Director General/Executive Director
23 May 2016
Secretary-General Stock,
Distinguished participants,
The need for global partnerships to address shared challenges, from advancing sustainable development to countering the threats posed by transnational organized crime and terrorism, has never been more clear.
UNODC and INTERPOL have long worked together in regions around the world, to stop human trafficking and migrant smuggling, tackle wildlife crime and trafficking in cultural property, address firearms, support anti-corruption and asset recovery, build interdiction capacities to combat illicit trafficking, and much more.
With the new Joint Action Plan between our offices, we are enhancing the sharing of information and expertise, and further strengthening our work in priority areas.
As we have seen, the increased interconnectivity spurred by globalization has proved to be both a threat and an opportunity.
Transnational organized crime groups abuse the globalized economy and new technologies, exploiting the opportunities they provide to extend their reach and form new alliances.
But improved connectivity also offers us possibilities - to bring down barriers to cooperation, sharpen strategic and operational responses, and enable real-time coordination - within and between countries and regions, and across the globe.
We at UNODC launched the "Networking the Networks" initiative to support countries to fight organized crime networks with stronger networks of our own: networks addressing law enforcement, financial investigation and training; founded on operational links between regional and international organizations, to support the exchange of intelligence and enable multilateral action.
INTERPOL's initiative to promote a strong global policing architecture, including through the "Dialogue on an Effective Multilateral Policing Architecture against Global Threats" is fully in line with this approach.
These complementarities in our respective efforts to shape collective responses to transnational organized crime, terrorism and other challenges will be further enhanced through the Joint Action Plan.
INTERPOL is already an important partner in "LE TrainNet", UNODC's initiative to network law enforcement training institutions, and took part in the inaugural meeting in Baku in 2015.
Now INTERPOL will be hosting the next meeting of LE TrainNet at its Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore in June.
UNODC has begun implementing a new global programme funded by the EU to strengthen criminal investigation and criminal justice cooperation along cocaine trafficking routes in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa, and we are pleased to count INTERPOL among our implementing partners.
Moreover, we are looking forward to expanding our cooperation to build capacities and increase coordination to tackle cybercrime, money laundering and illicit financial flows, as well as developing and promoting e-learning.
Our work in counter-terrorism assistance is a strong showcase for our complementary strengths. UNODC focuses on the legal and capacity building aspects, integrating INTERPOL's programmes, tools and databases in all our initiatives, while INTERPOL focuses on the operational aspects.
The Joint Action Plan will help us to further pursue our common objectives and streamline synergies, to support countries to address emerging and evolving threats, including the sale of trafficked cultural property to finance terrorism, foreign terrorist fighters, violent extremism and abuse of the internet for terrorist purposes, improvised explosive devices, and the links between organized crime networks and terrorists groups.
In short, the Joint Action Plan can be a force multiplier - maximizing the impact of the work under our respective mandates, helping to avoid duplication and ensuring efficient and effective assistance.
I am very pleased that we are signing the Arrangement on Cooperation today on the margins of the CCPCJ session.
This agreement will enable a genuine institution to institution interaction that can only further strengthen our work to address the many challenges posed by drugs, crime, terrorism and corruption.
My thanks to Mr. Stock, and to Member States for their support.
Thank you.