INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
INTERPOL and UNODC share many areas of common concern: from trafficking in illicit drugs to trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling, firearms, border management, counter-terrorism as well as cybercrime, and environmental security.
While UNODC can assist countries with their legislative and judicial requirements and provide research work and technical assistance, INTERPOL takes a more operational approach towards law enforcement, such as information exchange, investigative and operational support, and police capacity building.
Regular dialogue between INTERPOL and UNODC ensures the complementarity of our strategies and approaches so we can best respond to the needs of the recipient countries.
Moving forward, we continue to explore new areas of cooperation including on trafficking in illicit drugs, border management, crimes against children and migrant smuggling.
United Nations Department of Peace Operations and its Police Division
INTERPOL works with the Police Division and its Serious and Organized Crime Team to strengthen the role of police in international peacekeeping; we benefits from the support of the UN in local capacity building, and in return the UN endorses our policing capabilities in host countries.
INTERPOL and the United Nations Department of Peace Operations have coordinated with one another on several initiatives aimed at supporting national police agencies in developing the “capacity and integrity” needed to uphold the rule of law. For example, INTERPOL assists UN Police, specifically the Serious and Organized Crimes unit, with their Transnational Threats Project. This collaboration enables United Nations field missions to better address transnational threats, including serious and organized crime, corruption and violent extremism.
United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and its Counter-Terrorism Centre
As close partners in the field of counter-terrorism, the United Nations Office of Counter-terrorism and INTERPOL complement each other’s respective areas of expertise, while avoiding duplications of work. UNOCT remains dedicated to implementing a broad range of initiatives, some of which are in close cooperation with INTERPOL.
INTERPOL is also a member of the United Nations Global Counter-terrorism Coordination Compact and serves as Chair of its Working Group on Emerging Threats and Critical Infrastructure Protections as well as Vice-Chair of its Working Group on Border Management and Law Enforcement.
Notably, we have collaborated on joint projects and initiatives related to enhancing information sharing on Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), enhancing border screenings and detection capabilities, and strengthening the capacities of law enforcement and criminal justice authorities to counter the exploitation of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.
Cooperation with other UN entities
We work on a variety of joint projects including initiatives to increase access to our databases, and capacity building programmes with the following UN entities:
- United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
- United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS)
- United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- United Nations Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004)
- United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (UNOIOS)
- United Nations Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UNDPPA)
- Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)
- United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
