Cage, a United Nations goodwill ambassador for global justice, says the threat posed by criminal networks is too big for communities or states to confront on their own and that countries must work together to battle it.
He warns that regions weakened by conflict, lawlessness and extreme poverty are especially susceptible to "the deadly infection that preys on human beings."
Cage won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in "Leaving Las Vegas" in 1995. He spoke Thursday at a conference aimed at boosting support for a U.N. convention to curb organized crime.
