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The School of Multidimensional Security (ESEM) of the Institute of International Relations (IRI) of USP and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) formalized a new agenda of research, technical and scientific activities and academic events. The cooperation agreement represents an important milestone in the search for innovative, evidence-based strategies and responses to organized crime. The partnership provides for joint seminars, research and publications on the international expansion of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), the responses of middle-income countries to organized crime and the resilience of the private sector in the Amazon.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, GI-TOC is an independent civil society organization. It brings together researchers, public security professionals and policymakers dedicated to the study of illicit markets and organized crime, and its global network of experts has grown tenfold over the past ten years. Its main project is the Global Organized Crime Index, which assesses the 193 member states of the United Nations (UN) in two dimensions: the level of criminality, based on markets and criminal actors, and resilience to organized crime.
GI-TOC maintains regional observatories of illicit economies in West Africa, Europe, Central Africa, Asia-Pacific, Haiti, Eurasia, Southeastern Europe, Central America and the Andean region, among other regions. Through the Resilience Fund, it supports civil society actors confronting organized crime. It also monitors the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and actively participates in international initiatives on security, organized crime and money laundering.
Mark Shaw, executive director of GI-TOC, stated that the agreement brings Brazilian research closer to the international debate: “We are excited to establish this partnership with ESEM-USP, one of the leading Brazilian centers of research and innovation in public policy in the field of public security. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to producing rigorous knowledge, promoting informed public debate and developing effective responses to transnational organized crime. Together, we hope to create new platforms for dialogue, produce high-impact research and connect Brazilian expertise to global discussions on security and governance.”
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The agreement covers seminars and academic events, research projects, technical and scientific activities and joint scholarly work. Among the planned actions are an international seminar on the global presence of the PCC, with researchers and public security professionals who monitor the criminal group’s activities in Brazil, the Amazon Basin, the Southern Cone, West Africa and Europe; a seminar on how middle-income countries, such as Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines and Indonesia, have been developing responses to transnational organized crime, focusing on emerging challenges, institutional innovations and multilateral cooperation; and joint publications with the results and public policy recommendations of these meetings; in addition to research, dialogue with stakeholders and initiatives aimed at strengthening the resilience of the private sector in the face of organized crime in the Amazon.
Fábio Ramazzini Bechara, chair of the ESEM Council, highlighted that the agreement reinforces the school’s strategy: “The partnership with GI-TOC strengthens the mission of the School of Multidimensional Security to produce knowledge and contribute to more effective responses to organized crime and illicit markets. It is one more chapter in the internationalization of ESEM, which expands the exchange of experiences and connects research conducted in Brazil to international debates and cooperation initiatives.”
About the School of Multidimensional Security
The School of Multidimensional Security (ESEM) is a professional education program affiliated with the Institute of International Relations (IRI) of USP dedicated to training in the areas of public security, defense and criminal justice. Over the course of its history, ESEM has trained more than 29,000 students from 50 countries in the Americas, Africa and Europe. The school maintains a digital library specialized in illicit markets and organized crime and houses the Oswaldo Aranha Chair, dedicated to research on illicit activities and transnational criminal organizations.
Learn more about ESEM on the school’s website and follow its Instagram account.
Written by Daniela Echeverri Fierro, from the ESEM communications coordinator
English version: Nexus Traduções, edited by Denis Pacheco
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