Preventive Diplomacy Encompasses More than Conflict, Secretary-General Tells

International Meeting on Security Issues, Citing Terrorism, Organized Crime

 

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the second International Meeting of High Representatives on Security Issues, delivered by Sandeep Chawla, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation, on 21 September:

It is a pleasure to send greetings to all the participants in this international meeting.  I am grateful to the Security Council of the Russian Federation for organizing this event.

States have been grappling with threats to security ever since they came into being.  Over the years, the challenges to security have become ever more complex and multidimensional.

Since taking office, I have tried to make prevention a priority and to re-energize the United Nations preventive diplomacy.  Member States have encouraged my efforts.  I am convinced that together there is much more we can do to prevent and mitigate the spread and devastating impact of armed conflicts on individuals and societies and human lives.

But let us also recognize that prevention encompasses more than conflict.  Terrorism, nuclear proliferation, transnational organized crime, and the illegal trafficking in people, drugs and weapons are increasingly prevalent parts of this picture.  And many of the same technological advances that have generated economic growth and other societal gains have also been exploited by criminals, and have led to the growth of cybercrime as well.

The “globalization” of these threats risks outstripping our responses.  The international community needs to catch up with illicit actors and their networks before the damage spreads any farther afield.  The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy; the work of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, which serves as guardian of landmark legal instruments on drugs, crime and corruption; and many other United Nations activities aim to address both long-standing threats to human security and those that are now emerging.

No single country can address transnational threats on its own; only joint efforts at local, national, regional and international levels will suffice.  This conference is therefore timely and vital.  The United Nations looks forward to deepening international cooperation in addressing the full plethora of security threats facing our world.

I look forward to hearing about the outcome of your deliberations.  Please accept my best wishes for a productive meeting.

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For information media • not an official record