Transnational organized crime (TOC) is crime that is coordinated across national borders, involving groups or networks of individuals working in more than one country to plan and carry out illegal activities. TOC has increased alongside Asia’s economic growth, as offenders seek illegal ways to profit from smuggling drugs, people, weapons, timber, wildlife and counterfeit goods across borders, in this way threatening security and sustainable developmental in the region. TIJ’s Programme on Transnational Organized Crime seeks to shed light on TOC with the aim of identifying measures to counter crime by supporting criminal justice institutions and the victims of TOC, including the promotion of a gender-sensitive, victim-centred and rights-based approach in line with regional mechanisms and international standards and norms, including the 2003 United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols. The programme also explores the use of technology and the role of the private sector in preventing and responding to TOC.
Flagship Activities
- Research programme which includes various research projects such as ‘Emerging Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia’, The role of the Private Sector in Combating Trafficking in Persons’, ‘A handbook of Introduction to Trafficking in Persons’, and ‘Pathways to TOC victimization and their Experience with the Criminal Justice System.’
- Capacity building programme which includes a series of seminars focusing on different topics in relation to transnational organized crime, for example, ‘Thailand 4.0: Preventing and Responding to TOC in the Digital Age of Disruption’, ‘Public-private Partnership: Cooperation to Reduce Trafficking in Persons’, and ‘Access to Justice and a Victim-centred Approach: Better Treatment for Victims of TOC.
Key Partners
- Office of the Attorney General
- Ministry of Justice
- Royal Thai Police
- Court of Justice
- Ministry of Social Development and Human Security
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime - UNODC
- International Criminal Police Organization - INTERPOL
- United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute - UNICRI
- European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control - HEUNI
