Highlights: Transnational organized crime is a global threat jeopardizing security, obstructing the functioning of public institutions, undermining respect for human rights, and harming legitimate economic activities. Crime and violence are a development issue. The three main purposes of the Resolution are: to highlight the fight against transnational organized crime in the broader framework of the United Nations’ policies and actions; to promote the implementation of all pertinent United Nations instruments, in particular the universality and effective implementation of the UNTOC Convention and its additional Protocols, thereby strengthening international cooperation; to confirm the membership’s support for the UNODC’s technical assistance activities in this field.

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Mr. Chairman,

This year Italy has the honor, once again, to introduce the draft resolution on “Strengthening the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, in particular its technical cooperation capacity.” I wish to express Italy’s sincere appreciation to Albania, Benin, Finland, Guatemala, Iceland, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Norway, Panama, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Uruguay, who have co-sponsored this resolution from the beginning, as well as the other Member States that are now joining us

Mr. Chairman,

Transnational organized crime is a global threat. It jeopardizes security, obstructs the functioning of public institutions, undermines respect for human rights, and harms legitimate economic activities. In the short term high crime and violence rates directly impact human welfare and, in the long term, economic growth and social development. Crime and violence are a development issue.
We need a stronger global response to this threat, which no State can hope to defeat on its own.
The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its additional Protocols represent unprecedented instruments to this end. In particular, the Palermo Convention provides an incomparable foundation for dealing with extraditions, international confiscation and mutual legal assistance.
We need to ensure universal adherence to and full implementation of the Convention and its Protocols, encouraging Member States to make full and effective use of these instruments.

As in the past, the three main purposes of the resolution are:
First,  to highlight the fight against transnational organized crime in the broader framework of the United Nations’ policies and actions. The resolution will grant greater visibility and encourage a renewed political commitment to this issue in the UN agenda.
Second, to promote the implementation of all pertinent United Nations instruments, in particular the universality and effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its additional Protocols, thereby strengthening international cooperation. And
Third, to confirm the membership’s support for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime technical assistance activities in this field.

Mister Chairman,

Last year’s resolution resulted from several rounds of informal consultations. Thanks to the tireless efforts of all the delegations, we were able to incorporate into the text important new issues, such as trafficking in cultural property, juvenile delinquency and the adoption of the Global Plan of Action on Human Trafficking, while taking into consideration the overall financial situation and needs of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Building on these achievements, the draft we are proposing this year contains few essential updates to the languages we adopted last year. We have tried to streamline the text while preserving the balanced solutions on the principal issues that we formulated together: solutions that enjoyed broad support  from the membership (the resolution was co-sponsored by 132 Member States).

Let me rapidly draw your attention to these updates.

1. New language is focused on the initiatives and achievements of the 65th Session of the General Assembly, such as: the new resolutions on violence against women, the UN rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and non-custodial measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), and the Twelfth UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (preliminary paragraphs 5-6-7);
2. A new preliminary paragraph welcomes the Secretary-General’s establishment of a United Nations System Task Force on Transnational Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking as Threats to Security and Stability, for the purpose of developing an effective and comprehensive approach to these challenges (PP11);
3. In operative paragraph 8 we propose new language on the adoption of a comprehensive and integrated approach to crime prevention and criminal justice reform, developing crime prevention policies, strategies and programmes at both national and regional levels;
4. In operative paragraph 12 we give new emphasis to the need to strengthen the capacity of criminal justice systems to investigate and prosecute all forms of crimes, while protecting the rights of the defendants, victims and witnesses;
5. In operative paragraph 14 we are requesting that UNODC continue to facilitate the development of regional networks in the field of legal and law enforcement cooperation, which represent one of the most effective tools to enhance police and judicial cooperation;
6. The draft resolution anticipates in operative paragraph 28 the successful outcome of the 4th Session of the Conference of the States Parties of the UNCAC, to be held shortly in Marrakesh;
7. Lastly, we reiterate, through preliminary and operative paragraphs PP24, OP26 and OP32, the membership’s concern over the financial situation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

As in the past, we are counting on the widest support of the membership.