The Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — Policing is the fastest growing component of far-flung U.N. peacekeeping operations and officers are increasingly being called on to help fight organized crime in the wake of conflicts, the top U.N. police adviser said Monday.
U.N. police have been helping combat gang and drug crime in Haiti, human trafficking and financial crimes in Kosovo, illicit drug trafficking in Guinea Bissau, illicit arms trafficking in Congo, illicit timber trading in Liberia and the illegal economy in East Timor, said U.N. Police Chief Andrew Hughes.
“In many of these operations, U.N. police have to deal directly with organized crime or with the impact of organized crime,” Hughes said.
More than 12,000 U.N. police officers from 98 countries are currently deployed in 19 U.N. peace operations, he said. The number of authorized police officers has grown from 8,315 in January 2006 to 16,900 in January 2008.
U.N. member states have committed to combating organized crime through the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, signed in Palermo in 2000, Hughes said.
“We are now working with member states to ensure we have the necessary expertise in police contingents deployed to missions where organized crime is having or could have an impact,” he said.