Director General/Executive Director
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to begin by wishing you all a happy and peaceful New Year.
UNODC is proud to be hosting this conference on implementing the 2030 Agenda.
The academic community and civil society are indispensable partners in our work, including to help realize the Sustainable Development Goals, and I very much welcome UNODC's long-standing cooperation with ACUNS.
Our new Secretary-General, António Guterres, has pledged to put development at the centre of all of the UN's work.
For the UN family in Vienna, the 2030 Agenda further unites our diverse efforts to promote peace, security and development.
Many of you saw a visible symbol of this joint work and commitment to achieve the 2030 Agenda on your way into the Vienna International Centre this morning.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon came here on his last official trip overseas in December, and inaugurated the SDG icons gracing our visitor entrance.
For UNODC, the 2030 Agenda provides a holistic, multi-dimensional framework that recognizes that security, justice, the rule of law and health matter for achieving development for all.
Targets under the SDGs that relate directly to our mandate include:
Our work to support countries to achieve some of these targets has been further strengthened by the recent UNGASS on the world drug problem and the continuing follow-up process being led by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
The UNGASS outcome document and the CND have made clear that achieving the SDGs and promoting balanced, evidence-based approaches to drugs are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
UNGASS and the 2030 Agenda have provided new impetus to alternative development as a means of not only reducing illicit cultivation of coca, opium poppy and cannabis, but also improving the socio-economic conditions of marginalized communities.
At the same time, UNODC is contributing to efforts to achieve the SDGs, in particular Goal Sixteen, through our support to implement the Doha Declaration agreed at the last Crime Congress, including through initiatives focused on strengthening judicial integrity and education for justice.
Looking ahead, in November we will hold the Seventh Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption.
Member States will discuss progress with the second cycle of the Convention's review mechanism which addresses corruption prevention and asset recovery, both recognized as key issues for attaining the SDGs.
Moreover, our support to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism is aligned with achieving targets under the 2030 Agenda.
UNODC is committed to further assisting Member States to address the nexus between terrorism and transnational organized crime, and we are contributing to the Secretary-General's Action Plan on Preventing Violent Extremism.
Overall, our experience and expertise and network of field offices remain key assets for Member States, not only to achieve targets under the SDGs, but to globally monitor progress.
Our statistics and research represent a rich resource, in particular to monitor targets under Goal Sixteen.
This includes UNODC flagship publications, such as the World Drug Report, which in 2016 focused on how to integrate drug policy and development interventions.
UNODC's first Global Report on wildlife crime complements the work done under our global programme to help the international community address trafficking of protected species, a key target of Goal Fifteen.
And just last month, we released our latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, which is supporting Member States to better fight this terrible crime and realize related SDG targets.
UNODC efforts to confront human trafficking and migrant smuggling are also in line with the UN TOGETHER campaign, which is bringing together countries, the private sector and civil society to show support for refugees and migrants, in the spirit of SDG Seventeen on partnerships and the New York Declaration.
As you can see, UNODC's work across its mandate areas of drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism is making a vital contribution to efforts towards achieving the SDGs.
I think I can speak for all of the UN family in Vienna when I say that the 2030 Agenda has provided a powerful and effective means to coordinate our efforts with that of all UN partners, to make our work as efficient and effective as possible, to avoid overlap and ensure that support goes to the people who need it most.
Now we need to make the most of this framework, and deliver with accountability.
This conference can contribute to these efforts, by engaging diverse stakeholders in this very important dialogue, by offering new ideas and strengthening partnerships towards implementing the 2030 Agenda.
I wish you fruitful discussions.
Thank you.