EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive Dialogue with UNODC

Thank you, Chair!

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

Ms. Schantz, we would like to express our appreciation to the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes for this presentation.

We strongly support UNODC's comprehensive mandate, which is closely linked to the respect, promotion and fulfilment of human rights. We deeply value its proven expertise in preventing and countering transnational organised crime, corruption, drug trafficking, drug use and terrorism, as well as in reinforcing criminal justice systems and strengthening the rule of law.

Furthermore, the EU acknowledges the valuable support from UNODC extended to Member States during the recently concluded negotiations on cybercrime. We congratulate Executive Director Waly and her team for the excellent work in fulfilling UNODC's important mandate.

Ms. Schantz,allow me to discuss three of our main priorities:

First, the EU takes the fight against corruption very seriously. We are currently working to improve our anticorruption legal framework. When adopted, the new EU anti-corruption legislation will help public authorities with detection, investigations and prosecutions of corruption cases. We remainfully committed to upholding the best standards on anticorruption under the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and to continue our well-established cooperation with UNODC on this topic.

Second, the EU is convinced that the world drug situation must be addressed through an evidenced-based, integrated and balanced approach that combines efforts to reduce demand and supply with harm reduction measures.We welcome your report's recommendation to step up investments in drug use prevention services, as well as in treatment and recovery management services for individuals who use drugs. In that regard, we find it particularly important to incorporate a gender equality and health equity perspective.

Ms. Schantz,

The report recommends to invest in narrowing the gender gap in treatment for people who use drugs and people with drug use disorders. What concrete steps can Member States take to achieve this?

Third, strengthening the UN's work in addressing transnational organised crime and supporting the rule of law requires different UN entities to come together. The UN Interagency Task Force on Policing established by the Secretary-General is a welcome initiative for greater coherence and more efficient use of resources. UNODC's role as co-chair of this task force is appreciated and will be instrumental for reaching concrete results.

Ms. Schantz,

What are the next steps in the work of the task force and what would you say are the main potential achievements of the task force?

Thank you.