CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 02/2017

LE MONDE UNODC | INTERVIEW
Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
took his precious time to sit down for an
in-depth-interview with Cercle Diplomatique‘s
author Rainer Himmelfreundpointner.
“Is the world sufficiently prepared
and equipped against cybercrime?
No. Cybercrime continues to grow
borderless at an alarming rate.“
Boko Haram has been involved in enslaving
women and girls through trafficking
in person. All of this creates a grim cycle of
terror and tragedy. Conflict creates instability,
forcing millions of women, children
and men to flee. And defenceless people
vulnerable to exploitation by migrant
smugglers and human traffickers. Profits
are then funnelled back for the commission
of further crimes and terrorism.
UNODC‘s work, along with its partners,
including Interpol and Europol, but also
many others, is about breaking into this
cycle, helping victims, while bringing the
criminals and terrorists to justice.
In the light of the recent global cyber-attack and
the immense growth of cybercrime, is the world
sufficiently prepared and equipped against it?
What would be the UNODC’s to-do-list?
Organised criminals and terrorists seek
to exploit every available opportunity to
further their objectives. Cybercrime, in
particular, continues to grow at an alarming
rate and, even more so than other
crimes, is borderless. In 2016, as an example,
689 million people in 21 countries experienced
cybercrime. We see cybercriminals
on one continent, launching attacks on
websites on another. Children are sexually
exploited online irrespective of their geographic
proximity to the offender, and
businesses are defrauded globally through
phishing scams. Is the world sufficiently
prepared and equipped against these threats?
No. But at UNODC, we are playing
our part in responding to cybercrime and,
crucially, preventing it. In El Salvador, for
example, UNODC has built and mentored
the National Cybercrime Unit within the
National Civil Police. We also train prosecutors
and judges. Working across Government,
we have explained and sensitised key
policy-makers to the threat ensuring a nuanced
and threat-based response.
Around the world, we are actively working
to build capability to detect, investigate
and disrupt cybercrime. In Tunisia we‘re
delivering a cross-government programme
to counter cybercrime – the first of its kind
in the country. In Eastern Africa, we‘re
about to provide new, specialist, countercybercrime
support to local agencies, and,
in South East Asia, we are using our specialist
in-house counter-cybercrime mentor
to ensure that our local partners make the
best choices when investigating complex
cybercrime. In 2016 alone, our Global Programme
on Cybercrime, whilst relatively
modest in size, trained investigators, prosecutors
and judges from over 50 countries.
Our work is having a direct, positive
impact on the cyber landscape in regions
that are highly vulnerable.
But at the end of the day the user has to care for
PHOTO: RALPH MANFREDA
his cyber security. How does UNODC reach them?
At a policy level, UNODC Vienna has
continued since 2011 to host an Intergovernmental
Expert Group on Cybercrime:
a forum, where experts from around
the world can meet to initiate often-challenging
discussions on cybercrime and
current developments, including international
cooperation and best practices to
counter cybercrime. The “human element“
is often described as “the weakest link“ in
defending cybercrime. People can, and
should, however, be our strongest link.
With education from an early age, and ongoing
mentoring, support and sensitisation,
people can make cyberspace a hostile
environment for those who wish to exploit
it. Cybercrime is, as I said, truly borderless
– all countries are harmed by it and cybercriminals
intentionally exploit investigative,
legislative and policy gaps. At UNODC,
we‘re playing our part in countering this
rapidly evolving threat and we encourage
everyone to play their part in this effort.
Together, we are making communities safer,
promoting prosperity and, ultimately,
saving lives.
Last but not least: Has Vienna proven to be the
right place for UNODC?
I do not believe there is a better place in
the world for UNODC to have its headquarters.
Not geographically, and certainly
not diplomatically. Austria is a champion
of multilateral diplomacy, and a leading
supporter of both the wider United Nations
and UNODC. We have benefited tremendously
from the Austrian government‘s support,
its wisdom and its willingness to encourage
our broad mandate. In terms of
how cooperation works, shared responsibility
is the driving force. Still, it can always
be enhanced and made more effective and
efficient. Information sharing, joint operations
and mutual legal assistance are all pivotal.
These cannot be achieved without
countries ratifying and fully implementing
the drug, crime and corruption conventions,
as well as the international terrorism
instruments. Austria is often at the forefront
of these activities. Cooperation is also
essential in stopping opium, moving from
Afghanistan to Western Europe using the
Balkan route, or being trafficked down to
Australia and the Pacific using the Southern
route. Elsewhere, cooperation and
coordination is vital regarding the smuggling
of migrants and human trafficking
from North Africa, across the Mediterranean,
to southern Europe, or to confront
wildlife crime that sees animal parts trafficked
from Africa to Asia. Being in Vienna,
at the heart of Europe, we are close to so
many of these routes, and perfectly situated
to take on these multiple and interconnected
challenges.
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