Monica Juma: Navigating global cooperation at a time of increasing threats

The new head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said global cooperation is critical and has adapted as criminal networks have become more complex, sophisticated and interconnected.

• Monica Juma has taken on the dual role of Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Director General of the UN Office in Vienna.
• As a former national security advisor, minister, diplomat and academic, he has experience in the fields of defence, security, foreign affairs and multilateral cooperation.
• Ahead of the UN Crime Congress in Abu Dhabi, he called for stronger cooperation to confront organized crime, corruption, terrorism, human trafficking and technology-enabled threats.

After decades of working in public service in her home country, Kenya, Monica Juma is now stepping onto a wider stage, taking on two of the most important roles at the UN:

The best crime fighter

As Director General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV), he represented the Secretary General at one of the Organization’s main duty posts outside its Headquarters in New York. And as Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), he leads global efforts to strengthen crime prevention and criminal justice.

The mandate, he told UN News, is rooted in efforts to help countries confront drugs, corruption, terrorism, human trafficking and transnational organized crime – with the ultimate goal of providing “safety, protection and justice for all”.

Ms Juma officially took office last month and was sworn in Secretary General Antonio Guterres Last Thursday, replaced Ghada Fathi Waly from Egypt.

He said he was honored 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 “more secure and just world”.

Experience in the fields of security, diplomacy and government

Few people arrive in Vienna with such a broad portfolio of experience. Before joining the UN, Ms. Juma served as Kenya’s first National Security Advisor and National Secretary. Security Council. Previous roles include senior ministerial and principal secretary positions in foreign affairs, defence, home affairs and energy. His career was also shaped by multilateral diplomacy and academic research.

In his interview, he reflected on the value of “multi-agency collaboration” in managing complex challenges. As national security adviser, he said, he closely monitors “risk trends, vulnerabilities and opportunities” at the national, regional and global levels.

The experience, he hopes, will help him build the necessary consensus among member states, especially in a system where progress often depends on a shared understanding of what constitutes the “global public interest.”

A mandate that meets the moment

After her first weeks in office, Ms Juma said initial impressions were encouraging.

He pointed to what he described as the “general consensus” around UNODC’s “value proposition” – namely, that its mandate is highly relevant “in relation to the portfolio of risks faced around the world”.

At the heart of that consensus, he said, is the growing recognition that “no single sector, no single country, no single region can do it alone”, a realization that forms “the core for building stronger international cooperation and multilateralism”.

He also underscored the strength of the agency itself, describing UNODC staff as “a highly competent group of professionals who are at the forefront” of efforts to make society safer, protect communities and advance sustainable development, “and this gives me hope”.

However, this optimism is tempered by the rapidly developing threat.

Criminal networks now operate across national borders, sectors and technologies. Drug trafficking, illicit financial flows, money laundering, corruption, human trafficking and terrorism are increasingly intertwined, “creating a web of complicity” that demands an equally connected response.

In his interactions with partners, he felt “a great desire to make a positive contribution to UNODC’s work”, especially in sharing “correct information in a world characterized by disinformation”, and in helping Member States make the right decisions.

But he also cited structural challenges. Much of UNODC’s work relies on voluntary funding, which is often tightly allocated, while the threats it addresses remain fluid and adaptive. Transnational organized crime, he said, “enters unregulated spaces and can manipulate those spaces.”

To compensate, he said, donors should be encouraged to adopt a broader perspective – moving away from mere “pet projects” and towards more flexible support that allows the Office to increase its impact in line with the accelerating nature of global risk.

Looking to Abu Dhabi

This shifting landscape will shape the next UN Crime Congress, which will be held in Abu Dhabi in September.

Held every five years, the Congress provides a forum for the administration and partners to assess trends in crime prevention and criminal justice, and to set priorities for the coming years. Juma said this would offer member states the opportunity to design plans and “lay the framework” for future cooperation.

He pointed to the recent adoption of three resolutions – blackmail, fraud and trafficking in people for criminal activities – at the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) in Vienna as evidence that, even under pressure, multilateralism can still generate consensus.

The meeting in Abu Dhabi is expected to bring together various actors, including government, the private sector, civil society, young people and women’s groups. Such outreach, he said, is critical, given that effective criminal justice depends on cooperation in investigations, evidence collection, prosecution, digital forensics, asset recovery and legal assistance.

“So it’s the overall ecosystem that we have to think about.”

Managing technology in a fast-paced world

One of the issues on the main agenda is the impact of the digital era.

Ms Juma described technology as a “double-edged sword”, and stated that “the reality is that innovation trumps governance”. To bridge this gap, he said, closer collaboration between government and industry is needed.

The questions facing policymakers are direct and broad: what constitutes ethical artificial intelligence; how technology can safeguard human rights and dignity; and how countries with fewer resources can build capacity to respond.

“AI-assisted” human trafficking, he said, has reshaped patterns of criminal activity and prompted the formation of new response coalitions.

The aim in Abu Dhabi, he added, was not to “merely discuss existing problems”, but to guarantee commitment to “real activities that will be followed up through the Abu Dhabi Declaration”.

A message outside Vienna

Beyond the formal responsibilities of her position, Ms Juma is well aware of the symbolic weight of her appointment.

Many of the messages he received, he said, came from young people and women, particularly in Kenya and across East Africa, expressing a sense of pride and possibility.

His appointment, he said, was also recognition of the region’s capacity to contribute to global governance through the UN.

Its current ambition is to “strengthen their trust” by helping UNODC expand its reach and effectiveness in line with the pace of current challenges, while keeping justice, protection and human dignity at the center of its work.