STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR INIGO LAMBERTINI, DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ITALY TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON THE OCCASION OF THE APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION “STRENGTHENING THE UNITED NATIONS CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM, IN PARTICULAR ITS TECHNICAL COOPERATION CAPACITY” (November 26,  2014)  

Ms. Chairperson ,

It is our honor once again this year to propose for adoption, on behalf of the co-sponsors, the draft resolution, “Strengthening the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, in particular its technical cooperation capacity” (document A/C.3/69/ L.16/Rev.1.).

Let me express Italy’s sincere appreciation to Member States from all Regional Groups who have co-sponsored this resolution so far; to the names included in the draft text I have the honor to add the following ones:
(see list )

As in the past, we are confident that other Member States will join us from the floor.

Mr. Chairperson,

There are few issues on the UN agenda as global as the fight against transnational organized crime.
In its different forms and manifestations, crime directly impacts all member States without discrimination. It affects human welfare, state stability, economic growth and social development. Crime and violence are a development issue.
We need a common, holistic and global response to this scourge, which no State can hope to defeat on its own.

Ms. Chairperson,

As in the past, the three main purposes of the resolution are:

First, to build consensus on and highlight the fight against transnational organized crime in the broader framework of the United Nations’ policies and actions. The resolution come at the end of a highly participated debate, has been developed moving from shared concerns and will grant greater visibility and encourage a renewed political commitment to this issue in the UN agenda.

Second, to promote the universality and effective implementation of all pertinent United Nations instruments, in particular the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its additional Protocols, thereby strengthening international cooperation also having in mind all other relevant UN conventions and international instruments.

Third, to confirm the membership’s support for the technical assistance activities of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in this field.

Ms. Chairperson,

The present draft is the result of several rounds of informal consultations, conducted in full transparency and for the sole purpose of achieving consensus and adopting non-divisive solutions. I would thus like to express my sincere thanks to all the delegations who contributed to the discussions for the quality of their inputs, their constructive spirit and their flexibility. Thanks to their tireless efforts, we were able to improve the original draft in many respects, and to incorporate into the text important issues, such as:

• the implementation of the Global Plan of Action on Human Trafficking and support for the UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children;
• the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls and gender related killing;
• the prevention and the fight against all crimes connected with migrations, having in mind the clear distinction between trafficking in and smuggling of migrants;
• strengthening international cooperation to combat all forms of criminal abuses of information and telecommunication technologies;
• the relationship between rule of law, development and the protection of all human rights;
• strengthening international cooperation to combat trafficking in cultural property and related offences, and to facilitate the recovery and the return of stolen assets to the Countries of origin, at this regard underlining the importance of the operational instruments adopted during the present year;
• strengthening international cooperation and capacity building to combat trafficking in protected species of wild fauna and flora, forest, timber and timber products, as well illicit trafficking in precious metals and stones;
• encouraging Member States to give adequate consideration to the linkages between crime prevention and criminal justice, in one hand, and social and economic development, in the other hand;
• and, last but not least, the need to improve UNODC’s financial situation.

All these updates are based on the decisions taken and resolutions adopted by consensus in the last 12 months by the GA, ECOSOC, and the CCPCJ, as well as on the upcoming UN events and processes related to the UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, in particular, the preparations for the 13th UN Congress of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to be held in Doha from 12 to 19 April 2015.

The resolution we submit today to the Committee for the consideration of all Delegations represents balanced language that in substance fairly reflect the interests of each Member State participating to the elaboration of the final text. Nevertheless, in the future, Italy will be willing to consider improvements in any part of the resolution – as we always have in the past – to address with the entire membership the concerns of each and every Member State, in accordance with established UN practices.

I have no doubt but that all Member States will find their views reflected in the text of the resolution.

The balanced solutions that we formulated together always enjoyed broad support from the membership.

Let me conclude, Ms. Chairman, by reiterating that, as in the past, we are counting on the broadest support of Member States.