Topic:
Country: United Arab Emirates
Delegate Name: Charlisa Penzak
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Combating Transnational Organized Crime
United Arab Emirates
Charlisa Penzak
Groves High School
The UAE is committed to fighting transnational organized crime and believes that multilateral institutions like the UNODC will be critical in addressing these problems on a global scale. Although typically not the target of terrorism, the UAE remains a hub for illicit financing and must counter security threats originating in neighboring countries. The UAE has supported US and western counter-terrorism efforts in the middle east, and works closely with international law enforcement agencies like GCC-POL to quell radicalization in the Gulf area. While the UAE has participated in military operations to mitigate terrorist threats, the UAE understands that military force alone is not enough to neutralize the threat of transnational crime syndicates, and that a multifaceted approach is needed.
In recent years, organized criminal groups have leveraged emerging technologies to broaden the scope of their operations. For example, cryptocurrency has allowed money laundering to thrive, cyberattacks can threaten critical infrastructure, and technologies like drones and AI present larger security threats. It is essential that law enforcement modernizes its approach in order to account for these evolving challenges and improve its capabilities. AI can be implemented to bolster surveillance abilities; the UAE has partnered with the private sector to establish a global center for cybertechnology to safeguard the digital ecosystem. The UNODC Drugs Monitoring Platform, where national agencies share real-time data on drug trafficking trends, can serve as a model of effective data-sharing to enhance law enforcement.
Additionally, criminal financing is a significant issue for the UAE. However, the UAE has taken a lead in fighting money laundering. The joint UAE-US Financial Counterterrorism Task force coordinates information sharing to shut down illicit financing networks and prevent access to the international banking system. The UAE recently established an executive office of Anti-Money Laundering and is a proud member of the the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), which coordinates regional efforts to stifle terrorist funding. The importance of international cooperation and intelligence-sharing cannot be overstated, because organized crime knows no borders.
Most importantly, the UAE believes that to mitigate transnational organized crime in the long term, this committee must target the structural causes of terrorism and address the socioeconomic conditions that allow criminal organizations to thrive. In particular, combating extremism and promoting tolerance can fight ethnic violence. The UAE is home to Hedayah, the Global Center for Excellence in Countering Violent Extremism, and the Sawab Center, which is a partnership between the UAE and US to counter radical propaganda on digital platforms. Furthermore, by addressing the underlying factors that foster extremism, such as conflict, political turmoil, and natural disasters, this committee can enhance societal resilience so that struggling citizens are not vulnerable to extremism and criminal groups. The UAE strongly advocates for measures that invest in education, economic opportunity, and intercultural dialogue.
Ultimately, the UAE is hopeful that this committee can uphold global cooperation and develop effective solutions to combat transnational organized crime.
