Urging Global Action Against Transnational Organized Crime
- Delivers a civil society statement at the UNTOC plenary session and co-hosts a side event with the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- Calls for the institutional integration of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda with crime prevention.
VIENNA, Austria – October 23, 2026 –The International Women's Peace Group (IWPG, President Jeon Nayeong) announced that it officially participated in the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC COP13), held at the Vienna International Center (VIC) in Austria, from October 19 to 23 (local time), and successfully concluded its official presentation and side event during the plenary session.
During the session on international cooperation held in the plenary meeting of COP13 on the morning of the 22nd (local time), IWPG was granted the floor to speak on behalf of civil society and emphasized the role of civil society beyond intergovernmental judicial cooperation.
In a statement, Lara Schmitt, Branch Manager of the IWPG Frankfurt branch, identified a victim-centered approach and investment in prevention and empowerment as two key tasks that must go hand in hand with judicial punishment. She argued that judicial cooperation must lead to the protection, recovery, and restoration of victims’ rights and dignity, and that fostering community resilience is essential for the root prevention of transnational crime. As a concrete model for implementation, she highlighted the achievements of the IWPG’s peace education program, Peace Lecturer Training and Education (PLTE), in which 3,376 participants from 67 countries worldwide took part, and conveyed to the international community that vulnerability to crime can be fundamentally overcome when local women step forward as voluntary agents of peacebuilding.
On the 23rd, the Permanent Mission of Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations Office at Vienna co-hosted an official side event on the theme “Peace as Prevention: Women, Fragile Regions, and Transnational Organized Crime.” At this event, a strong consensus emerged that UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace, and Security) and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC)—which had previously been addressed separately on the international stage—should be integrated into a single framework.
Evelina Henriksson, Branch Manager of the IWPG Vienna branch, who delivered the keynote address, stated, “Transnational crime prevention begins long before incidents occur—with peace education in local communities and support for women’s empowerment,” and shared key outcomes from the 2026 Global Women's Peace Forum, held last July with approximately 1,000 participants from 46 countries. Citing examples such as the training of peace educators at universities in Mexico and solidarity initiatives supporting vulnerable groups in Brazil, she emphasized that “women are not passive victims but active agents of proactive crime prevention,” adding that “through women-led peace education and the development of women’s leadership, we can address the root causes of human trafficking and the infiltration of criminal organizations.”
Nurzhan Shaildabekova, Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan and co-host of the event, also delivered a welcome address, emphasizing, “It is women leaders and civil society on the ground who are the first to reach families in crisis. State-led law enforcement alone cannot prevent organized crime.” She went on to share examples from Kyrgyzstan, such as the women’s peace committees in some 20 regions and campaigns to prevent human trafficking, stating, “Women-led peace education is not a soft extra to crime prevention. It is one of its most effective tools.”
Next, Jana Merunková, director of the Czech nonprofit Your Chance (yourchance o.p.s.), presented a case study demonstrating how financial literacy education for vulnerable women effectively reduces their risk of exposure to crime, capturing the attention of participants from around the world.
An IWPG official shared, “It is meaningful to be able to highlight the pivotal role women play in transnational crime prevention on the stage of the main conference and side events at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna.”
She continued, “Starting with this meeting, we will work closely with the Kyrgyzstan Mission, the UNODC Civil Society Unit (CSU), and civil society organizations around the world to continuously issue effective policy recommendations and joint statements. Building on this foundation, we will expand our activities to major international forums—such as the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) in New York, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and the African Union (AU) International Conference on Education for Women and Girls (PANCOGEd)—to actively advocate for the voices of women on the ground,” as an outline of IWPG’s future plans.
About IWPG
The International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG) is an international NGO registered with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Department of Global Communications (DGC). Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, it leads the international community’s efforts to promote women-led peacebuilding and the spread of peace education through its 104 branches and approximately 900 partner organizations worldwide.
