31 January 2018 - A plan for joint action by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretariat for the period 2018-2019 was signed by UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna.
The OSCE Secretariat-UNODC Joint Action Plan 2018-2019 reflects the two organizations' contributions to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and allows for more streamlined technical collaboration in twelve subject areas. These areas include combating transnational organized crime, preventing and countering violent extremism leading to terrorism, combating trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants, anti-money-laundering activities, and security sector governance and reform.
UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said: "I welcome UNODC's ongoing cooperation with the OSCE, which is one of our key strategic partners. When taken together, the Joint Action Plan, regular expert consultations and staff talks provide an effective foundation for action against the challenges of drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism, and support for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."
The signing of the Joint Action Plan 2018-2019 was accompanied by presentations from UNODC and the OSCE Secretariat, which illustrated the distinct benefits and added value of closer collaboration between the two organizations.
"This joint action plan has emerged from a genuine culture of cooperation between our organizations," said OSCE Secretary General Greminger. "It is based on the profound understanding that only by drawing from our respective comparative advantages can we be effective in countering transnational threats to security."
The Joint Action Plan 2018-2019 contains four new subject areas on security sector governance and reform; preventing and combating violence against women; combating cybercrime; and combating trafficking in cultural property that reinforce the evolving nature of the threats faced by the international community.
Official collaboration between UNODC and the OSCE Secretariat on the basis of joint action plans was first established in 2011, and the current plan is the fourth of its kind. Subject to the availability of funding and within the framework of each organization's mandate, the plans allow for greater coordination and the implementation of joint programmes and activities. This includes coordination and cooperation through the exchange of best practices, the organization of joint workshops, joint technical assistance and sharing resources.
