As delivered by Ambassador Ian Kelly
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
April 18, 2013
The United States warmly welcomes you, Ambassador Fedotov, to the Permanent Council and we thank you for your remarks.
The UNODC-OSCE relationship has been ongoing for several years and we welcome the deepening of this relationship into a substantive, long-term partnership. The adoption of the 2011-2012 UNODC-OSCE Joint Action Plan marked the beginning of a new phase of cooperation and collaboration in addressing common challenges: terrorism, organized crime, and corruption as well as trafficking in human beings and illicit drugs.
Today’s austere budget climate and a limited resource environment for the foreseeable future underline the imperative of coordinated and collaborative efforts. By combining limited resources and the respective comparative advantages of both organizations – the UNODC’s ability to provide technical assistance and the OSCE’s capacity- and institution-building expertise through its network of field missions – UNODC and the OSCE can maximize impact and minimize duplication of effort.
The OSCE hosted in November of last year a rule of law-themed event to, among other things, explore ways to advance the implementation of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s criminal justice good practices in the OSCE region and the role OSCE executive structures can play in this regard. Several of the conference’s recommendations will require follow up this year. In the next iteration of the UNODC-OSCE Joint Action Plan, from 2013 to 2014, the United States would like to see greater cooperation between the OSCE and UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch on counterterrorism/rule of law issues, in addition to programming that supports the de-radicalization of prisoners.
Similarly, the OSCE has a strong anti-corruption mandate, from promoting the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to sharing good practices and providing good governance tools for policymakers, practitioners and civil society. In mid-April, the OSCE co-hosted, with UNODC and OECD, a regional anti-corruption seminar in Astana to promote an improved business ethics climate with a goal of producing regional good practice guides. These initiatives were strongly endorsed in the Dublin Ministerial Good Governance Declaration and we encourage increased coordination with the OSCE to promote anti-corruption in the public and private sectors.
For the 2013-2014 UNODC-OSCE Joint Action Plan, the United States proposes the OSCE and UNODC build on this cooperation by partnering with each other and with other international actors engaged on corruption issues in four general areas: capacity-building for governments and civil society; citizen empowerment through transparency and accountability measures; support for legal frameworks; and monitoring and evaluation of projects to ensure resources are optimized.
In closing, the United States once again thanks you, Yury Viktorovich, for your participation at today’s Permanent Council and wishes you success in your future work.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
