With 10,000 People Abducted Yearly, UN Launches Anti-Kidnapping Manual
New York, Apr 26 2006
To protect the estimated 10,000 people kidnapped throughout the world every year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) today launched a manual to help States handle the scourge, which often results in the death of victims.
“The purpose of this manual is to save lives,” UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said as he formally
presented it to Colombian Attorney General MarioGerman Iguaran Arana during the current session of the UN Commission on
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice being held in Vienna, Austria.
UNODC developed the manual to give police officers and policy-makers concrete guidelines on how to respond to
kidnappings, building on the contributions of experts from 16 countries and the financial support of the Government of
Columbia, where kidnapping of civilians has often been rampant during a long civil conflict.
Identifying different types of kidnapping, including kidnapping for extortion as well as political or ideological
purposes, it advises governments on drawing up effective legislation, preventive measures and contingency plans. It also
provides practical guidance for senior police investigators, covering subjects such as negotiation, surveillance and
intervention options.
UNODC said it has developed a course based on the manual to train experts for countries of the Caribbean and more such
training is also planned for Latin America this year.
“This manual is based on good practice identified by experienced practitioners and I am confident it will help to make
the global law enforcement response more effective,” Mr. Costa said.
“Kidnapping can have local, national and international dimensions. All countries need coherent national strategies to
combat this crime,” he added.
ENDS