Transcript Drugs and Arms Trafficking

DRUGS AND ARMS
TRAFFICKING IN AFRICA
Experts Workshop on Maritime Security and Safety,
African Union, 6-7 April 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW:
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DRUG TRAFFICKING IN AFRICA (TRENDS)
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ARMS TRAFFICKING IN AFRICA (TRENDS)
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LINK BETWEEN ARMS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING
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INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS AND UNODC
ACTIVITIES
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2009 WORLD DRUG REPORT
•Reductions in the
production of cocaine
(18% in Colombia) and
heroin (19% in
Afghanistan)
•Global seizures of
amphetamine-type
stimulants (ATS) is
increasing.
TRAFFICKING IN COCAINE, 2007
TRAFFICKING IN HEROIN, 2007
THREAT ASSESSMENT:
COCAINE TRAFFICKING IN WEST AFRICA
Route: from South America to Europe
Source: South America (Colombia and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of ))
Vector to West Africa: Sea, air
Vector within West Africa: Land, air
Volume: 20 tons
Value at destination: US$ 1 billion
Groups involved: Colombian, Nigerian, other West African, European
Residence of traffickers: Colombia, Spain, other European countries
Estimated trend: Declining
Potential effects in region: Rising cocaine use, economic destabilization, corruption, violence
Likelihood of effects being realised: Unknown
Potential effects outside region: Rising cocaine use in Europe
Likelihood of effects being realised: High
AFRICA: HEROIN CONSUMPTION,
2008
Tunisia
Morocco
Algeria
Egypt
Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya
Mauritania
Mali
Niger
Chad
Sudan
Senegal
GineaBissau
Ginea
Sierra-Leone
Liberia
Cote
d’Ivoire
Burkina
Faso
Togo
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Nigeria
Ghana
Cameroon
Congo
Gabon
Central African
Republic
DRC
Data not available
Kenya
Rwanda
Burundi
Tanzania
Angola
Some increase
Large increase
Somalia
Uganda
Some decline
Stable
Eritrea
Namibia
Zambia
Malawi
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Botswana
South Africa
Swaziland
Lesotho
Madagascar
AFRICA: COCAINE
CONSUMPTION, 2007
ARMS TRAFFICKING IN AFRICA
ACTIVE CONFLICTS AND MILITARY
STOCKPILES, 2008
TRENDS
• Market for illicit arms is estimated globally at US$ 200-300
million per year, which is about 20 per cent of the (licit and
measurable) arms trade.
• Africa remains the arms smugglers' most profitable market
• Small arms, unlike drugs or counterfeits, are a durable product
(AK-47 can last indefinitely, it just needs ammunition)
• Thus, arms trafficking tends to be episodic, rather than a
permanent flow, with a predictable pattern: from countries with
large stockpiles to a region descending, or pushed, into crisis.
HOW ILLEGAL ARMS TRAFFICKING IS
CONDUCTED?
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Complex transport routes are exploited, linking the continents (for example the regions of East,
Central and West Africa have been identified as transit or diversion points for arms cargoes from
Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia), the Middle East (Lebanon, Israel) and Asia
(China) with a destination of Latin America and the Caribbean)
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Corruption in the source country (known as "point of departure diversion"), enables traffickers to
use fake end-user certificates for legal exports.
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Corruption at the "official" destination enables a legal shipment to be diverted to a different location
("post-delivery onward diversion"): the tanks, weapons and ammunition on a Ukrainian ship
hijacked by Somali pirates (in September 2008) were intended for South Sudan, not Kenya, as the
papers said.
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At the true destination, in countries for example in the Sahel, Central, East and
West Africa, weapons are bartered for drugs and natural resources (oil, precious stones, metals
and timber). As a result, arms trafficking and organized crime fuel conflicts and vice versa.
LINK BETWEEN ARMS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING
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Both represent transnational organized crime
Both illegal arms and drugs are profitable criminal market
commodities (exchangeable)
Both divert from countries of strong control to weaker ones
(Baloon effect)
Both rely on weak border control, rule of law and corruption
Both exploit same trafficking routes
Both pose serious threat to human security and stability in the
regions
WAY FORWARD
• There is a need to better understand criminal markets in
order to be disable them through structural changes,
which will make it difficult for organized crime to do what
they do;
• Strengthen border control and cooperation among
countries;
• Enhance rule of law and criminal justice system;
• Strengthen the capacity of law enforcement response to
the threats posed by arms and drug trafficking
WHAT UNODC DOES TO ADDRESS
THESE THREATS?
Transnational Organized Crime Convention
entered into force in September 2003
•The Convention applies to all serious crime with a transnational
and organized crime aspect
•It applies to four basic offences - (participation in an organized
criminal group, money laundering, corruption and obstruction of
justice)- and to the offences defined under the Protocols (trafficking
in human beings, smuggling of migrants, trafficking in firearms).
•It offers a particularly effective mechanism for international
cooperation in criminal matters, by providing a broad and flexible
legal basis for cooperation on extradition, mutual legal assistance
and international cooperation
FIREARMS PROTOCOL
(United Nations Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking
in Firearms, Their Parts and Ammunition)
entered into force in July 2005
Parties to the Protocol are required:
• Adopt legislation to prevent guns from falling into the wrong
hands;
• Criminalize the removal of the markings on guns;
• Keep the records necessary to trace them;
• Prevent the re-activation of disabled guns;
• Promote cooperative regimes to monitor gun flows;
• Prevent weapons theft; and build law enforcement capacity
across borders.
FIREARMS PROTOCOL HELPS TO:
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Close loopholes in national legislation
Tighten up regulations of air/sea transport of weapons
Develop regional databases on seizures
Promote inter-agency cooperation between customs, civil
aviation, port and export licensing authorities
• Profile suspicious shipments
• Share information with countries to verify compliance with
international agreements
• Follow the money trail of arms and drugs deals to seize the
proceeds of crime
UNODC PRESENCE IN AFRICA
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Regional Office for North Africa and Middle East
Based in Cairo, Egypt
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Regional Office for West Africa (covering Central Africa as well)
Based in Dakar, Senegal
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Regional Office for South Africa (covering Central Africa as
well)
Based in Pretoria, South Africa
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Regional Office for Eastern Africa
Based in Nairobi, Kenya
UNODC REGIONAL PROGRAMMES IN AFRICA
REGIONAL PROGRAMME FOR EASTERN AFRICA (2009-2012)
Sub-programmes:
1. Countering illicit trafficking,
organized crime and
terrorism
2. Fighting corruption and
promoting justice and
integrity
3. Improving health and
human development
Thank you for your attention!
Ms. Ainura Bekkoenova, Associate Expert
UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa
Nairobi, Kenya
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +254 20 762 3038