Welcome to a new age of whistle-blowing
By Olivia Lang BBC NewsMr Assange says Wikileaks has information relating to almost all the countries in the world
They have been denounced as "a criminal act" and hailed as the future of investigative journalism in equal measure.
But the question is: how did the Wikileaks disclosure of US military documents come about?
More than 90,000 documents, dated between 2004 and 2009, on the war in Afghanistan, have been released, but the whistle-blowing website will not disclose the identity of any of its sources.
Continue reading the main storyRelated stories
In the aftermath of one of the biggest leaks in US military history, the US government will surely not be the only one wondering how this happened.
'Mishandling information'After scrutiny by the Wikileaks website, the site gave access to the documents to three newspapers - the New York Times, Der Spiegel and the Guardian - ahead of public release.
As the media rushed to publish the story, the press were soon asking who might be behind such a huge leak - if, indeed, it was one person at all.
The Pentagon has already launched an investigation.
Wikileaks, which has a policy of protecting its sources, has not given any detail as to how many sources it received the documents from, or when it received them.
Media speculation has so far focused on 22-year-old Bradley Manning, an army intelligence analyst who is accused of mishandling and leaking classified information.
US Private Bradley Manning is being detained in Kuwait
Specialist Manning, reportedly known by his screen name bradass87, was charged on Monday with eight violations of US criminal law and four violations of army regulations.
These include the leaking of a 2007 video of a deadly American helicopter attack in Baghdad.
Spc Manning is currently being held in pre-trial detention in Kuwait after being arrested while working in Iraq.
He is alleged to have released files kept contained on the Department of Defence's Secret Internet Protocol System (SIPR).
But Wikileaks founder Julian Assange says that there was "no allegation, as far as we can determine, that this material is connected to Spc Manning."
In any case, did he alone leak the sheer volume of records that has been released? If not, then will it even be possible to find out who did?
EncryptedContinue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote WikileaksWith technological advances - the internet, and cryptography - the risks of conveying important information can be lowered”
But it is not about who has done it, but how, that is most important here. The true perpetrator of aiding the disclosure of confidential files is technology itself.
Such an initiative would have been far harder if at all possible - and more dangerous - 20 years ago.
As the Wikileaks website says itself, "with technological advances - the internet, and cryptography - the risks of conveying important information can be lowered".
The site, born in December 2006, now boasts more than a million documents.
Described on one blog as the "first stateless news organisation", Wikileaks has servers in countries which include Sweden and Belgium, where it benefits from press secrecy laws.
The idea behind the site is the need for transparency, with the basis being that it allows anyone to upload content, which will then be looked at by a group of volunteers, all journalists, who decide what to publish.
On submission of a document, which is encrypted, Wikileaks promises to prevent it being "technically traceable to your PDF printing program, your word installation, scanner, printer" and to make the contributor anonymous from an early stage.
'Easier than ever'Wikileaks says it makes contributors anonymous from an early stage
The release underscores the significance of technology to the future of journalism and transparency - and signifies a considerable shift between authorities and whistle-blowing.
By teaming up with national papers, the documents were able to reach a wider audience.
Unsurprisingly, though, the site has drawn its detractors - including those who would prefer it did not exist.
On the website, a leaked document, purportedly by the US army counterintelligence centre, looks into the threat posed by Wikileaks to national security - and how to marginalise it.
"The identification, exposure, termination of employment, criminal prosecution, legal action against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistle-blowers could potentially damage or destroy [the website's] center of gravity and deter others considering similar actions from using the Wikileaks.org Web site," the document reads.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Julian Assange Wikileaks founderWe have files that concern every country in the world with a population of over one million people, including the United States”
If anything, this only proves that Wikileaks is succeeding at causing waves.
James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the disclosure on the Afghan war was reminiscent of the 1971 leak of Pentagon files about the Vietnam war.
But - as opposed to the so-called "Pentagon Papers" - which were handed in hard copy to a journalist, "now you can take even more documents and give them to the whole world", he told AFP.
There are always going to be those who want to leak information, he says, but now it is easier than ever.
Meanwhile, Mr Assange says he believes that "courage is contagious" and that Monday's leak would encourage other whistle-blowers to step forward.
In a news conference on Monday, he said the organisation had "files that concern every country in the world with a population of over one million people, including the United States... Thousands of databases and files".
How the US government will react to such a high-impact disclosure is not known, but it should take note of what can happen when so many people have access to confidential information in a digital age.
According to an investigation by the Washington Post earlier this month into the US intelligence sector, 854,000 US citizens have the highest level of security clearance.
That's a lot of potential leaks.
Related stories
- US soldier on Iraq leaks charges 06 JULY 2010, US & CANADA
- WikiLeaks makes contact with US 22 JUNE 2010, TECHNOLOGY
- WikiLeaks site unfazed by arrest 08 JUNE 2010, TECHNOLOGY
- Profile: Who are Wikileaks? 06 APRIL 2010, TECHNOLOGY
via bbc.co.uk
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Whistleblower: BBC News - Welcome to a new age of whistle-blowing #wikileaks #hacktivist #infowars
Facebook's 'Like This' button is tracking you | THINQ.co.uk
A researcher from a Dutch university is warning that Facebook's 'Like This' button is watching your every move.
Arnold Roosendaal, who is a doctoral candidate at the Tilburg University for Law, Technology and Society, warns that Facebook is tracking and tracing everyone, whether they use the social networking site or not.
Roosendaal says that Facebook's tentacles reach way beyond the confines of its own web sites and subscriber base because more and more third party sites are using the 'Like This' button and Facebook Connect.
The researcher provides three examples of how the 'Like This' button on any web page can gather user browser data and send it back to Facebook.
The first scenario involves users who already have Facebook accounts:
"When the account is created, Facebook issues a cookie containing a unique user ID," writes Roosendaal. "This cookie facilitates the display of a username in the login field at returning visits. When accessing Facebook from another device, a temporary cookie is issued, which is replaced by a cookie with the same ID after logging into the account."
This allows different devices to be connected to one account carrying the same ID cookie. Every time the user visits Facebook, the cookie is sent together with the HTTP request for the site. As a result, Facebook knows who wants to log in before the login has taken place.
But the cookie is not only sent when a member wants to log on to Facebook, it is also sent every single time a web site which includes the 'Like' button is visited.
"Facebook receives the information concerning the user, including his unique ID, via the cookie. When the user actually clicks the button, he has to provide his Facebook login details and a message about the 'Like' is posted on his profile page," writes Roosendaal.
But data about the user is sent to Facebook regardless of whether the Like button is actually activated.
Which is all quite scary - but not too surprising, given Facebook's reputation for snooping on its registered users.
What becomes really scary is realising how Facebook can track your movements even if you haven't signed up to its fake-friend collection service for lonely teens and sad divorcees.
Even if you don't have a Facebook account, you are far from immune from prying eyes, as Roosendaal explains:
"When a user does not have a Facebook account, there is no cookie and no user ID available. In this case, an HTTP GET request for the 'Like' button doesn't issue a cookie.
"However, when a site is visited which includes Facebook Connect, this application issues a cookie. From that moment on, visits to other websites which display the 'Like' button result in a request for the Like button from the Facebook server including the cookie."
Which means Facebook has swiped another batch of valuable data without asking for permission.
When you consider that 40 million unique visitors ended up on a site using Facebook Connect in a single month in March 2009, and that these particular cookies have a two-year expiry date, that ads up to a lot of user data flying around looking for a home.
"Based on the cookie, the entire web behaviour of an individual user can be followed," says Roosendaal. "Every site that includes some kind of Facebook content will initiate an interaction with the Facebook servers, disclosing information about the visited web site together with the cookie."
So you find yourself dragging all of this invisible data round with you like a piece of toilet paper stuck to your shoe, even though you have never even been to Facebook, let alone signed up.
So what happens if you do eventually take the plunge and join the other half a billion lost souls with nothing better to do than describe the minutiae of their tedious lives to virtual strangers?
On signing up, the 'toilet paper' cookie, as we have now decided to name it, is sent to Facebook as part of the the request for the web page to be loaded. The server responds and issues some new session cookies and when the account is actually created, a unique ID number is issued and sent in another cookie.
"The connection between this ID cookie and the old cookie is made behind the scenes by Facebook's servers," explains Roosendaal. "This means that the entire historical information of the user can be connected to the newly-created Facebook account. From this moment on, all subsequent requests for Facebook content go accompanied with the cookie including the unique user ID."
We'll assume that, as you're reading this rather than laughing at Lolcats, you know a thing or two about cookies. They are helpful to users and of immense value to marketeers, allowing them to bombard you with targeted advertising based on your browsing history.
But with an increasing proportion of sites turning to the likes of Facebook in order to increase traffic and revenue - and let's face it, 500 million people is a pretty attractive audience for anyone - isn't it time we started putting our collective foot down about the way in which our every move is monitored?
If every time you walked past a shop on your local High Street someone stuffed an advertising flyer into your pocket without asking your permission, there would soon be a trail of leaflet distributors clutching black eyes and broken noses.
So why do we keep letting Facebook get away with it?
We definitely don't Like This.
Why Attend
Why Attend
The benefits of attending this conference include the opportunity to:
- Hear Lord Wei, the Government's adviser on Big Society, set out the Government’s approach to the Big Society agenda
- Listen and learn what your civil society stakeholders need and want to drive this agenda forward with you
- Understand how to give communities more power over their lives
- Explore what the centre’s role is in promoting a Big Society
- Hear from leading thinkers and policy influencers in this field
- Understand how the changing public service reform agenda affects you and your organisation
- Network with your peers and counterparts across Government in this unique gathering of civil society and civil servants
too late folks - lots of meetings that those with voices should be able to attend - but heh you can't know about everything right?
WDM campaigners report from the UN climate talks in Cancun | World Development Movement
WDM campaigners report from the UN climate talks in Cancun
The UN climate change conference - COP 16 - is being held in Cancun, Mexico from 29 November to 10 December 2010. Follow it all here.
WDM has sent three campaigners to Cancun. They are working alongside campaigners from the global south to push for climate justice for the world’s poorest people.
They will be following what’s happening and reporting back through email, blog posts, videos and photographs. We will be asking you to take urgent action to hold politicians to account.
Cancun Watch blog
CancunWatch 2: smashing the World Bank
Tue, 11/30/2010 - 07:26
Kate Blagovejic, WDM press officer
On high streets across the UK over the last few months, passers-by have been greeted with the sight of World Development Movement groups taking a big stick to papier-mâché, piñata, pigs. This was part of our on-going campaign to highlight that governments should not be pushing for the World ‘piggy’ Bank to be responsible for disbursing climate finance to developing countries.
CancunWatch 1: warming up for the Cancun climate talks
Tue, 11/30/2010 - 07:23
Kirsty Wright, WDM climate justice campaigner
As we arrive in Cancun with people from across Mexico and around the world, concerns about a repeat of the dismal failure of the shambles that was Copenhagen abound. The deepening of the outrageous behaviour that was seen in Copenhagen seems more likely than ever.
Agenda
Agenda
Time
Description
09:00
Registration
10:00
Chair’s Welcome & Opening Remarks
- Cliff Prior, Chief Executive, UnLtd
10:15
How Big is Society? The Citizen Perspective
- Alex Oliver, Director, The Futures Company
10:45
How can the centre support a Big Society?
- Ann Watt, Deputy Director - Big Society Policy & Analysis team, Office for Civil Society
11:15
Refreshment break
11:45
The Engagement Ethic – Giving Citizens a greater say in decision making
- Neil Jameson, Executive Director, London Citizens
12:30
Giving Communities more Power
- David Tyler, Chief Executive, Community Matters & Member, Big Society Deregulation Taskforce
13:00
Lunch
14:00
Delivering the Big Society Locally
- Phil Coppard OBE, Chief Executive, Barnsley Council
14:40
Behaviour Change in the Big Society
- John Bromley, Director, National Social Marketing Centre
15:20
Refreshments
15:45
Helping local communities create a Big Society
- David Prout, Director General - Communities, Department for Communities & Local Government
16:30
What is the role of Government in a more devolved world?
- Adrian Brown, Research Fellow, Institute for Government
17:00
Conference close
all speakers confirmed unless stated
Why Attend
Why Attend
The benefits of attending this conference include the opportunity to:
- Hear Lord Wei, the Government's adviser on Big Society, set out the Government’s approach to the Big Society agenda
- Listen and learn what your civil society stakeholders need and want to drive this agenda forward with you
- Understand how to give communities more power over their lives
- Explore what the centre’s role is in promoting a Big Society
- Hear from leading thinkers and policy influencers in this field
- Understand how the changing public service reform agenda affects you and your organisation
- Network with your peers and counterparts across Government in this unique gathering of civil society and civil servants
Contact Us
To register to attend this conference contact Alex Bond on:
020 7593 5733 or email alex.bond@dods.co.uk
To discuss exhibition or sponsorship opportunities contact Saul Draper on:
020 7593 5733 or email saul.draper@dods.co.uk
To discuss the conference programme contact Stuart King on:
020 7593 5733 or email stuart.king@dods.co.uk
Register
To register to attend this conference or to reserve a place, please do one of the following:
- Call on 020 7593 5733
- Register online
WikiLeaks cables: US spurned Gary McKinnon plea from Gordon Brown | World news | guardian.co.uk
WikiLeaks cables revealed that Gordon Brown asked for computer hacker Gary McKinnon (above) to be allowed to serve any sentence in the UK. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
Leaked US embassy cables reveal that Gordon Brown unsuccessfully put his reputation as prime minister on the line in a plea to Washington that the computer hacker Gary McKinnon be allowed to serve any sentence in the UK.
Brown's face-to-face attempt to strike a deal with the US ambassador was spurned by the Obama administration, in a humiliating diplomatic rebuff.
Washington now appears to be just as intransigent with Brown's successor, David Cameron. The Cameron government has failed to announce whether or not it will comply with continued US demands to hand over McKinnon after he hacked into their government computers.
The Labour chairman of parliament's home affairs committee, Keith Vaz, said: "A decision still has not been made on the case of Gary McKinnon more than six months after the home secretary said that the issue would be looked at."
McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, is due to testify to Vaz's committee this morning as it launches a hearing into the extradition demands.
Brown made his unsuccessful direct intervention in August 2009, according to a secret cable from the US ambassador in the UK, Louis Susman, to the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.
Susman wrote: "PM Brown, in a one-on-one meeting with the ambassador, proposed a deal: that McKinnon plead guilty, make a statement of contrition, but serve any sentence of incarceration in the UK. Brown cited deep public concern that McKinnon, with his medical condition, would commit suicide or suffer injury if imprisoned in a US facility."
The ambassador says he sought to raise Brown's request in Washington with Obama's newly appointed attorney general, Eric Holder. But the plea got nowhere.
In October last year, the ambassador had to warn Clinton on a visit to the UK that the prime minister was likely to raise the McKinnon case again.
"McKinnon has gained enormous popular sympathy in his appeal against extradition; the UK's final decision is pending." he reported. "The case has also caused public criticism of the US-UK extradition treaty."
One reason for Brown's failure may have been barely contained US rage, spelled out in other secret cable traffic around the same time, that the UK was releasing the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Ali Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, to what turned out to be a hero's welcome in Libya.
McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, claims he only hacked into US computer systems in 2001-02 to search for evidence of UFOs.
Last December, Cameron, then leader of the opposition, joined in making representations, although in a more low-key way. After he raised the subject with Susman, the two men had another meeting covering a range of topics: "Cameron said he had raised the extradition with the ambassador in an earlier conversation because the case was a matter of concern for many in the British public. British people generally feel McKinnon is guilty 'but they are sympathetic', Cameron said."
The ambassador recorded, however, that Cameron had "noted that neither McKinnon's lawyers nor his mother had been in touch with him".
This year, as prime minister, Cameron has taken more high-profile ownership of the case of McKinnon, who faces a possible 60-year sentence.
In July he publicly raised McKinnon's case with President Obama on a visit to the White House, and drew praise from UK newspapers who have taken up McKinnon's cause. But in the event the US administration seems to have proved no more willing to do a deal on McKinnon with Cameron than with Brown.
Cameron promised that the home secretary, Theresa May, would take a final decision whether or not to comply with continued US extradition demands. He also launched a review of the controversial US-UK extradition treaty, under Lord Justice Scott Baker.
Thank you Gordon Brown - and my apologies for some of the things I said about you
Monday, 29 November 2010
A brief history of “kettling” and why The Police Riot. « take now or stay the same
A brief history of “kettling” and why The Police Riot.
28 Nov
The police tactic of “kettling” was first used at N30, the anti-WTO summit protest at Euston station, London, November 1999. It was introduced after the disastrous policing efforts during J18 (Carnival Against Capital) some months previously where anti-capitalists and anarchist demonstrators roamed free throughout the city of London causing mayhem as part of the global protests against the G8 summit.
The process of kettling involves lines of police forcefully corralling people together into a space then surrounding the whole group on all sides preventing them from leaving the cordoned-in area. Any attempt by people to leave the cordon would result in physically being attacked (usually with batons, often riot shields, boots and fists) in order to preserve the kettle. Detention in this manner would last several hours. After people have become bored, tired and cold they would be released in a controlled fashion, usually one person at a time, after being searched, photographed and had their names and addresses taken.
So successful was the kettling tactic it was implemented at all future potentially inflammatory ‘mass demonstrations’ as a method of controlling, subduing and ultimately criminalising protestors. (Early kettling procedure went hand in hand with the misuse of ’section 60′ order whereby police took the personal details and pictures of all those in the kettle for their database).
Although not defined in law (it still is simply a police tactic) it was given the green light by the High Court after some protestors questioned the legality of their seven hour kettling in Oxford Circus on Mayday 2001. The courts ruled that the police could under certain circumstances detain people against their will for long periods of time to prevent outbreaks of violence and criminal acts – and typically a breach of the peace. The example they gave was the detaining of football supporters in the ground while opposing fans left the area.
In terms of the practicalities of the law it’s an absolute sham and the judges who made the ruling know they got away with a large dose of bullshit. But it also meant the police could continue the tactic along with all the violence and thuggery that goes with it under the protection of the law.
The anarchist group the Wombles developed a strategy (borrowed heavily from the Italian radical left movement Tutte Bianche) of wearing padding and protective headgear and using re-enforced banners to break through police lines on demonstrations.
While this proved very effective in the short term – the police had no idea how to handle such a disregard from their authority, it had to rely on everyone else adopting the same strategy of forcefully breaking out of the kettle to be truly successful. In the end it was seen as vanguardist (by the left, without a hint of irony) or too specialised to be universally adopted by everyone.
http://www.wombles.org.uk/article20060318.phpThe real purpose of the kettle is to ensure people are dissuaded enough not to attend future protests – the law of diminishing returns – which actually succeeded throughout much of the 2000s. This generation of protestors from what we’ve seen, aren’t going to be that easily put off.
Implications of “kettling” and the contradiction of European human rights legislation:
http://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/index.php?/Analysis/public-order-policing-and-the-echr.htmlhttp://www.freedompress.org.uk/news/2010/11/27/a-brief-history-of-kettling
- http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/418797.html
- http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/419998.html
- http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/02/420982.html
- http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/02/421761.html
- http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/02/422077.html
- http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/02/422683.html
Suggest to the ordinary “man in the street” the notion that this country’s well along the path to becoming a police state and likely as not he’ll laugh at you.
http://underclassrising.net/19.2.09
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http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2007/07/07ANKARA1842.html#
Viewing cable 07ANKARA1842, TURKISH ELECTIONS: ANALYSTS ASSESS MILITARY
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQsHelp us extend and defend this work
Reference ID Date Classification Origin 07ANKARA1842 2007-07-19 11:11 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Ankara
http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2007/07/07ANKARA1842.html#
UNODC - Human Trafficking
UNODC on human trafficking and migrant smuggling
Human trafficking is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.
Smuggling migrants involves the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident.
Virtually every country in the world is affected by these crimes. The challenge for all countries, rich and poor, is to target the criminals who exploit desperate people and to protect and assist victims of trafficking and smuggled migrants, many of whom endure unimaginable hardships in their bid for a better life.
As the only United Nations entity focusing on the criminal justice element of these crimes, the work that UNODC does to combat human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants is underpinned by the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.
Learn more
To learn more visit What is human trafficking? and What is migrant smuggling?
Download UNODC's anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling Tools and Publications
Watch Public Service Announcements and listen to expert interviews here
To learn about the Global Initiative to fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) visit the UN.GIFT website
Latest news
For more, visit our news and events page
18 November 2010 UNODC Head highlights increasing progress and support for UN Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking
17 November 2010 An Exploration of Promising Practices in Response to Human Trafficking
11 November 2010 A United Voice to the Protection of Migrants
05 November 2010 Experts discuss interventions and recommendations to improve access to compensation for trafficked persons
04 November 2010 Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher join Secretary-General to launch Trust Fund for victims of human trafficking
04 November 2010 Basic Training Manual on Investigating and Prosecuting the Smuggling of Migrants now available online in Russian
28 October 2010 Side Event on the Arab Initiative to combat human trafficking
11 October 2010 Narrowing the knowledge gap on migrant smuggling in Cambodia
06 October 2010 Strengthening law enforcement capacity in investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of migrant smuggling
04 October 2010 Bangkok Statement on Migration and Development calls for reducing impunity of migrant smugglers and human traffickers
27 September 2010 India: A pledge and a commitment for safe and honorable tourism
23 September 2010 International community broadens efforts to help victims of human trafficking
15 September 2010 India: the bond of freedom. Interview with Mr Saju Mathew, National Director, International Justice Mission, India
08 September 2010 In Colombia, beauty pageant contestants get involved in fighting human trafficking
01 September 2010 United Nations launches global plan of action against human trafficking
19 August 2010 UNODC South Asia - India: Freedom Express - a girl rescued from the brothels boards train to return home
13 August 2010 UNODC boosts Cambodian border control capacity
10 August 2010 Basic Training Manual on Investigating and Prosecuting the Smuggling of Migrants now available online in Arabic
09 August 2010 Needs Assessment Toolkit on the Criminal Justice Response to Human Trafficking now available online in Chinese and Russian
04 August 2010 Indonesia to participate in reviewing implementation of the Organized Crime Convention
12-13 July 2010 Senior Experts meet in Vienna to discuss first draft of the International Framework for Action to Implement the Migrant Smuggling Protocol
06 July 2010 UNODC launches Literature Review to discuss the Smuggling of Migrants into, through and from North Africa
01 July 2010 UNODC launches Basic Training Manual on Investigating and Prosecuting the Smuggling of Migrants
28- 30 June 2010 UNODC hosts an expert group meeting (EGM) to address trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal
29 June 2010 Spain becomes first EU country to join the Blue Heart Campaign against human trafficking
28 June 2010 UNODC announces the launch of the Needs Assessment Toolkit on the Criminal Justice Response to Human Trafficking
10 June 2010 UNODC Launches Global Review on Migrant Smuggling
26 to 27 May 2010 Capacity building workshop on investigating and prosecuting migrant smuggling held in Burkina Faso
19 May 2010 What do we know about the involvement of organized crime in the trafficking of persons and smuggling of migrants? An update: Panel discussion held during a side event to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
14 May 2010 What do we know about the involvement of transnational organized crime in the trafficking of persons and smuggling of migrants?
12 May 2010 Tamil Nadu, India: The female face of migration Read the story of Raziya and Suneetha, whose husbands migrated without them
5 May 2010 Tamil Nadu, India: Different faces of migration Read the story of 26 year old Murugesh, whose dreams of a better life far from home were shattered.
20 April 2010 Bangladesh: From the streets to the school UNODC learns about community initiatives to address trafficking of children.
15 - 16 April 2010 12th United Nations Crime Congress addresses migrant smuggling and human trafficking
14 April 2010 Mexico takes lead in launching national campaign against human trafficking
11 - 19 April 2010 Substantive items related to trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants at upcoming Crime Congress in Brasil
8 April 2010 Cambodia Participates in Regional Data Collection and Analysis on Migrant Smuggling
1 April 2010 UNODC Migrant Smuggling Issue Papers launched online
1 April 2010 Parliamentarians unite against organized crime, Bangkok, Thailand
26 March 2010 Read Munni's story in My life in the red lights of Sonagachi, India
22 - 23 March 2010 The Arab Initiative to combat human trafficking launched in Doha
6 - 8 March 2010 Six countries meet to increase international cooperation against human trafficking and migrant smuggling in Kolkata, India
22 - 25 February 2010 Training Workshop on investigating and prosecuting migrant smuggling held in Abuja, Nigeria
19 February 2010 Toolkit to Combat Trafficking in persons now available in Arabic.
11 February 2010 Trafficking survivors in India earn their livelihood as security guards
27 - 29 January 2010 Expert panelists address Working Group on Trafficking in Persons
28 January 2010 UNODC Technical Assistance briefing, in the sidelines of the Second Meeting of the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons
27 January 2010 Vienna launch of the International Framework for Action to Implement the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, in the sidelines of the Second Meeting of the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons
27 - 29 January 2010 Second Meeting of the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons to be held in Vienna Information for Participants can be found here
26 - 29 January 2010 UNODC jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, hosts a regional conference on transnational organized crime, particularly migrant smugging by sea in the Mediterranean.
26 - 27 January 2010 Capacity building workshop for magistrates and law enforcers under Impact Project
14 January 2010 Community and police come together in India against trafficking of women and children
7 - 11 December 2009 Regional Training Workshop on Investigating and Prosecuting Migrant Smuggling held in Abuja, Nigeria
7-9 December 2009 International Expert Group Meeting on Migrant Smuggling by Air in Vienna, Austria
7-9 December 2009 Expert Group Meeting to Review the Model Law on Combating the Smuggling of Migrants in Cairo, Egypt
25 November 2009 In commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, UNODC Regional Office for South Asia contributes stories on the life of women suffering different forms of violence
24 - 26 November 2009 Regional Workshop to Finalize Guidelines on International Legal Cooperation Instruments in the Area of Anti-Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants held in Belgrade, Serbia
23 - 25 November 2009 ASEAN Workshop on International Legal Cooperation on Trafficking in Persons Cases
4 November 2009 United Nations Secretary-General addresses Global Forum on Migration and Development
3 November 2009 UNODC promotes international cooperation to prevent and combat trafficking in persons in Mexico and Central America
27 - 30 October 2009 Training based on finalised anti-migrant smuggling manual piloted under the Impact Project
19 October 2009 UNODC launches 'Affected for Life' training film
9 October 2009 Launch of the International Framework for Action to Implement the Trafficking in Persons Protocol in New York.
30 September - 2 October 2009 Workshop to Develop Guidelines on International Legal cooperation Instruments in the area of anti-human trafficking and migrant smuggling held in Budva, Montenegro.
18 September 2009 Today, ILO, UNICEF and Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) launched the 'Training manual to fight trafficking in children for labour, sexual and other forms of exploitation
28 August 2009 Launch of UN anti-trafficking training manual in Bangkok
7 August 2009 Unprecendented Court of Women hears testimonies from the trafficked and sexually exploited
3 - 4 August Regional Workshop on the Role of NGOs in Preventing the Smuggling of Migrants
29 July 2009 UNODC Toolkit to Combat Trafficking in Persons now available in French
16 July 2009 Mexico and UNODC to launch the Blue Heart Campaign in early 2010
15 - 16 July Experts support draft law to combat migrant smuggling in Côte d'Ivoire
11 July 2009 President Obama praises conviction of human traffickers in Ghana
6 - 7 July 2009 Workshop on International Criminal Justice Cooperation in response to Migrant Smuggling held in Cairo, Egypt
30 June 2009 UNODC launches Model Law against Trafficking in Persons
22 - 24 June 2009 Final Expert Group Meeting to Elaborate UNODC Basic Training Modules on Preventing and Combating Migrant Smuggling held in Abuja, Nigeria
16 June 2009 African Union launches AU.COMMIT, an initiative to fight human trafficking in Africa.
12 June 2009 Council of the Baltic Sea States launches new website with information about Joint Project between the Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings (TF-THB) and UNODC
22 May 2009 UNODC and European Commission Partnership to Promote implementation of Trafficking in Persons Protocol and Migrant Smuggling Protocol
19 May 2009 New York gallery displays children's art on human trafficking
5-7 May 2009 UNODC Regional Office in Central Asia in coordination with the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan holds workshop on International and national mechanisms of combating human trafficking and protection of victims of human trafficking
April 2009 UNODC and UKHTC (United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre) enter into strategic partnership
20 April 2009 New Publication on Migrants Smuggling
8 April 2009 The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UNODC, in the framework of the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), launched the publication Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians
25 March 2009 Expert Group Meeting on Migrant Smuggling Training Material
25 March 2009 Joint programme meeting in Serbia
5 March 2009, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa launches the Blue Heart Campaign against Human Trafficking.
To read about the launch of the Blue Heart Campaign, click here.
To join the Blue Heart Campaign, visit the Blue Heart website.
26 February 2009, UNODC launches regional assessment on penal prosecution capacities to investigate trafficking in persons in Central America
23 to 25 February 2009 , UNODC hosts fourth meeting on Enhancing Operational Capacity to Invest and Disrupt Human Trafficking Activities in the Western Balkans
12 February 2009, UNODC launches Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.
12 February 2009, Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino appointed UNODC Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking
29 January 2009, UNODC anti-trafficking public service announcements available online.
18 December 2008, UNODC launches Online Toolkit to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
30 November - 3 December 2008, UNODC holds Expert Group Meeting to Elaborate Basic Training Modules on Preventing and Combating the Smuggling of Migrants
15 November 2008, UNODC Regional Office for South Asia holds Colloquium on Justice Delivery in India
20 October 2008, UNODC released report on trafficking in Lebanon
15 October 2008, UNODC hosts event to discuss challenges in the delivery of technical assistance
9 October 2008, UNODC releases new Toolkit to combat Trafficking in Persons
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Putting people first: UNODC Executive Director visits drug treatment centre and women's prison in Afghanistan
Putting people first: UNODC Executive Director visits drug treatment centre and women's prison in Afghanistan
Related StoriesPutting people first: UNODC Executive Director visits drug treatment centre and women's prison in Afghanistan UNODC: Executive Director underlines continuing support to Afghan government UNODC: Executive Director underlines continuing support to Afghan government
29 November 2010 - On his first visit to Afghanistan since assuming duties as UNODC Executive Director in September, Mr. Yury Fedotov visited Jangalak Treatment Centre, in Kabul, Afghanistan, last week. The centre offers treatment and follow up care for recovering drug users.
"Drug use is a health problem, not a crime", said Mr. Fedotov. "Drug users are affected by a disease - addiction - and instead of punishment, what they need is treatment, care and social integration. They should not be stigmatized, repressed or further marginalized. Like all people, they deserve to be treated humanely. I believe in placing a strong emphasis on safeguarding health, human rights and justice", he added.
There are about one million problem drug users in Afghanistan, according to a recent survey conducted by UNODC and the Afghan Ministry of Health (released in June). The report shows that Afghanistan is not only the world's largest producer of opium, but it also has some of the highest numbers of opium and heroin users in the world.
Jangalak was initially set up by the Government of Afghanistan, International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2009 as a treatment centre specifically for problem drug users who sought refuge in old dilapidated buildings, and who were routinely dying from overdose, exposure to cold during winters, malnutrition and other drug-related illness. In August 2009, UNODC started directly supporting activities in Jangalak, and has, since May 2010 been providing a comprehensive evidence based approach to treatment which includes in-patient care, night shelter, after-care support and community sensitization activities to promote re-integration into the community of recovering drug users.
To date, 123 clients have been admitted to structured in-patient treatment. Sixty-three clients completed treatment successfully, while sixty clients are still in treatment and will be discharged in December.
At the centre, Mr. Fedotov interacted with patients undergoing treatment. He congratulated the recovering drug users for the momentous steps they had taken to seek help, and expressed hope that they would continue with their recovery process. Mr. Fedotov expressed his deep concern over the high number of drug users who still did not have access to comprehensive treatment services, and called on the international community to support the national efforts to improve coverage of drug treatment and HIV prevention services.
On the same day, Mr. Fedotov visited the Kabul Women's prison - Badam Bagh - to see first hand the conditions under which female prisoners are held.
UNODC has been giving support to the prison, including conducting training on the social reintegration of women prisoners, based on a handbook developed by UNODC. Currently, UNODC is supporting a HIV prevention, treatment and care programme in the prison through a medical clinic that provides primary health care to the women prisoners, vaccination, testing for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases .
"At the women's prison, I have seen the efforts that the national government, in particular Central Prison Department, have made in improving the quality of the life of prisoners. We must build humane prison systems that respect and protect the human rights of all prisoners, including the most vulnerable, such as women and prisoners who need drug treatment. Being in prison is a punishment in itself and we have to ensure that additional resources and facilities are available for the incarcerated population, especially women and their children", he said. "The Badam Bagh is a good model for improving the quality of the life of prisoners"
Wearing a red ribbon to show solidarity with HIV positive prisoners, Mr. Fedotov also visited the HIV Clinic in the women's prison.
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