United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Monica Kathina Juma of Kenya as Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as well as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV). She succeeds Ghada Fathi Waly of Egypt, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service to the Organization.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that at least 7,667 people died or went missing on migration routes in 2025, with sea crossings among the deadliest. Of these, 2,185 people were in the Mediterranean; 1,214 were on the Western Africa/Atlantic route. The figures are lower than the nearly 9,200 deaths recorded in 2024.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime today released an analysis showing illegal waste flows are causing economic, public-health and environmental damage, especially in low-income countries. It found that organized crime groups and corporations are involved in waste crime estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
On 25 July 2025, members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2653 (2022) concerning Haiti received a briefing by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In Ukraine, food insecurity remains a concern in front-line and border regions. A recent assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that the war has devastated livelihoods and quadrupled poverty levels, leaving those most vulnerable at greatest risk.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June:
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) concluded its session today by approving seven draft resolutions — including measures aimed at eliminating racism and addressing the world drug problem — bringing the total number of those texts forwarded to the General Assembly for adoption to 49.
In its annual report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said today that opium cultivation in Afghanistan in 2024 increased by an estimated 19 per cent year-on-year to cover 12,800 hectares. UNODC said that the increase follows on a 95 per cent decrease in cultivation during the 2023 crop season.
Just 18 per cent of the $48.7 billion needed to humanitarian aid worldwide this year has been received, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports. The consequences are particularly acute in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Honduras, Mali, Myanmar and Sudan.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June:
