Ahead of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Thailand Institute of Justice's (TIJ) first High Level Conference on Sustainable Development, Crime Prevention and Safe Societies for Southeast Asia in Bangkok on Monday, UNODC executive director Yury Fedotov gave an exclusive interview to the Bangkok Post about the challenges facing Thailand and the wider region as a whole.
Global drug networks and transnational criminal gangs are continually shifting and evolving to avoid detection by law enforcement, while economic crises, weak institutions and the vulnerability of the poor are often exploited, Mr Fedotov says.
As a result, the UNODC executive director highlights the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, their connection to the rule of law, specifically Goal 16 -- "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions" -- and their role in helping to prevent crimes and their causes.
