The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) is one of the five

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Research and Training Institutes. The Institute was founded in 1968 to assist the

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is t ...

in formulating and implementing improved policies in the field of

crime prevention Crime prevention is the attempt to reduce and deter crime and criminals. It is applied specifically to efforts made by governments to reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice. Studies Criminologists, commissions, and researc ...

and

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. Its work currently focuses on Goal 16 of the

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

, that is centred on promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies, free from crime and violence. The Institute is an autonomous institution and is governed by its Board of Trustees. It currently employs around 100 staff, spread between its headquarters in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

and its extended network of offices.

History

In 1965, the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

(ECOSOC) outlined in Resolution 1086 B (XXXIX) the organisational arrangements for a United Nations Social Defence Programme. In 1967, UN Secretary-General

U Thant Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held t ...

issued Bulletin ST/SGB/134, which established the United Nations Social Defence Research Institute (UNSDRI), mandated to develop "new knowledge and the application thereof in advancing policy and practice in the prevention and control of both

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a perso ...

and adult criminality" through research and technical support. The United Nations and the Italian Government signed an agreement in 1968 for the establishment of UNSDRI's Headquarters in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the Institute was formally inaugurated the following year by the

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary- ...

. Under ECOSOC Resolution No. 1989/56, the Institute was renamed the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in 1989. Its mandate was enlarged through the adoption of its present statute. UNICRI moved its headquarters from Rome to

in 2000. Since 2000, UNICRI has set up liaison offices in Brussels and Geneva. It established the AI Centre for Advanced Robotics in The Hague in 2017, as well as Centres of Excellence on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear risk mitigation in Algiers, Amman, Manila, Nairobi, Rabat, Tashkent and Tbilisi in partnership with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

Aims and functions

The Institute carries out action-oriented research, training and technical cooperation programmes, with the aim of assisting governmental and non-governmental actors with the development of targeted strategies to address crime in a way that positively impacts on good governance, sustainable development, human rights and security by offering a range of evidence-based responses. Their overarching objective is to assist the international community in achieving key goals of the UN

, and in particular, Goal 16: to promote peaceful, just, inclusive and secure societies, free from crime and violence, where nobody is left behind. UNICRI structures its activities to meet the identified needs of member states, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its programme activities arise from priorities identified by the UN Annual Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Commission. The Institute current priorities include, ''inter alia'', activities related to

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

; juvenile justice;

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

; major event security;

international criminal law International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetrat ...

; the crime, justice and security perspectives to new technologies such as

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...

and

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

;

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

;

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

; illicit trafficking;

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

ing;

cybercrime A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing t ...

; crimes against the environment; domestic violence; CBRN threats and

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

. The Institute is committed to close international and cross-regional cooperation and encourages the sharing of information and experiences at all levels.

Location

UNICRI has its headquarters on the United Nations Campus in

, Italy. It has a Liaison Office in Rome, as well as project offices in Algiers, Amman, Brussels, Geneva, Manila, Nairobi, Rabat, Tashkent, Tbilisi, and the specialized Centre for AI and Robotics in The Hague.

Activities

Within the broad scope of its mandate to develop and implement improved policies in the field of crime prevention and control, the mission of UNICRI is to advance justice and the rule of law in support of peace and sustainable development. UNICRI works in specialized niches and selected areas within the fields of crime prevention, justice, security governance and the risks and benefits of technological advances. UNICRI provides a vital foundation for United Nations policy and operations through its specialized training and capacity-building programmes. The Institute serves as a conduit for channelling innovative ideas from within and outside the United Nations system. Through its research, needs assessments and analyses of evolving trends, as well as the feedback received from partners, academics, civil society actors, policymakers and practitioners, UNICRI has identified the following threats and challenges in its Strategic Programme Framework for the period 2019–2022: * Radicalization and violent extremism: the lack of context-specific responses, weak criminal justice systems, and gaps in national and transnational cooperation; * Transnational organized crime involvement in licit and illicit markets: shadow economies, illicit financial flows and possible links with terrorist networks; * Weak security governance, poor rule of law and lack of accountability of institutions in post-conflict areas; * High-tech security: encompassing global threats and solutions; * Threats to crowded spaces and vulnerable targets; * Vulnerabilities to criminal exploitation, gender inequalities and human rights violations against vulnerable populations; * Emerging trends in crimes having an impact on the environment: illegal extraction, use of and trade in environmental resources and trafficking in hazardous substances. The Framework contains the following six strategic priorities: # Preventing and countering violent extremism; # Countering organized crime and fighting all forms of trafficking and illicit financial flows; # Reinforcing the rule of law in post-conflict countries; # Security through research, technology and innovation; # Threat response and risk mitigation: security governance; # Preventing crime through the protection and empowerment of vulnerable groups. The responses to the criminal justice, security and governance issues highlighted in the Framework have been carefully crafted to support and contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The priorities of the Institute are aligned in particular with Goal 16 (To promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels), but they are also linked to several other Goals (2–6, 8, 9, 11, 14 and 15).

Funding

UNICRI is entirely financed from voluntary contributions and does not receive any funding from the regular budget of the United Nations. UNICRI implements its programmes with the generous support of a number of Member States and other donors, including international and regional organizations charities and foundations.

Official partners

UNICRI cooperates with a number of official partners including national government agencies, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and universities. The Institute maintains close working relations with UN bodies and agencies, particularly with the

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; 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 ...

(UNODC).

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Interregional Crime And Justice Research Institute United Nations Secretariat United Nations organizations based in Europe United Nations Development Group Research institutes in the United Nations System Organizations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Italy International organisations based in Italy Organisations based in Turin Italy and the United Nations