Threading the Needle of Violence: Pursuing Overlapping Dynamics to Support Urban Peace

In 2015, 193 United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals (SDGs). The Agenda, although imperfect, opens important space to discuss, analyze and invest in the ways in which different aspects of social, political and economic life influence one another. The Agenda takes specific challenges—organized crime, climate change, gender inequality, etc.—and provides an integrated framework that is both universal (applicable to all countries) and inclusive (applicable to all people). Those working on organized crime would do well to better use the power of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs to advance balanced approaches that can both reduce violence associated with crime in the near term and the dynamics enabling organized criminal behavior in the long term.