Director General/Executive Director
Madame President of the General Assembly,
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
We at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime welcome this discussion on international cooperation to combat illicit financial flows and strengthen good practices on assets return.
By depriving countries of resources, violating rights, stifling growth and undermining stability and the rule of law, illicit financial flows from corruption and crime represent a major impediment to achieving the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Criminals are exploiting new technologies, as well as capacity and regulatory gaps, to acquire and hide stolen proceeds. It is high time to reinforce global action to counter the risks posed by economic crime, money laundering, the financing of terrorism and corruption in all its forms.
UNODC, including through our joint StAR initiative with the World Bank, is helping to prevent and address these complex, transnational threats, through international cooperation and capacity building to implement the UN conventions against corruption and transnational organized crime.
Our Office is also strengthening action through research and analysis, as well as support for national efforts to collect data and inform development policies and strategies.
This includes our work to measure illicit financial flows. UNODC, along with UNCTAD, acts as "custodian" of the SDG Sixteen indicator on illicit financial flows. We are working with national experts and academics to develop a standard statistical methodology to help assess progress.
Going forward, I urge all Member States to make full use of the resources we offer to further advance cooperation under the Conventions against corruption and transnational organized crime, and support review of implementation to help identify capacity-building needs and provide assistance.
This meeting provides an important opportunity, as the international community focuses this year on how best to achieve SDG Sixteen, and as we work towards the fourteenth Crime Congress in Kyoto in 2020.
Together, we can promote the rule of law, combat illicit financial flows stemming from corruption and transnational organized crime, and strengthen recovery of stolen assets. In this way, we can ensure that technology and the financial sector can serve as forces for good, and promote innovation, accountability and job creation. Vital funds and public assets can be used to empower people, and enable growth, opportunity and well-being.
UNODC is here to help you. Thank you.