1 March 2022
UN
Russia at the United Nations: “We Do Not Endanger the Lives of Civilians”
Press Conference by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia dedicated to the end of the Russian Presidency of UNSC in February 2022
Vassily Nebenzia: 'For eight years, we’ve been trying, unfortunately in vain, to make Ukrainian authorities comply with the Minsk Agreements, and we went out of the way to do so. But from day one, after 2015 in particular, the Ukrainian authorities opted to sabotage first and then simply to deny, abandon, and cancel their commitments under the Minsk Agreements. Before that, they were trying to navigate, so to say, within the Minsk Agreements, trying to make them the way which suited them. But then it became obvious – nothing works. And then in January-February 2022, when the West started to beef up Ukrainian state with lethal weapons, when Ukrainian authorities amassed 120,000 servicemen at the border of the contact-line with Donbas, and when they upscaled their provocations against Donbas shelling and killing people again, we realized that that was leading us nowhere. ...
Russian military pose no threat to Ukraine’s peaceful citizens, they do not fire at peaceful facilities. Cities that are controlled by Russian Armed Forces live normally: critical infrastructure and transit keep working, public order is maintained by joint efforts with local administrations. Same can be said about the Chernobyl NPP, where joint patrols of Russian Armed Forces and special units of Ukrainian police are taking place.'
Remarks to the Security Council Open Debate on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organization
António Guterres: I welcome this opportunity to address the Security Council on the cooperation between the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
My thanks to the Russian Presidency for organizing this open debate.
Cooperation with regional organizations is in the core of UN activities and enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
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And I am pleased that – since the signing of the Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the United Nations and the CSTO in 2010 – we have continuously strengthened our ties and deepened our response to regional challenges.
‘Strengthened international cooperation’ needed for safe, regular migration
Migration is a “a defining feature of humanity and our world”, the UN chief told the General Assembly on Wednesday, launching his second report on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
“Migration is a fact of life” and a “positive phenomenon” that enriches societies and economies, Secretary-General António Guterres said.
However, if poorly managed, it generates huge challenges, he added, “from tragic loss of life, to rights abuses and social tensions”, which is why effectively managing migration and protecting their rights, requires “strengthened international cooperation”.
INTERPOL
The Strategic Framework 2022-2025 is INTERPOL’s roadmap to achieving its four Strategic Goals
Against an ever-changing policing landscape, a strategic and business planning process is fundamental to ensuring that INTERPOL continues to support global law enforcement and achieves the Organization’s vision of “connecting police for a safer world”. INTERPOL’s Strategic Framework sets out the Organization’s strategic direction for a given period of time (four years) and provides a framework for reporting progress and success. It provides a focused and effective direction for INTERPOL programmes and activities.
INTERPOL rolls out initiative against sexual abuse in the aid sector
Project Soteria, currently being implemented in Africa and Asia, aims to prevent sexual predators from abusing some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
LYON, FRANCE -- In its largest ever partnership with the aid sector, INTERPOL has launched a new project aimed at cracking down on perpetrators of sexual exploitation, harassment and abuse (SEAH) working for humanitarian and development organizations.
Europol
Migrant smugglers and human traffickers: more digital and highly adaptable
Migrant smuggling activities increased significantly in 2021, says the latest report by Europol’s EMSC
The increased digitalisation brought about by the pandemic has significantly influenced the functioning of every aspect of our society. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, criminals have adapted to the new rules and restrictions and exploited those most vulnerable as a result. Migrant smugglers and human traffickers in particular have continued to thrive in spite of these changes, and they have adapted the way they recruit, transport and exploit victims.
International hit against Brazilian narcos shipping Bolivian cocaine to the EU
Brazilian, Spanish and US authorities shut down criminal organisation which was coordinating its operations via encrypted communications platform SKY ECC
An extensive investigation involving the Brazilian Federal Police (Polícia Federal), Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), the US Drugs Enforcement Administration and the Paraguayan SENAD, coordinated by Europol, has led to the dismantling of a major criminal organisation involved in large-scale cocaine trafficking and money laundering. The criminal network was shipping cocaine in maritime shipping containers. Since September 2020, authorities from Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Netherlands and Spain have seized about 10 tonnes of cocaine and BRL 11 million (about EUR 1.85 million).
Arrest in Germany of 3 suspects involved in theft of EUR 1.5 million worth of vehicles
On 23 February, a coordinated strike between the German Police Inspectorate Emsland/Bentheim (Polizeiinspektion Emsland/Grafschaft Bentheim), the German Dortmund Police (Polizei Dortmund) the Austrian Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt Österreich) and the Bosnian Ministry of Interior Affairs Canton Sarajevo, under the coordination of Europol, has led to the dismantlement of a gang of car thieves operating across Germany.
This investigation was carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), together with the support of the EU funded project ‘Countering Serious Crime in the Western Balkans – IPA 2019’ implemented by the Italian, German and Dutch authorities which provided financial support for the organisation of operational meetings and the deployment of German investigators to Austria on the action day.