The School of Multidimensional Security (ESEM) of USP's Institute of International Relations expands program aimed at combating illegal trade and organized crimeThe School of Multidimensional Security (ESEM) of USP's Institute of International Relations expands program aimed at combating illegal trade and organized crime

In addition to updating police training courses, the initiative will gain a virtual library, an atlas of current criminal legislation in the Americas region, and a new chair on Illicit Markets and Organized Crime

The project of the School of Multidimensional Security (ESEM), of the International Relations Institute of the University of São Paulo (IRI-USP), aimed at combating illegal trade and organized crime, resumes its actions with the reformulation and expansion of academic content and the expansion of the impact to more than 18 countries in Latin America, besides the formalization of new partnerships with foreign institutions.

The new stage foresees the expansion of the project’s scope, previously focused on the Triple Border between Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, and now reaching the entire region of the Americas. Due to this new scope, the training course for police officers on the theme of Multidimensional Border Security was updated, which in the two previous editions trained about 5 thousand officers from all Brazilian states and other Latin American countries.

There are also plans to offer a new course in 2023 on Illicit Markets and Organized Crime in the Americas, which is being prepared with the support of the Police Community of the Americas (Ameripol) – an entity that promotes police cooperation in the Americas. The classes, in online format, aim to present the workings of organized crime, the process of transnationalization of illicit markets, and the operational structure in the Americas.

“Our goal is to strengthen a culture of cooperation and broaden the understanding of illicit markets, preparing police officers, through operational standardization, to combat the economy of counterfeit and smuggled products,” says Leandro Piquet Carneiro, professor at IRI-USP and one of the program coordinators.

Oswaldo Aranha Chair

Besides training the police forces of the countries encompassed by the initiative, another novelty is the creation of the Oswaldo Aranha Chair, within the structure of IRI-USP, with the purpose of attracting internationally renowned researchers in the field of illicit markets, to add academic efforts to the solutions for this issue. The candidates to fill the vacancies will be selected by a board of experts on the subject. As part of the project, a virtual library on organized crime and illicit markets will be developed to support scholars and researchers in this field.

Another initiative is the publication of an Atlas of the Criminal Justice System of the Americas, covering all the Ameripol member countries, to be released in 2024. The work makes a comparison between the legislations, based on the model adopted by the European Economic Community, showing the different approaches that often hinder the fight against organized crime in the region. To be made available on a virtual platform and in e-book format, the atlas counts on the collaboration of the Mackenzie University Law School and Ameripol.

IRI-USP’s initiatives are supported by PMI IMPACT, a global action created by Philip Morris International to support projects against illegal trade that negatively impacts individuals, their families, and communities in all regions of the world. “The actions implemented from the beginning by USP’s Institute of International Relations are fully aligned with PMI IMPACT’s proposal. It is essential to promote ways to integrate the authorities responsible for the repression of organized crime, so that they act in a coordinated way. Moreover, counting on technologies for the construction of public security policies, based on data, represents a great step in this issue”, says Fernando Vieira, Director of Corporate Affairs, Philip Morris Brazil.

About Philip Morris Brazil

Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio over the long term to include products outside of tobacco and nicotine. The company’s current product portfolio consists primarily of cigarettes and smokeless products, including heated tobacco, vapor, and oral nicotine, which are sold in markets outside the U.S. Since 2008, PMI has invested more than $9 billion to market innovative smokeless products to adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, with the goal of completely ending the sale of cigarettes.

This includes building world-class scientific evaluation capabilities, primarily in the areas of preclinical systems toxicology, clinical and behavioral research, and post-market studies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized marketing versions of PMI’s IQOS Platform 1 devices and consumables as Modified Risk Tobacco Products (MRTPs), finding that the exposure modification orders for these products are appropriate to promote public health.

Philip Morris Brazil has operated in the country for more than 45 years, and follows global guidelines for creating a future with a new category of smoke-free products. By June 30, 2022, 70 markets had PMI’s smokeless products, and the company estimates that approximately 13.2 million adults worldwide, excluding Russia and Ukraine, have already switched to IQOS and quit smoking. With a solid foundation and scientific expertise, in February 2021, PMI announced its ambition to expand into the areas of wellness and healthcare and provide innovative products and solutions aimed at meeting the unmet needs of consumers and patients. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com

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