Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
UNODC welcomes and wholeheartedly supports the international community's recognition that justice and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are essential to attaining sustainable development outcomes.
Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals is cross-cutting in its scope and impact. Its successful achievement is fundamental to realizing the whole of the post-2015 development agenda.
A world free from organized crime, the exploitation and trafficking of children and women, corruption and violence is a world where we can realize our common goals of preserving the environment, ensuring sustainable consumption and production, reducing inequality, building resilient infrastructure, achieving gender equality and ending poverty and hunger.
Now that Member States have agreed on what needs to be achieved in the next 15 years, the attention must shift to the hard work ahead. This will be no easy task, but together - governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector - can and must reach these goals.
UNODC supports you in these endeavours. We help to build and sustain effective, accountable and inclusive institutions that promote health, security and justice while confronting the challenges of illicit drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, terrorism and corruption, with balanced approaches founded on the rule of law and human rights.
UNODC further welcomes the adoption of the Global Goals as an opportunity to build and be part of strengthened global partnerships that will help to ensure that we are as effective and efficient as possible.
Thank you.