Participants of Working Group 3 were tasked to analyze and
devise mitigation strategies for transnational organized crime
(TOC) within peace keeping missions. Although the workshop theme is training and education, as this was the first time
this group had been assembled, there was much groundwork to
be laid to provide a sound foundation for the way ahead.
Though TOC is recognized as a global problem, it is addressed
only to a small degree in a few UN mandates and is not institutionalized in their headquarters planning process. It is generally
dealt with in a fragmentary manner and the response is incongruous with the critical importance of integrated planning and
execution occurring at the mission level.
TOC refers to those self-perpetuating associations operating
across borders for the purpose of obtaining power, influence,
monetary and/or commercial gains, wholly or in part by illegal
means. TOC networks protect their activities through a pattern
of corruption and/or violence, or through a transnational organizational structure that exploits legal transnational commerce
or communication mechanisms.
TOC mitigation is usually planned for in isolation from corruption and terrorism, but the three are intertwined in complex
missions. Mission success is thus predicated upon a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach in the planning stages, as
well as finding or establishing complementarity relationships,
goals, and objectives among the various stakeholders, particularly when deployed to complex environments.
Dr. Karen Finkenbinder provided the group with an overview
of the tasking context, which resulted from a high-level United
Nations (UN) Panel meeting in 2015 that reinforced concerns
about the impact of TOC upon peace operations. The International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations asked
PKSOI to conduct research on the potential role of UN peace
keepers in identifying and mitigating TOC.
Similarly, the Global Initiative against TOC, a network of law
enforcement, governance and development practitioners serving
as a platform to create a global strategy to counter organized
crime published an input paper to the UN High Level Panel in
February 2015. The paper stated that the UN system appears
to “lack the ability and determination to respond to organized
crime” and recommended the UN “build analytical capabilities that include conflict threat assessment and other tools that
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