Director-General/Executive Director
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As this year draws to a close, I would like to thank all of you for your many contributions to the successes of the United Nations Office at Vienna and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
In many ways, 2011 was not an easy one. We have shared in the sorrow of the loss of colleagues in such places as Bolivia and South Africa, but particularly in Abuja, Nigeria, on 26 August, when 12 of our UN colleagues were killed.
We also face an ongoing financial crisis to which none of us are immune. However, we do so with a renewed sense of confidence and a belief in the ability of our two organizations to go from strength to strength.
I also firmly believe that 2011 was a year of achievements, a year in which we once again affirmed the value and credibility of our work to Member States.
The launch of the Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries; the 4 th COSP in Marrakech; the release of grants to NGOs under the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking; the celebration by OOSA of 50 years of the peaceful use of outer space this year; and the publication of a series of powerful reports on drugs and crime are activities that should make us all proud.
But these are only a few of the examples chosen from the many achievements that together form our joint commitment to the mandates of UNOV/UNODC.
I recognize the many human links in the chain of our achievements; all of them equally praiseworthy. The links in this collective effort include postal, conference management, catering, financial, editorial, translation, communications, procurement, personnel, information technology and security services, to name a few.
I also thank the staff working with diligence and dedication in the field. Your work, often undertaken in dangerous conditions, is greatly appreciated by us all.
As we look forward to 2012, I extend to you and your families seasonal greetings and I wish you a healthy, prosperous and happy New Year.