Monica Juma: Steering global cooperation at a time of converging threats
The new head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says global cooperation is essential and already adapting as criminal networks become more complex, sophisticated and interconnected.Monica Juma has taken up the dual role of Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna.A former national security adviser, minister, diplomat and academic, she brings experience spanning defence, security, foreign affairs and multilateral cooperation.Ahead of the UN Crime Congress in Abu Dhabi, she is calling for stronger cooperation to confront organized crime, corruption, terrorism, trafficking and technology-enabled threats.After decades in public service in her home country, Kenya, Monica Juma now steps onto a wider stage, assuming two of the United Nations’ most consequential roles:Top crime fighterAs Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna (UNOV), she represents the Secretary-General in one of the Organization’s major duty stations beyond its New York Headquarters. And as Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), she leads global efforts to strengthen crime prevention and criminal justice.That mandate, she told UN News, is rooted in helping countries confront drugs, corruption, terrorism, human trafficking and transnational organized crime – with the ultimate aim of delivering “safety, protection and justice for all”.Ms. Juma formally took office last month and was sworn in by Secretary-General António Guterres last Thursday, succeeding Ghada Fathi Waly of Egypt.She says she was honoured to take on the dual role “at a critical time for multilateralism” and looked forward to contributing to the UN’s efforts to build “a safer, more just world”.
