Tackling Threats of Transnational Drugs, Crime Central to Building Future

 

of Security, Opportunity for All, Says Secretary-General in Message

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the Third International Meeting of High Level Representatives on Security Issues, delivered by Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in Saint Petersburg, 6 June:

I am pleased to send greetings to all those attending this high level conference on security.  I thank the Russian Federation for organizing this event.

You have gathered in Saint Petersburg to review a broad range of security challenges — from cyber crime and energy insecurity to piracy on the high seas and other threats.

You are also focusing on the key challenge of transnational organized crime, which undermines economies and fuels corruption.  In weak and fragile countries, organized crime spurs violence and impedes progress in development.  Piracy, too, is sustained and nurtured in countries where the rule of law is weak.

These global challenges remind us of the imperative to work together for shared solutions.  Earlier this year, I set out a road map for the next five years in which I outlined five imperatives for collective global action.

These include:  how to fight climate change and chart a new path of sustainable growth and development; how to prevent conflicts and better respond to natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies; how to create a more just, secure and equitable world grounded in universal human rights; how to support nations in transition to democracy; and how to give the world’s women and young people greater voice and opportunity.

The transnational threats of drugs and crime threaten progress on these imperatives.  Our anti-crime activities and promotion of development tread the same path towards democracy and good governance.  If we are to build sustainable solutions, we must recognize the crucial connections between development and anti-crime strategies.

Tackling the challenges you have come together to address is central to building a future of security, opportunity, and dignity for all.  I wish this conference every success.

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For information media • not an official record