Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
YouTubeUNODC and Brazilian government launch Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil
|
| Fedotov (right) and Maximiano (left) reveal plaque celebrating the launch of UNODC LPO Brazil |
Brasília, 9 May 2013 - The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, launched yesterday the new UNODC Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil, together with the Secretary of National Drug Policy of the Ministry of Justice, Vitore Maximiano. Fedotov, who is also Under-Secretary-General of the UN, traveled to the country this week to formalize this new partnership with the Brazilian government: "The opening of a Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil is a very important moment in the development of UNODC's integrated response to illicit drugs and transnational organized crime".
UNODC has been operating in the country for over 20 years, and since 2001 has had a regional office located in Brasília, covering Brazil and also Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Now that it has become a Liaison and Partnership Office, the UNODC office in Brasília will operate in a new format focused on regional cooperation and inter-regional cooperation, including South-South initiatives, with an emphasis on promoting colaboration and dialogue with other countries, based on international best practices. For this, UNODC and the Brazilian government will develop a joint working plan with the aim of creating a neutral platform for international cooperation.
"UNODC's added value is its ability to work with Member States to build sustainable responses to the issues of illicit drugs, corruption and crime. The new Liaison and Partnership Office is a vital part of that strategy", said Fedotov. He also expects that the format of a Liaison and Partnership Office can serve as an important model for similar initiatives in other countries of such relevance, as is the case of Brazil. The launch was held in the Commercial Sector South, in Brasília, in a space granted by the Brazilian government that will house the new office premises.
|
|
Fedotov (right), Maximiano (left) and Brazilian government officials during the launch
|
During the event, Maximiano declared: "This is a strategic partnership for Brazil and neighboring countries to act on decreasing supply and reducing demand for drugs." Also present were the Director of the Division of Operations of UNODC, Aldo Lale-Demoz, the Representative of the UNODC Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil, Rafael Franzini, and the Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Brazil, Jorge Chediek, as well as senior officials of the Brazilian government.
According to Fedotov, the mid-term strategy of the UNODC Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil will focus on the following areas: transnational organized crime; illicit trafficking, including of drugs; corruption; terrorism prevention; justice; drug use prevention and treatment; trend analysis; and support for research and policy development. Still in Brasília, Fedotov will meet today with the Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, to sign a joint declaration determining the formal establishment of the UNODC Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil.
Related information:
For local Brazilian and regional media, please contact:
Ana Paula Canestrelli
Communications Assistant - UNODC LPO Brazil
anapaula.canestrelli@unodc.org
Tel: (+55 61) 3204-7206
Mob: (+55 61) 8143-4652
For international media, please contact:
David Dadge
Spokesperson - UNODC
david.dadge@unvienna.org
Tel: (+43 1) 26060-5629
Mob: (+43-699) 1459-5629