How can governments respond effectively to minerals crime when criminal networks operate across borders, supply chains, and financial systems?
As global demand for gold and critical minerals continues to grow, illegal extraction and trafficking are increasingly linked to organized crime, illicit financial flows, corruption, environmental harm, and broader governance vulnerabilities. These dynamics are becoming particularly significant in the Andean–Amazon region, where mineral supply chains intersect with fragile ecosystems, transnational trade routes, and complex governance challenges.
UNICRI’s new report, Minerals Crime in the Andean–Amazon Region: Regional Cooperation as a Governance Response, examines how regional cooperation can help address the structural limits of fragmented national responses to minerals crime.
A Changing Governance Landscape
The global energy transition, digital technologies, and strategic competition for mineral resources are reshaping international supply chains. At the sa
