Syrian refugees wait for water at an informal camp for displaced Syrians, between the Jordan and Syria borders. AP
Syrian refugees wait for water at an informal camp for displaced Syrians, between the Jordan and Syria borders. AP

Crime doesn’t just feed off conflict, it fuels it



Conflict remains the world’s greatest problem and conflict prevention our biggest hope, but if we do not face down crime and uphold justice, we simply risk swapping the challenges. Over the last century, crime has been transformed. Mobsters are more likely to be board members of companies. Safecrackers and getaway drivers have been replaced by worldly accountants and lawyers.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s study of illicit funds showed that the combined proceeds of all crimes amounted to some $2 trillion. If crime were a country, it would fall somewhere between Italy and India in the GDP league. That’s enough money not just to bribe and corrupt the odd customs or law enforcement officer, but to put in one's pocket ministers and ministries in fragile and vulnerable countries. And crime also adores a vacuum.

Ignore crime, concentrate efforts elsewhere, and transnational organised crime is suddenly embedding, spreading and thriving. The most disturbing feature of crime is not just the misery it causes, but its supreme ability to adapt. Let’s also be clear. Just as the hyena trails the lion in the hope of food, crime shadows conflict. It is no coincidence that conflict in Iraq and Syria is helping to drive human trafficking, migrant smuggling and other crimes throughout the Middle East, North Africa and across the Mediterranean. But crime doesn’t just feed off conflict, it fuels it.

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Read more by Yury Fedotov:

Four ways to respond to resurgent Somali piracy

Violent extremism and the challenges it presents

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UNODC estimates that the Taliban raised $150 million, some 50 per cent of their total income, from taxes and their involvement in the illicit opiate trade. Boko Haram is involved in smuggling heroin and cocaine, as well as trafficking people and natural resources across West Africa. Illicit profits are being made in East Africa where the terrorist group Al-Shabaab cooperates with Somali pirates, and earns millions off the charcoal smuggling trade.

These groups are using funds flowing from crime to spread havoc, death and destruction. Their activities undermine nations, weaken the rule of law and hamper development efforts. Ignoring them is perilous and to the detriment of work being done to sustain the lives of people facing poverty and hardship.

But if crime has changed, so have our views on how to confront it. The new transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges the importance of staring down crime as a means of improving lives. Central to these efforts is Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies that contains specific targets on ending crime’s catastrophic impact.

The search for coherence is central to dealing with the world’s woes and it broadly parallels recognition that no country can solve transnational organised crime in isolation. The old view that crime is primarily a national issue has given way to a dependence on greater international cooperation, and a reliance on universal legal instruments such as the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and the UN Convention Against Corruption.

We, therefore, have the instruments, the alliances and the tools to tackle crime. What might be absent is the willingness to overcome the sequencing question. When should crime be challenged? The time for tackling transnational crime is not a year, or a month or even a day after peace has been agreed. Dealing with crime, strengthening the rule of law and promoting justice cannot wait. All of these need to be delivered simultaneously; if not, problems will develop further down the road.

Perhaps the most recent example of this interlinked approach is to be found in Colombia, where the peace treaty with Farc includes strategies for confronting the country’s cultivation and production of the coca plant. In Colombia, the search for peace, building justice and ending crime are all being dealt with as a single issue warranting holistic solutions. I would suggest this is the way forward everywhere.

Conflicts need to be ended to prevent the suffering of millions and for the good of our shared humanity. But, in the desperate search for peace, let’s not forget the hyena also has a savage bite.

Yury Fedotov is executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
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WWE Super ShowDown results

Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title

Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship

Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns

Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party

Randy Orton beats Triple H

Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley

Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal

The Undertaker beat Goldberg

 

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Florida: The critical Sunshine State

Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991. 

Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.

In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.

Takreem Awards winners 2021

Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)

Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)

Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)

Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)

Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)

Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)

Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)

Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)

Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)

Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)

Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The biog

Name: Mariam Ketait

Emirate: Dubai

Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language

Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown

Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures

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The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Virtuzone GCC Sixes

Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City

Time Matches start at 9am

Groups

A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs

AGL AWARDS

Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

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England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets