Introduction to UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence

 
The UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence for Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice in Asia and Pacific (CoE) is a joint project between United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Statistics Korea (KOSTAT). The CoE was established in February 2019, and is based in Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
 
The CoE is a regional innovation hub for the exchange of knowledge, experience, and information between stakeholders involved in national crime statistics systems including, national statistics offices, law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, prisons, relevant line ministries and other relevant external entities in academia, NGOs and civil society for a collaborative approach to capacity building in this important field.
 
The CoE provides and organizes technical assistance and training activities to support regional Member States to improve statistical methodologies and technical capabilities with respect to the production, collection, analysis, and dissemination of crime and criminal justice data as the basis for evidence-based policymaking.
 
Particular focus is given to promoting, adopting, and implementing the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS), crime victimization surveys, corruption surveys, increasing the availability and quality of data provided to the UN-Crime Trends Surveys (UN-CTS), and supporting the production of data indicators required to monitor relevant Sustainable Development Goals in the areas of crime, violence, trafficking, access to justice and rule of law (SDGs 3, 5, 11, 15 and 16).
 

 
Established in 1997, the UNODC mission is to contribute to global peace and security, human rights and development by effectively, efficiently and with accountability, delivering support to Member States to build just, inclusive and resilient societies that leave no one behind.
 
UNODC work is based around five normative areas of activity: strengthening Member States’ capacities to confront threats from transnational organized crime; tackling corruption and its impacts on societies; strengthening crime prevention and building effective criminal justice systems; supporting Member States in implementing a balanced, comprehensive and evidence-based approach to the world drug problem that addresses supply and demand; and countering terrorism.

 

KOSTAT is the central government agency responsible for producing and coordinating national statistics in Republic of Korea. KOSTAT determines statistical standards, produces and distributes various economic and social statistics, conducts major censuses and sample surveys and provides standard definitions, methodologies and classifications, for the common application of national statistics producers. Also, as an international partner, KOSTAT contributes to the global statistics community through bilateral and multilateral statistical cooperation.