United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a leading entity on affairs regarding drugs and organized crime within the United Nations system, established in 1997 through the merger of the United Nations Drug Control Program and the Center for International Crime Prevention. Its mission is to assist members of the United Nations in strengthening their capacities to counter illicit drugs, organized crime, corruption, and terrorism. It does so while promoting justice and the rule of law worldwide. UNODC operates The Organized Crime Convention and Protocols supplementing the framework for UNODC's work against transnational organized crime. As the guardian of the UNTOC, UNODC has a vital role to play in mainstreaming its criminal justice and security mandates into the UN system at large, and in assisting States in translating their commitments into actions.” (Overview of the Work of UNODC in Relation to Organized Criminal Activities, n.d.). UNODC works in 150 countries, building networks of cooperation across borders and providing reliable data and analysis. UNODC is also training judges, police officers and border officials as well as healthcare and social workers to make communities safer and more resilient.
Topic details
Topic A (Intervención en ‘El Cartucho’): The Bogotá neighborhood of El Cartucho, notorious for extreme poverty, crime, and drug trafficking, became the target of large-scale government interventions that sparked debate over public security and the rights of vulnerable residents.
Topic B (El asesinato de alias ‘Mencho’): The February 2026 killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes in a Mexican military operation triggered retaliatory violence and uncertainty over the cartel’s future and the broader fight against organized crime.