Improved policy coherence and increased multi-stakeholder partnerships is the key to the most critical element of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: the ability of Member States to effectively raise, retain and manage their own domestic resources. Declines in official development assistance and an observed increase in the illicit flow of resources out of low- and medium-income countries has led to the prevention and mitigation of illicit financial flows and improvement of asset recovery efforts to be raised to the top of the development agenda. UNODC will continue to apply the knowledge, skills and experience of its staff and governing bodies to help Member States to reach these goals. UNODC is well placed to convene multi stakeholder partnerships at the international level (and to assist Member States in convening them at the national level) to improve policy coherence and consequently the effectiveness of international, regional and national efforts to combat illicit financial flows. Finally, it is to be noted that the governing bodies of UNODC, namely the Commissions on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) have a concrete opportunity to contribute to the review of progress made towards the SDG's. As per A/RES/66/288 of 27 July 2012 and A/RES/67/290 of 21 July 2013, and in the SDG declaration itself, the General Assembly established a High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development as the primary forum to review progress on the sustainable development goals ensuring a political ownership by Member States. The forum is expected to meet every year under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and every four years under the auspices of the General Assembly and is aimed to provide the necessary political impetus needed for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While the modus operandi of the Forum has not yet been finalized, preliminary documents feature the input of ECOSOC functional commissions, among other contributions. To this end, UNODC will present a Conference Room Paper to the Commissions, outlining opportunities for contributing to the review by the HLPF. In particular, a number of Targets under SDG's 3 and 16 fall under the direct purview of the CND and the CCPCJ and it is conceivable that UNODC could utilize data that is already being collected, to monitor progress towards these goals. |