TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME ON THE RISE IN EASTERN AFRICA, WARNS UN REPORT

From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 4 Sep 2013 18:00:01 -0400
Subject: TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME ON THE RISE IN EASTERN AFRICA,
WARNS UN REPORT
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME ON THE RISE IN EASTERN AFRICA, WARNS UN
REPORTNew York, Sep 4 2013 6:00PMOrganized criminal activities such
as migrant smuggling, ivory trafficking and maritime piracy are
increasingly pressing threats in Eastern Africa and must be tackled
through a range of measures both within the region and in the markets
where illicit goods will end up, according to a United Nations report
released today.

The report, <"http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/TOC_East_Africa_2013.pdf">Transnational
Organized Crime in Eastern Africa: A Threat Assessment, was produced
by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and highlights the
principal crime threats facing the region as well as their costs to
society.

According to the report, more than 100,000 people were smuggled out of
the region last year alone, generating over of $15 million for
organized criminal networks operating on the maritime crossing from
the Horn of Africa. Many migrants are driven in part by high levels of
conflict and poverty, and as they try to escape their situation they
are vulnerable to abuse, confinement, extortion and rape from
smugglers.

Ivory poaching, which results in up to 154 metric tonnes being taken
annually, led to an additional $30 million in illicit revenue just
from Asian markets. Recent research indicates that the rate of
poaching in the region is threatening the local elephant population.
Between 5,600 and 15,400 elephants are poached in Eastern Africa
annually, producing between 56 and 154 metric tons of illicit ivory.
Two thirds of these were destined to Asia.

Meanwhile, drugs are becoming an increasingly lucrative illicit trade,
with up to 22 tonnes of heroin being trafficked to and through the
region every year. While heroin has been trafficked to and through
Eastern Africa since at least the 1980s, a series of recent large
seizures suggest that this flow has increased. Over the past three
years, more heroin was seized than in the previous 20 years and in the
first five months of 2013, the seizures exceeded those of the total
previous 24 months.

Finally, piracy in Somalia was assessed to be worth an estimated $150
million in 2011, equivalent to almost 15 per cent of the country's
gross domestic product. In recent years, however, progress has been
made in tackling this issue as international policies have contributed
to a dramatic decline in piracy.

While in April 2009 pirates hijacked 16 ships, two years later this
averaged less than one per month, the report said. Effective
intervention has also forced pirates to move further away from the
coast. In 2005, the average successful pirate attack was 109
kilometres from the Somali coast. Last year it was 746 kilometres.

According to the report illicit markets that affect Eastern Africa
often originate or terminate on other continents. As a result, purely
local interventions are inadequate to resolve the underlying problem.
Optimally, these markets should be evaluated and strategically
addressed at a global level, but to protect Eastern Africa, local law
enforcement must also be strengthened.Sep 4 2013 6:00PM
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