United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

About United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime:

• It is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime, in addition to being responsible for implementing the United Nations lead programme on terrorism.
• It was established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention.
• What are its functions?
  • It works to educate people throughout the world about the dangers of drug abuse.
  • Strengthen international action against illicit drug production and trafficking and drug-related crime. 
  • It also works to improve crime prevention and assist with criminal justice reform in order to strengthen the rule of law, promote stable and viable criminal justice systems and combat the growing threats of transnational organized crime and corruption. 
  • In 2002, the UN General Assembly approved an expanded programme of activities for the Terrorism Prevention Branch of UNODC. The activities focus on providing assistance to States, on request, in ratifying and implementing the eighteen universal legal instruments against terrorism.
• Funding: It relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments, to carry out the majority of our work.
• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria 

What is the World Wildlife Crime Report?

• It is the 3rd edition (2024) of the report and earlier editions were published in 2016 and 2020.
• It probes trends in the illicit trafficking of protected wildlife species.
• It also presents systematic analyses of wildlife crime harms and impacts, probes the factors driving wildlife trafficking trends, and takes stock of current knowledge about the effectiveness of the different types of intervention being pursued to resolve this problem.

Q1: What is Wildlife Crime Control Bureau?

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is a statutory multi-disciplinary body established by the Government of India to combat organized wildlife crime in the country. It was constituted by amending the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

Source: Rhinos, elephants, pangolins, cedars, rosewoods & agarwood most affected by illegal wildlife trade: UNODC