by Interpol, and other organizations, together with law enforcement and customs authorities from 23 countries. According to Interpol, Ukrainian customs authorities intercepted...
According to a new report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released on Thursday, 10,200 hectares were under opium cultivation this year, down from 12,800 hectares in 2024 and far below the 232,000 hectares recorded before the ban. Production of the drug dropped even more steeply, falling...
“Sports give me a sense of belonging as a girl. When I play, it affirms my right to play sports and exposes me to wider opportunities,” she said. This is what sport should represent for young people worldwide. However, a new campaign supported by the International Organization for Migration...
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the production and trafficking of methamphetamine – an illegal synthetic stimulant – have risen sharply since 2021, particularly in Myanmar’s Shan State. UNODC emphasised that both the scale of production and the flow of trafficking in Shan State have “significantly”...
New data released on Friday from the UN-backed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveals that while the overall number remains consistent with previous years, the continued incidents of trafficking and radioactive contamination cases raises concerns over nuclear security. Three of the reported cases were directly linked to trafficking or malicious...
The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reveals a 25 per cent increase between 2022 and 2019, as more children are exploited and forced labour cases spike due to vulnerabilities brought on by poverty, conflict and the climate crisis. “Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labour, including to...
Understanding Illegal Methamphetamine Manufacture in Afghanistan, highlights a drastic increase in seizures of the drug, from 2.5 tons in 2017 to 29.7 tons in 2021. In its street drug form, meth or “crystal meth” it is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that impacts the central nervous system and can...
“I used to transport sugar from Malawi,” said an anonymous driver, who was arrested for migrant trafficking. “In 2016, I had to wait for several days at a border crossing in Tanzania for customs checks. I was approached by a man who offered me a lot of money to transport...
“I used to transport sugar from Malawi,” said an anonymous driver, who was arrested for migrant trafficking. “In 2016, I had to wait for several days at a border crossing in Tanzania for customs checks. I was approached by a man who offered me a lot of money to transport...
The effort is centred on the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet and from where illicit items including drugs are trafficked to lucrative markets across Southeast Asia. UN News spoke with Jeremy Douglas, the Regional Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)...
In this feature, part of a series exploring trafficking in the Sahel, UN News focuses on migrant smuggling. Migrant smugglers have been reaping rich dividends over the past decade in the Sahel, where armed violence, terrorist attacks, and climate shocks have displaced three million people and triggered growing numbers of others...
