Assassinations, or contract killings, have been largely used by criminal groups as a form of criminal governance: to exert territorial control and control of their illicit markets, targeted violence was commonly seen as the modus operandi by many groups. However, increasingly, the spill over of these gang turfs have affected victims from civil society. Individuals standing for political office, activists defending lands from corporate or criminal encroachment, and journalists uncovering unsavoury truths. The list of victims of contract killings is long and global. The panel will present Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)’s database, the Global Assassination Monitor, a unique database that monitors contract killings around the world. It will also discuss the current state of contract killings in the academic literature. The panel will finish with a practical recommendation of community-based responses on this widespread form of crime in Colombia.

Ana Paula Oliveira, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Felipe Botero, Head of Colombia Programmes, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Nina Kaysser, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Mohammed Rahman, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Birmingham City University

For other talks visit https://oc24.heysummit.com/

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

This roundtable will discuss the situation of organised crime in the UK and policy implications.

Professor of comparative organised crime and corruption, University of Bath, UK

Dr Ella Cockbain's research focuses primarily on human trafficking, child sexual abuse and labour market abuses. She is interested in rigorous, nuanced and context-sensitive approaches to understanding complex social issues.

London based writer, covering crime, politics and society for various publications, including The Guardian, VICE, Financial Times, Rolling Stone, New Statesman, Wired and Prospect.

Director Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit, UK

For other talks visit https://oc24.heysummit.com/

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The purpose of the Roundtable is to identify why there is no academic or thinktank discourse focused on organized crime in India, especially when the phenomenon of mafia-style criminality touches upon such issues as national security (ie., terrorism), economic performance, democratic politics and megacity policing. Organized crime should be a prime subject of research in Indian social sciences, yet it is ignored. The five distinguished experts listed above will talk about different facets of the subject, with each speaking on their own field of expertise. The audience might therefore get an all-rounded perspective of a very complicated and layered topic. The speakers will be encouraged to put questions to each other, in order to tease out as-yet-unexplored nuances of the topic under discussion.

Senior Fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings.

Head of World Economy Department (MGIMO).

Specialised in research on organised crime, intelligence and irregular warfare. At the GI-TOC, he has researched on cybersecurity threats, environmental crime, as well as linkages between political militancy and violent criminality.

Founding Member & Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management

Executive Editor, India Today

Senior Fellow and Director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

For other talks visit https://oc24.heysummit.com/

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Worldwide, 50% of detected human trafficking victims are victims of sexual exploitation. To respond to this crime, among the main aspects to be strengthened are the protection and assistance of victims. This panel will discuss how to provide better services for the rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration of sexual exploitation victims. The speakers will be an author of a non-fiction novel based on a human trafficking case, a representative from a field services NGO and an international researcher.

A talk by Gustavo Mauricio Bastien-Olvera, Raquel Caspi, Mayra Hernandez-Figueroa and Livia Wagner

This panel will discuss how difficult it is to analyse organised crime in France.

A talk by Déborah Alimi, Jacques Follorou, Tommaso Giuriati and Fabrice Rizzoli

This panel looks ‘organized corruption’ in the Western Balkans – a symbiosis of organized crime, criminal methods and high-level corruption, which creates a crooked ecosystem that enriches and protects those with access to power. Together with experts from the region, the panel will examine how organized corruption manifests in the WB6, its impact and also discuss possible remedies.

A talk by Bojan Dobovsek, Eldan Mujanovic, Suncana Roksandic and Ugljesa (Ugi) Zvekic - University of Maribor, University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia and GI-TOC

Niger Delta oil crime is one of the most serious natural resource crimes globally, with the systematic theft, sale and illegal refining of up to 20% of Nigeria’s oil output. Illegal bunkering and artisanal refining have increased exponentially over the past decade. This paper draws on qualitative interviews with Niger Deltan citizens, and government and community experts, to examine the impact on society. While state security forces continue to treat the crime with ‘extreme prejudice’ – destroying illegal camps and transportation – Niger Deltan citizens have normalised it, justifying it as an economic, energy and employment necessity despite its health and environmental toll. This film supports two publications on Oil Crime and organised Criminal Groups in the Niger Delta, it explores the key problems and then innovative, collaborative mechanisms to break this cycle of crime and inaction. Using a combination of national government, intergovernmental organisations, and the private sector’s technology and financing capabilities we propose economic renewal in the Delta. The film is funded by the European Union.

A talk by Omolara Balogun, Robin Cartwright and Oluwole Ojewale, West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Institute for Security studies

The truth about modern slavery

Apparently there are now more slaves than ever before in history. From men working in warehouses for barely any pay, to teenaged Vietnamese girls trafficked into small town nail bars, we're told that modern slavery is all around us, operating in plain sight. But is this really slavery, and is it even a new phenomenon? Why are politicians so keen to talk about trafficking and slavery today? Kenway's lauded book exposes how the idea of modern slavery operates as a political tool, undermining the real work needed to undo endemic exploitation. She is joined by UCL criminologist Dr Ella Cockbain, former director at the National Crime Agency Roy McComb and editor of the respected platform Beyond Trafficking and Slavery, Cameron Thibos.

A talk by Dr Rose Broad, Ella Cockbain, Professor David Gadd, Emily Kenway and Cameron Thibos University of Manchester, UCL, University of Manchester, Independent and openDemocracy

In this session, Donato Vozza from University of Roehampton London, will present his paper on an under-explored relationship: ‘Organized criminal groups and professional enablers: Breaking the partnership in crime in the area of taxation’, this presentation will introduce in the debate the notion of “organized tax crime”. After this intervention, Anna-Greta Pekkarinen will present the findings of her research, which examines the business models & modus operandi of labour trafficking. Aleksandras Dobryninas and Maryja Šupa will deliver a presentation on the topic of ‘Crimmigration in Lithuanian online media’, about the unprecedented wave of illicit migration through the Belarusian-Lithuanian border that Lithuania faced in 2021. The session will conclude with a presentation by Hai Thanh Luong, who will speak about Vietnamese cannabis growers building up their syndicates in Australia.

A talk by Aleksandras Dobryninas, Diorella Islas, Hai Luong, Anna-Greta Pekkarinen, Maryja Šupa and Donato Vozza

Vilnius University, Women In International Security, RMIT University, European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI), Vilnius University and University of Roehampton

The book (and the panel) explores the relationship between (organized) crime and music in its various forms and expressions. It includes a range of topics: from jazz and mob in Chicago, to narcocorridos in Mexico, to child trafficking in Medieval Italy, to the role of music in Serbian organized crime activities, and more.

A talk by Dina Siegel, Frank Bovenkerk, Dr. Jeffrey McIllwain and Rene van Swaaningen

Utrecht University / CIROC, Willem Pompe Institute, Utrecht University, San Diego State University and