25. October 2010


  

 

Statement of the Asian Group during the Fifth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime delivered by H.E. Ambassador M.M. Jaffeer, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka

Vienna: 18th October 2010

 

Madam President,

1.      It is an honour to see you preside over this Fifth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and on behalf of the Asian Group, permit me to wish and congratulate you and other members of the Bureau on your elections. The Group would like to assure you of its support, in your tasks ahead.

2.      The Asian Group welcomes the increasing number of ratifications of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols and urges their greater implementation. The Convention and its three protocols represent a significant step towards the international fight against transnational organized crime.  The Convention also shows the collective determination of Member States to promote cooperation and combat transnational organized crime more effectively through close international cooperation. We hope that at this conference, states could continue to provide best practices on the implementation of the convention.

Madam President,

3.      In meeting these challenges, the Group would like to stress the importance of technical assistance provided by UNODC upon request to assist states in meeting their obligation under the Convention and its protocols. Accordingly the Group attaches great importance to Agenda item 4 on technical assistance and reaffirms that technical assistance should be delivered, on the basis of  members’ needs and priorities. We also believe that the Open -ended Working Group on Technical Assistance is an essential component of the Conference and we hope that this Working Group will come up with concrete results.

 

4.      The Group stresses the importance of a comprehensive, objective and transparent assessment by the Conference, of the current situation of transnational organized crime, and of the efforts of States Parties to implement the Convention and its Protocols, based on the updated data and information on the trends and patterns of crime that is provided by Member States, through UNTOC information gathering tools. In this regard the Group calls for the further improvement of the UNTOC Omnibus survey, including its availability in all official languages, within existing resources; before the Omnibus survey is adopted by the COP.

Madam President,

5.      The Asian Group would like to highlight the challenges faced by Member States in the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols, particularly with regard to human trafficking and migrant smuggling. In this regard, special attention must be paid to social and economic causes that fuel the supply and demand aspects of these crimes.

6.      Taking into account the importance of the UNODC mandate as the Secretariat of the Conference, we are concerned about the lack of predictable and stable financial resources, required to fully discharge its functions. In this manner, while appreciating voluntary contributions to UNODC, the Group stresses the serious need to provide the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime with sufficient resources at the level commensurate with its mandate.

7.      As we look back over the past decade, and move forward, let us re-dedicate ourselves to work collectively and enhance our efforts through the Convention and its protocols, to eradicate transnational organized crime.

8.      I thank you Madam President.