S/PV.6277 Security Council

I thank the French presidency for having put today’s important item on the Security Council’s agenda. Transnational issues, including drug trafficking and organized crime, are increasingly present on the Council’s agenda, clearly reflecting the gravity of the threat. Drug trafficking and organized crime have an impact on almost all United Nations activity, be it in the spheres of development, security, the environment or the rule of law. From a different perspective, however, this also means that all of our activities in every area could reduce the risk represented by transnational threats and their impact. Our response must therefore be global and integrated both within the United Nations family and as a family of nations. (spoke in English) First, as to the global response, Member States have united to fight pandemics, poverty, climate change and terrorism. We can and must do the same to counter organized crime. Member States have already worked together on a number of important initiatives. These include the General Assembly’s efforts against drugs, the Kimberley Process against blood diamonds, and the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking. But there is so much more to be done against emerging threats, such as cybercrime, money- laundering, environmental crime and the dumping of hazardous waste. The Crime Prevention Congress to be held in April in Salvador, Brazil, offers an opportunity to explore how we can strengthen the legal and operational means to fight them. This year is also the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. I urge the Council to sharpen that powerful instrument at the Conference of the Parties in October. One of the most important improvements would be the establishment of a monitoring mechanism. In this work, we should not focus only on what we are battling against; we must never lose sight of what we are fighting for — justice and the rule of law. We cannot fight fire with fire. The criminals use ruthless and exploitative methods that we can never contemplate. Human rights must always be at the forefront of efforts to control crime. My second key word today is “integration”. Integration is essential at many levels. Nationally, agencies must pull together to fight all aspects of crime. Regionally, States must share information and carry out joint operations. This is not always easy. A lack of capacity and a lack of trust often cause problems. The lack of capacity can be overcome. We have seen this in West Africa, where vulnerability to drugs and crime is being reduced thanks to the work of the Economic Community of West African States in support of the Praia process. The West Africa Coast Initiative, involving the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs, is also a good example of the One United Nations approach. I urge the Council to support similar regional initiatives, such as the Santo Domingo Pact launched here at the United Nations today, which has the same aims for Central America and the Caribbean. As for building trust, experience shows that tackling common threats can build confidence and good-neighbourly relations between countries that may otherwise have their differences. Initiatives to share information on the drug trade in West Asia, Central Asia and the Gulf are among the examples of this happening. With transnational threats, States have no choice but to work together. We are all affected, whether as countries of supply, trafficking or demand. Therefore, we have a shared responsibility to act. I welcome the Security Council’s presidential statement S/PRST/2009/32 of 8 December 2009, in which the Council called for the issue of drug trafficking and organized crime to be mainstreamed into the United Nations work throughout the conflict cycle. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime continues to carry out important work in providing the evidence on these transnational threats and the technical assistance with which to respond. Transnational networks create vectors of violence that blaze trails of death and destruction through some of the world’s most vulnerable regions. Crime prevention is conflict prevention. Together, they build safer and healthier societies. Criminal justice should figure more prominently in United Nations peacebuilding and peacekeeping. (spoke in French) In conclusion, we have to act without delay. In its most recent presidential statement on this issue, the Council recommended that I provide more information on transnational threats. I will work more closely with all the relevant components of the United Nations system to bring impending threats to the Council’s attention. In return, I urge the Council to ensure that early warning is followed up by early action. Together, let us prevent drug trafficking and organized crime from threatening international peace and security and all of our hard-won achievements across our agenda.

I thank the Secretary-General for his statement. The Security Council will now hear a briefing by Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Mr. Costa: I am honoured, of course, to attend this meeting and thank the President for the invitation. Previous debates on violent theatres — for example, Afghanistan, the Congo, Central America, Somalia and West Africa — and on transnational crime issues, including drug trafficking, piracy, natural resources and smuggling, have shown how seriously the Council takes these threats to peace and security. The background is well known. International mafias exploit the instability caused by conflicts. They thrive in areas lost to insurgency and take advantage of a Government’s inability to provide security. This creates a vicious circle, illustrated in our report entitled “Crime and instability: case studies of transnational threats”, which is to be released in the course of the day and is available in the Chamber. The report underlines and demonstrates that vulnerability attracts crime and that crime, in turn, deepens vulnerability. In a chain reaction, humanitarian crises follow, development is stalled and peacekeepers are deployed. Historically, these problems have been limited to a few trouble spots. Yet in our globalized world, violence in faraway locations eventually affects everybody. Today’s unimpeded movement of goods, services, capital, people and information is creating wealth and freedom, of course; but it has also unleashed unprecedented opportunities for organized crime to wreck both. In the Council’s past reviews of these issues it faced a tough dilemma. How can a multilateral system created to deal with tensions between nations fight criminal groups that are non-State, yet transnational and powerful enough to threaten sovereign States? The answer is two-pronged. Of course, States must strengthen their own capacity, but also, given the global nature of this threat, national efforts must become part of a multilateral framework. How can this be done? Let me look at the issues of development and security. First, vulnerability to organized crime can be reduced most effectively through both development and security — the two basic pillars of the Council’s work. I stress that development is the best prevention. Throughout the world, prosperity and good governance are vaccines against violence, and reaching the Millennium Development Goals will be the most effective antidote to crime, while crime prevention will help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Security is equally crucial. By resolving conflicts and helping Governments to enforce the rule of law, this Council will not only build peace, but will indeed make an affected region less prone to crime, as the Secretary-General said in his statement. Conversely, fighting crime helps to remove spoilers who invest in violence and instability. To illustrate this point, we need only take a map of illicit trafficking routes — of which there are a few in the report — overlay that map with a map of conflict areas, and juxtapose a histogram of per capita income. We will see that crime, violence and underdevelopment all overlap, and that these regions coincide with United Nations peacekeeping operations. Then there is the role of justice. We cannot only throw money or troops at a problem. Peace and prosperity also depend on justice, namely, on the legal frameworks and judicial institutions needed to ensure the rule of law. A global legal framework exists. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted 10 years ago in Palermo, Italy, is a twenty-first century solution to a twenty-first century problem. Yet, I am sorry to say, one third of Member States, including some major countries, have not ratified it. Its implementation is patchy, there is no review mechanism and some of its protocols have been neglected. But this Council can help. Later in the year, a treaty event of the General Assembly will take place, followed by two high-level ministerial sessions in New York and Vienna, and a Conference of the Parties will promote ratification of the Convention. Those events will call for technical assistance and consider a mechanism to review implementation. I am pleased that this morning the Secretary-General invited the Council to send a strong signal to take these Convention-related events seriously, which would add a sense of purpose and urgency to the various events. Equally important are the institutions needed to administer justice. So many countries, especially in Africa, lack the resources to make those institutions work. I invite the development assistance community to help vulnerable countries, perhaps through the intermediation and technical assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to upgrade their criminal justice systems. West Africa and East Africa come to mind right now. There is also an often-forgotten health dimension. Unless the threat posed by organized crime is confronted resolutely, we will hear renewed calls to dump the three United Nations drug conventions that critics say are the cause of the crime problem. The cause of the problem is, of course, the enormous resources generated by drug trafficking. Let me stress that drug legalization would cause a health disaster, especially in poor countries. Africa does not need that new tragedy. Greater knowledge and better intelligence are also needed. We need further knowledge about the ways organized crime operates. Technology has practically abolished time and space. We should know what goes on anywhere on the planet at any moment, but we do not. There are so many places outside of Government control that are too scary for investors and tourists. Those are precisely the places where smugglers, insurgents and terrorists operate undisturbed and undetected. They run fleets of ships, planes, trucks and containers that carry tons of drugs and weapons. Their activities are mostly discovered by chance — the crash of a phantom plane, a drug ship that runs short of fuel, or the fortuitous seizure of an illegal cargo. There are so many blank spots on our radar screens, and our ignorance about what goes on in the world has deadly consequences. Therefore, we need a change of attitude. It is time to regard intelligence- sharing as a way of strengthening sovereignty, not of surrendering it. When a police car stops at the border, while criminals cross the border freely, sovereignty has already been breached. It has, in fact, been surrendered to those who break the law. A more comprehensive attitude would help to establish networks to monitor illicit flows, share intelligence and carry out joint operations. Our Office, the UNODC, supports these efforts in Central and West Asia, in the Gulf, in West Africa, along the main drug routes into Europe and across Mesoamerica. More help is needed, for example across the Sahara-Sahel region. That was proposed to the Council in December (see S/PV.6233), as members may recall. We must also be able to measure progress and report to the Council accordingly. At the moment, I would like this to be another area in which the United Nations is the world’s best information provider. We cannot report on crime trends; we cannot propose an integrated understanding of its causes and consequences. The data is not there. Even the logistics for gathering data are not there. Intellectual and financial resources are required to develop the right expertise to serve the needs of the Council. My fourth point is on the factors that enable crime to prosper. The first and foremost factor is corruption. I am pleased that the Conference of the States Parties in Doha agreed in November 2009 on a mechanism to monitor implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. I commit my Office to providing periodic evidence of the progress made in fighting a crime that not only steals from the needy to enrich the greedy, but lubricates other crimes. Let me go back to the cargo plane loaded with guns and drugs that crashed in Mali, where I was only three days ago. I now ask how the fraudulent pilot certificates, false registration, forged bills of landing and lading and altered tail numbers were produced. Looking perhaps at other countries in Africa, how are massive shipments of counterfeit goods, illegally cut timber or toxic waste shipped worldwide without anyone noticing? The “C” word — “C” for corruption — has a lot to do with that. But the theory is that the basis of corruption is money-laundering. Current arrangements have made it harder to recycle money through the financial system. There are so many black holes — informal money transfer, the hawala system, offshore banking, recycling to real estate, recycling to legal assets — all of which must be plugged. In order to put in perspective the massive proceeds from crime, let us recall that the regular budget of UNODC is 1 per cent of the United Nations budget. And the United Nations budget is less than 1 per cent of the yearly proceeds of the global drug trade, which is more than $300 billion. Or, to put it another way, consider this: a line of cocaine snorted in Europe destroys one square metre of Andean rainforest and buys 100 rounds of AK-47 ammunition in West Africa. Multiply that line of cocaine by the 850 tons of cocaine produced every year, and you get a sense that this is a more uneven fight than even that between David and Goliath. My final point is about system-wide response, something already raised by the Secretary-General. Because of the cross-cutting nature of organized crime, a United Nations-wide response is of course needed, and I welcome the Secretary-General’s statement. I am pleased that the Security Council supports the growing cooperation among the Department of Political Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, UNODC and the Peacebuilding Commission. This will ensure that United Nations conflict prevention, crisis management and peacekeeping all include a criminal justice component. Concerning the future, I am pleased with the suggestion that the Security Council hold periodic debates on the threat to stability posed by organized crime. Early warnings could be brought to the Council’s attention, as we did some time ago when we discovered the attacks on West Africa by cocaine traffickers and, later, on East Africa by heroin traffickers. The Council may also want to consider including a criminal justice component in relevant peacekeeping missions. To conclude, we need deeds more than words. Last week in West Africa, ministers of the Economic Community of West African States told me — I was on a mission there for an entire week — that cocaine trafficking in the region had declined in the past 18 months. That is a very good omen. In a sense, our efforts — the efforts of the Security Council — are paying off. However, there are warning signs that traffickers are reappearing on the scene, disguised, in other parts of West Africa, because tough words have not been fully matched by equally robust actions. Let us learn from that lesson.

I thank Mr. Costa for his briefing. I shall now give the floor to members of the Council.

First, Mr. President, I wish to thank you for organizing this briefing. It is very timely and pertinent for the Security Council to deliberate on the transnational threats to international peace and security posed by drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism. We also thank the Secretary- General and Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for their comprehensive and insightful briefings. We very much appreciate the Secretary-General’s leadership in raising awareness on this issue, as well as the valuable work done by UNODC in building the capacity of Member States to combat drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism. In this era of globalization, organized crime groups and networks have unfortunately become more diversified and connected. As a result, they have successfully exploited the opportunities presented by globalization and created parallel economies of their own, living off illicit drug and arms trafficking and money laundering. Today, therefore, we are faced with a unique and growing phenomenon that poses considerable risks and threats to the entire international community. These transnational threats, inter alia, undermine state authority, fuel corruption, hamper economic development and weaken the rule of law. As such, they not only adversely affect the economic and social fabric of the countries concerned and erode the fundamental values of societies; given their transnational and global character, they also create tension and breed conflict among countries. In the Security Council, for instance, we have observed this grim reality on many occasions. I will not give examples, but it is evident that such transnational threats pose a significant and particular challenge for countries emerging from conflict. They are thus among the reasons exacerbating many crises where the United Nations operates and, as such, they also undermine the peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts of the international community. Furthermore, the interconnected nature of terrorism and transnational organized crime has become more evident and troubling in recent years. Indeed, today it is a well-documented fact that the revenue generated by drug trafficking has become a primary source of terrorist financing, followed by arms smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering and extortion. We could point to other examples and linkages where various transnational threats work in tandem with one another to the detriment of international peace and security. Of course, the magnitude of the problems they create may differ from region to region. But it is obvious that geography can no longer be a shield against these threats, which recognize no frontiers; and thus the fight against this challenge must be based on a comprehensive, effective and global strategy. We need strong international cooperation on the basis of common and shared responsibility. In this regard, there are already well-established institutions and programmes within and outside the United Nations system for combating these threats. Our efforts must first and foremost be aimed at strengthening cooperation between these framework and improving their efficiency. However, as evidenced by today’s debate, there is also a role and responsibility for the Security Council to fulfil in monitoring the impact that these transnational threats have on international peace and security, particularly in areas and issues that the Council is seized of, and taking necessary action as appropriate to help in the fight against these scourges. Turkey is certainly committed to play its role on both accounts. In fact, mindful of the vital importance of effective international cooperation, Turkey has already signed and ratified all the relevant United Nations conventions, in particular the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols. Turkey has also concluded bilateral agreements with more than 70 countries on cooperation against drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime. In conclusion, I would like to stress once again that transnational organized crime cannot be prevented by Governments acting individually or through traditional forms of international cooperation. Organized crime and its tremendous financial gains necessitate well-designed, coordinated and comprehensive responses on the part of the international community. As Mr. Costa emphasized, our response must be based on the parallel pillars of development and security, backed by justice. We hope that the Security Council’s renewed commitment to addressing transnational threats will re-energize international cooperation. The draft presidential statement, which we fully support, certainly sends the right messages in that direction.

We would like to thank the Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for their briefings. We welcome the convening of this informative meeting, which is particularly timely in view of the challenges raised by what are called new threats to international security, which are increasingly serious and multidimensional in nature. In the wake of the Security Council’s thematic debate on drug trafficking as a threat to international security in Africa held last December (see S/PV.6233), today’s meeting contributes to a larger discussion of the threats to international security, which extend beyond borders, harm States and affect conflicts in various parts of the world. Experience has shown that organized crime has become another factor that exacerbates conflicts in situations where institutions are still fragile. This scourge is also at the root of other threats to internal State stability, such as military coups, insurgencies, the financing of armed groups, human rights violations, social tensions, the trade in drugs for arms, the financing of terrorist activities, the creation of ungovernable situations, humanitarian crises, ethnic violence, the infiltration of crime into politics and business, regional instability and child recruitment in criminal activities, among others. That is why it is crucial to restore State authority in those countries that have overcome internal conflicts and whose peacebuilding process is affected by the problem of drug trafficking and organized crime. Fortunately, the places where the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has had the greatest impact against transnational organized crime, in particular drug trafficking, also have peace missions, whether they are in Africa, Asia, Europe or Latin America and the Caribbean. As we have repeatedly observed, these new challenges to international security are multidimensional, as evidenced by the global problems of drugs and organized crime in their most obvious manifestations. Both problems warrant priority treatment commensurate with their implications for security, prosperity and development. Organized crime is among the greatest threats, due to its ability to damage the political, social and economic stability of countries and to take on regional and even global dimensions. For decades, the drug problem was analysed from fragmented points of view, in an approach where the main market forces — supply and demand — were de-linked. Now, however, it has been clearly demonstrated that such de-linking is not valid, and that, on the contrary, every Government must tackle — not only on the basis of its own reality and circumstances but also by adopting a comprehensive and balanced strategy — the whole chain of criminal activity and the various links of this global phenomenon, which is the responsibility of all States without exception. Given the growing and increasingly obvious links between drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime, such as illicit arms trafficking, money laundering and terrorism, Governments and the international community as a whole must design strategies that address the specificities of particular serious crimes while identifying the common and convergent elements between them so that they can be addressed comprehensively. In this way, the rule of law can be strengthened, closing off more spheres to the culture of illegality and impunity. In recent years, transnational organized crime has adopted increasingly sophisticated operational mechanisms, and it is therefore urgent for the international community to define and improve their strategies to tackle these issues while also seeking to adopt a cross-cutting approach. Despite the resources that every Government has devoted to the fight against drug trafficking and related crimes, designing strategies to counter the innovative and organizational capacity of criminal groups is increasingly complex. We therefore need resolute international cooperation in order to improve our capacity to react, given the speed with which criminal groups respond to measures implemented by government authorities. Strengthening international security means that all States must commit themselves to establishing an effective and reliable system for exchanging information to allow us to identify new trends and links between organized criminal groups. These cooperation and coordination efforts must be based on a common and shared responsibility, as a globally recognized principle, in order to generate mutual trust while fully respecting State sovereignty. The United Nations institutional response is crucial, but it has been inadequate, since organized criminal groups are an increasingly sophisticated phenomenon that requires, as I said, a coordinated response and steadfast commitment from the international community. Mexico believes that the United Nations must play a more active role in the debate on the fight against this scourge, not only through its technical forums, but also by promoting a high-level commitment to fight it. Just as we call for commitment in the fight against climate change, we should require the same level of commitment in the fight against organized crime. Mexico believes that subsequent debates that will take place in the Security Council, the General Assembly and in the specialized agencies must be approached from a multidisciplinary and balanced perspective, taking advantage of the synergies that improve the results of the work of each of these forums. A high-level segment of the General Assembly on transnational organized crime will be held soon as part of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime — the Palermo Convention. This event will offer us the ideal opportunity to breathe new life into international cooperation on this subject and to renew our political commitment against organized crime. Mexico recognizes the fact that the current legal regime provided for by the relevant conventions — the Palermo Convention, the various conventions against illicit narcotics trafficking and the 16 counter-terrorism instruments — provide the necessary framework to fight organized crime. We therefore need universal ratification and, above all, full implementation of these instruments by the international community. The complexity of the problem highlights the importance of international cooperation. It is very important to bear in mind that the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, besides having human costs, also diverts major resources away from economic and social development. We therefore believe it fitting that the Security Council contribute to reviewing effective measures in those areas that appear on its agenda in order to fight drug trafficking and organized crime. It is particularly important to think about the ways in which the Security Council, within the area of its competence, can contribute to the important work carried out by the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with a view to seeking out better defined and coordinated responses in the global fight against drugs. Investments in early warning and prevention mechanisms on transnational organized crime must be a priority for the Security Council. This organ must therefore, in close cooperation with the General Assembly, the Office on Drugs and Crime and the Peacebuilding Commission, establish specific mandates for peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions on preventing organized crime, which should include measures aimed at strengthening the rule of law, security sector reform and promoting development. In conclusion, Mexico believes it is important to strengthen dialogue between the Council and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and, in this context, we believe it would be valuable to hold informative meetings with the Office, such as this one, on a regular basis. We express our thanks to you, Mr. President, and the delegation of France for having organized this meeting. We also express our support for the draft presidential statement.

I should like to thank you, Mr. President, for having organized this important debate. I also thank the Secretary-General for his important statement and the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria Costa, for his focused and helpful briefing. The holding of this debate soon after that of December 2009 focused on Africa (see S/PV.6233) attests to the commitment of the Council to addressing this issue in a comprehensive way. Drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, especially the crimes of terrorism, illicit trafficking of small arms and money laundering, pose a growing threat to international peace and security. The challenge of combating these crimes has become even more formidable because the networks are increasingly using advanced information technology methods, such as satellite phones and cybertransactions. There is a worrisome trend of linkages between drug trafficking, organized crime and the financing of terrorism. Many countries in various regions of the world are becoming vulnerable. It is therefore critical to strengthen collective efforts to combat these crimes by enhancing cooperation and coordination at the national, subregional, regional and international levels. We commend the role played by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Narcotics Control Board in strengthening the capacity of States to respond more effectively to drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. In particular, we welcome the continued UNODC support for regional initiatives in various regions, including West Africa and, more recently, East Africa. Uganda continues to take the necessary measures, both at the national level and within the framework of the East African Community, the African Union and international instruments, to combat drug trafficking and organized crime. We have stringent antinarcotics and antiterrorism legislation and measures that continue to be reviewed to take into account emerging challenges. The relevant international conventions, including the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols, provide a firm legal framework for international action against organized crime. What is needed is the intensification of efforts towards implementation of the provisions of these Conventions by Member States. The international community’s collective response to organized crime can be more effective through universal participation in these instruments. The transnational crime networks are, in many cases, well organized. It is therefore critical that the actions and responses of national, subregional and regional bodies, the United Nations system and the wider international community to counter their threats be comprehensive and well coordinated. In conclusion, the countries most vulnerable to drug trafficking and transnational organized crime networks are those with weak control measures, especially those in conflict and post-conflict situations. These countries deserve the support of the UNODC and the international community in dealing with these challenges. The proliferation of organized crime is a deterrent to investment and has a negative impact on the economies of afflicted countries. The social fabric and health of sections of the population are also negatively affected. It is therefore important to take these threats into account while developing conflict-prevention and peacebuilding strategies. Uganda supports the draft presidential statement.

I wish to thank France for having convened this meeting of the Security Council. I also wish to thank Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon for his statement and Executive Director Costa for his briefing. The 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1) emphasizes that drugs, transnational crime and terrorism have negative impacts on global development, peace, security and human rights, and calls for collective responses by the international community. In recent years, the international community has made unremitting efforts to prevent and combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, and has achieved positive results. However, at the same time, international terrorist activities, transnational organized crime and the production and trafficking of drugs have become interwoven and increasingly globalized, cartel- controlled, cyber-based and diversified. The global fight against drugs remains a daunting challenge. In some countries in conflict or in post- conflict situations, there have been increased flows of illegal funds and weapons for drug trafficking and related transnational organized crimes. As channels of financing for terrorist organizations, they jeopardize the social stability and economic development of these countries. Strengthening international cooperation on the basis of broad participation and shared responsibility is the most effective way to combat drug trafficking and related transnational crimes. It is precisely the undiminished demand for drug consumption in some developed countries and the colossal profits involved that drive international drug cartels to unscrupulously organize the production and trafficking of drugs. Since economically underdeveloped regions are most often the points of origin in drug production and of transit in drug trafficking, the international fight against drugs must control drugs in a more balanced way so as to reduce the demand for them and the harm they cause. Helping developing countries to develop their economies and generate jobs is the only approach that can address the drug problem at its roots. Drug trafficking and related transnational crimes often grow rampant in societies that are economically backward and impoverished. Some countries emerging from conflict are plagued with difficulties in economic development, youth unemployment and inadequate legal institutions, thereby becoming major victims of international drug trafficking. Helping those developing countries to achieve economic development is particularly important to eliminating the root causes of drug trafficking and other crimes. The international community must help such countries to develop alternative economies, generate job opportunities, improve people’s livelihoods so that they have other ways of earning a living, and enhance their awareness and capacity to resist the temptation to use drugs. The fight against drug trafficking involves social development and many other factors, and needs national Governments, regional organizations and United Nations agencies to fully exploit their respective advantages and expertise for effective international cooperation. The primary responsibility in the fight against drug trafficking and related transnational crime lies with national Governments. International cooperation in that field must adhere to the principles of respect for sovereignty and equal mutual benefit. Regional organizations must be mobilized and their leading role brought fully into play. At the international level, the United Nations should play a greater coordinating role. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board and other related international treaty bodies must continue to play a significant role in promoting international cooperation and in helping developing countries to enhance their capacities. We support United Nations operational bodies in continuing to address the problem of drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. The Security Council shoulders the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Therefore, it should focus its attention on issues that threaten international peace and security brought about by armed conflict. The Security Council can continue to be engaged in the fight against drugs and related transnational organized crime from its own perspective, but the focus should be on the drug trafficking and related transnational organized crime faced by countries in conflict or in post-conflict situations so as to help address the problem of armed conflict. Meanwhile, we hope that the Security Council’s deliberations on this issue will contribute to the global fight against drugs and transnational organized crime.

I would first like to thank the French delegation for convening this debate on the cross- cutting threats posed by drugs, transnational crime and terrorism. Since those threats are real and pose genuine and serious threats and challenges to international peace and security, they call for a global response. Because they spare no geographical area or country, those threats must be addressed and countered collectively. From that standpoint, exchanging information and sharing experiences, as well as assistance at the international level, remain essential. Because these threats attack all strata of society of our States, promote corruption and contribute to destabilizing democracies, in particular emerging ones; and because they hinder development efforts and exacerbate crises and tensions in areas that have already been weakened by severe challenges to security and development, they require us to strengthen the existing international and national legal arsenals. Since some countries more than others have unique weaknesses owing to various factors that promote the vicious circle of lawlessness and underdevelopment, we call for increased assistance in the capacity- building of those countries in order to enable them to better fight such threats and to better participate in the global effort in that regard. We therefore welcome the establishment of a partnership among the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, its member States and the international crime prevention network in order to offer an effective response to the various ills created by transnational crime. That is why, given the challenges that the Institute must address on the continent — including the increasingly complex operations of transnational criminal groups and the illicit circulation of firearms — we underscore the need to provide the African Institute with the necessary financial means by increasing the subsidies granted to it by the United Nations. Once again, my delegation would like to thank you, Mr. President, for having convened this debate, while affirming its support for the draft presidential statement that you kindly presented to us.

I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for convening today’s meeting on transnational threats. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his commitment to this important issue, and Mr. Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for his efforts and devoted leadership, which play a central role in combating illicit drug trafficking and transnational crime. Drugs and crime were among the eight priorities that the United Nations identified in the Secretary- General’s strategic framework for 2010-2011. Indeed, transnational crime and drug trafficking groups and networks have never had such influence and global reach. The nexus between their illicit activities is increasingly alarming. Those activities are unavoidably associated with violence and corruption and, in many cases, are used to finance terrorist groups and acts of terrorism. Thus, transnational organized crime and drug trafficking have a long-term negative impact on peace, security and economic development and should clearly be fought in a synchronized manner on multiple fronts. Transnational crime, drug trafficking and terrorism profit from the weak capacity of States to maintain law. They fuel and prolong existing conflicts and pose threats to peacebuilding efforts in post-conflict States. In a globalized society, transnational crime groups and networks are better equipped with new information and communication technologies and are becoming more diversified; hence, the need for a constantly evolving response. Allow me to highlight the following elements. On drugs, despite the statistics from the UNODC showing decreases in the global production of cocaine and heroin, efforts to fight the drug scourge should be intensified. That fight requires a comprehensive international approach based on a strong sense of shared responsibility. Special attention should be devoted to efficient modes of collaboration among countries of origin, transit and destination. States need to build capacity, share information, provide mutual legal assistance and carry out joint operations. Crop control strategies should also include alternative development and, where appropriate, preventive alternative development programmes, eradication and law-enforcement measures. In that regard, we welcome the Political Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the fifty-second session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and we commend its recognition of the need for cooperation between developed and developing countries. Due to advances in today’s technologies, transnational organized crime is increasingly operating through flexible networks rather than rigid structures. That form of organization provides criminals with diversity, low visibility and longevity. We believe that combating organized crime requires comprehensive efforts in building State capacity in the area of the rule of law. Criminals are motivated, inter alia, by financial gain. We therefore attach importance to weakening organized crime by eliminating its ability to launder money. In that regard, we encourage international and regional organizations to join their efforts to establish a robust capacity-building mechanism for rule of law assistance. On terrorism, Lebanon condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We stress the necessity to criminalize all terrorist practices and forms of support for them, including financing and instigation. We consider terrorism to be a global phenomenon that is not related to any race, religion, colour or country. The ability to create networks with global reach and sophisticated capacity provides terrorists with a new dynamic. There is therefore an imperative need to address root causes and to strengthen responsible States, the rule of law and fundamental human rights as part of a global strategy to fight terrorism. On international cooperation, the transnational nature of crime and drug trafficking means that no country can face them alone. In that regard, my delegation commends the role played by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board, Interpol, the World Health Organization and other relevant United Nations organs and agencies in assisting Member States in the fight against drug trafficking and transnational crime. We encourage them to continue and strengthen their cooperation with relevant regional and subregional organizations. We particularly praise UNODC for working on a tight budget funded mainly by voluntary donations, and express our full support for that important organization. We support the recommendation that the United Nations consider mainstreaming drug trafficking and transnational crime into its wider conflict-prevention, assessment and peacebuilding activities. The collective response to organized crime also depends on consolidating and strengthening the international treaty framework. National, regional and international actions and strategies to combat drug trafficking and organized crime need to be not only comprehensive but also well coordinated. No less important is the need to work with civil society stakeholders.

At the outset, I would like to thank you, Mr. President, and the French delegation for your timely initiative to organize today’s meeting of the Security Council to consider threats to international peace and security and to adopt the important draft presidential statement before us. We are also grateful to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for setting out the strategic approach of the United Nations to these issues. We would also like to thank Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for his thorough briefing. Illicit drug trafficking associated with organized crime and terrorism has assumed dangerous proportions in various regions of the world. We support the focus of the Security Council, as the principal organ responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, in helping to resolve this issue. The drug threat from Afghanistan is global in nature and as acute as ever. In that regard, we believe that we are facing a threat to international peace and security that requires the Security Council to take appropriate action. Russia believes that the decisions adopted in the context of the ongoing Paris-Moscow process being carried out under the auspices of the United Nations form the basis for stepping up international cooperation to combat the global drug threat from Afghanistan. We also believe that this process is one of the most effective and promising instruments available to the international community. The time has come to give some thought to how we can build upon those decisions on the basis of recent narcotics trends in and around Afghanistan. We also believe it advisable to hold the third conference of the Paris-Moscow process at the level of relevant agency heads the end of this year. At that conference, the international community could adopt a specific programme of action on the Afghan counter- narcotics track on the basis of previously adopted policy decisions. We suggest that the conference give detailed attention to increasing the effectiveness of the provision of technical and other assistance to the Governments of Afghanistan and the States of Central Asia. In assisting the Afghan Government to undertake counter-narcotics activities, we must also make full use of the capabilities of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Another very important element in countering the flow of drugs from Afghanistan is to cut off the illegal supply to that country of precursors for the production of heroin. We are prepared to work closely with our partners to implement the provisions of resolution 1817 (2008). In that regard, we believe that there is an important role for the work of the International Narcotics Control Board and the UNODC. We believe it important to involve them in developing initiatives aimed at strengthening the international regime for the control of precursors. In that regard, I refer to measures to mark precursors in order to enable us to identify specific producers and suppliers of such substances to Afghanistan; to strengthen international monitoring of the movement of precursors on the basis of a system of notifications on pre-export, re-export and resale to third countries; to monitor heavy-freight transport on the Afghan border; and to license any activities related to the supply of precursors and their substitutes. We believe that, in implementing programmes and projects aimed at combating the illegal Afghan trade in drugs and precursors for their production, it is important the we do our utmost to exploit the capacities of regional organizations and agencies — first and foremost the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre — so as to combat the illegal trade in narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors. We are focusing our attention on the importance of broadening the follow-on qualitative work of the sanctions Committee mechanism established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) in order to fully implement the relevant provisions of resolutions 1735 (2006) and 1904 (2009). Additional efforts are needed for the practical implementation of those resolutions to provide for the listing, under the sanctions regime of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999), of Afghan drug lords who finance terrorism through the illegal proceeds of the drug trade. We believe that one of the priorities of counter- terrorism efforts is to counter terrorist ideology and propaganda and to overcome the radical tendencies that fuel terrorism. We must deprive terrorist groups of that fuel and of logistical resources. In those efforts, it is important to involve the capabilities of civil society and the business community in an equal and engaged public-private partnership, as called for in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and key resolutions of the Security Council. The issue of ensuring international information security has recently taken on great importance. We believe it important to consider a system of measures to counter the use of information and communication technologies for terrorist ends and the undermining of international peace, stability and security by terrorists and criminals. In that regard, we believe that there is a pressing need to develop and adopt a universal international convention to combat cybercrime, including a general code of conduct for States in the area of global information. In conclusion, I affirm that the adoption of the draft presidential statement today will illustrate the decisiveness and unity of the Council in countering the increasing threats to international stability. We believe that this important document will help to intensify international cooperation in this area.

First of all, allow me to thank the French presidency for convening this important meeting. Let me also take this opportunity to thank Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, for his dedicated work and for his briefing. The rapid growth of criminal networks, transcending national borders and regional boundaries, dangerously affects today’s global peace and security. Poorly governed countries, especially those emerging from post-conflict situations and humanitarian crises, are the most vulnerable, and unstable situations are fertile ground for the development of criminal and terrorist activities and corruption. The clear cause-and- effect relationship between poor social and economic situations and a lack of the rule of law on the one hand and rising crime and corruption on the other makes development unsustainable and affects domestic, regional and international peace and security. To be able to provide an efficient response to the scourge of transnational organized crime, the international community should first undertake further efforts to make developing countries less susceptible to organized crime, by addressing the root causes of widespread poverty, investing in health and human development and ensuring systematic law enforcement and institution-building. Through such preventive activities, the international community will enable developing countries to fight organized crime by themselves, to the benefit of all States and of the international community as a whole. In order to create a common assessment of rising crime and corruption trends, which is indispensable for identifying policies and for creating effective counter- activities, the United Nations and its relevant agencies, through the “One United Nations” concept, should further improve coherence in the collection and sharing of information and in strategic data analysis. In that context, we would like to encourage the further development of substantive software applications such as the United Nations National Drug Control System (NDS), the Pre-Export Notification System (PEN On Line), goAML and other tools specifically conceived for national and international control and the fight against organized crime. My delegation joins those who acknowledge the seriousness of this problem and points out that, given its nature, it is clear that no single country acting alone can address this problem successfully. While building the proper judiciary and police systems in individual countries is of paramount importance, cooperation at the subregional and regional levels is equally important. Regional strategies and the conclusion of bilateral and multilateral agreements tailored to national and regional specificities can provide a comprehensive legal framework for cooperation and successful counter-activities and could increase the national, regional and overall global capacity to effectively respond to international threats posed by organized crime, drug trafficking and corruption. I would also like to take this opportunity to state that my country has undertaken important legislative, judicial and structural reforms aimed at strengthening our drug control system and fighting illicit trafficking and related crimes. Furthermore, Bosnia and Herzegovina attaches utmost importance to bilateral and regional cooperation in combating these threats to global peace and security and is fully committed to working closely with neighbouring countries and the relevant regional and international organizations. We believe that it is crucial to cooperate, exchange information and experiences and promote good practices in confronting this issue. In that regard, Bosnia and Herzegovina fully supports the efforts that have been made jointly by the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other relevant United Nations organs and agencies in facing numerous security risks caused by drug trafficking in many countries and regions. Lessons learned in one place can often be of great use and help in another. In that context, the knowledge and expertise of UNODC are exceptional value, and Member States should benefit from them.

I thank you, Mr. President, for initiating this important discussion on threats to international peace and security and for providing us with a very helpful concept paper (see S/2010/94) to facilitate the discussion. We thank the Secretary- General for his invaluable views on the subject. We also thank Mr. Antonio Maria Costa for his succinct briefing. We commend the role of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and its partners, both within and outside the United Nations system, in addressing the myriad problems of drug trafficking and related transnational organized crime. Drug trafficking remains an endemic and lucrative organized transnational crime and thus a major threat to global peace and security. No country is totally immune to its devastating consequences. None, indeed, can fight and win the anti-narcotics war in isolation. In Africa, drug trafficking, cultivation, processing and abuse are on the rise, inevitably constituting barriers to the continent’s development efforts. International drug cartels from other regions of the world continue to exploit the under-resourced law enforcement capability of most African countries and to turn them into major transit points for prohibited drugs and arms. The subregion most affected by their nefarious activities is West Africa, which is fast emerging as a major warehouse and transit point for cocaine and other illicit drugs. The activities of these drug cartels constitute a major threat not only to the subregion’s fledgling democratic structures but also to good governance and the rule of law. Indeed, they constitute serious impediments to subregional efforts to promote human prosperity, genuine wealth creation, productive work, development and peacebuilding. Drug trafficking has led directly to increased violent crime, small arms proliferation, human trafficking, systemic corruption, money laundering and political and economic instability. Drug trafficking nourishes the illicit trade in firearms, which in turn provides the fuel for conflicts to flourish in our subregion. The fight against organized transnational crime should not be left to one country or region. It requires coordinated, comprehensive and effective global cooperation. That approach obliges not only the Council but also the international community to always take into account the larger question of drug supply and drug demand control channels, as they are invariably interrelated. If we adopt a supply control approach it will facilitate the investigation, arrest and prosecution of drug traffickers. Seizure of assets in countries from which the drugs emanate should be vigorously encouraged. On the demand side, measures must be taken to promote drug education and increased public awareness on the consequences of illegal drug use and trade in countries where the drugs are consumed. Such measures should be complemented with enhanced information exchange and intelligence- led policing. We support the mainstreaming of crime prevention in conflict prevention strategies, conflict analysis and integrated mission assessment and planning. To achieve this, it is important to build capacities of regional and national authorities to enable them to fulfil their international obligations on narcotic drugs, terrorism, arms control and transnational organized crime. Indeed, a multifaceted approach at the national, regional and global levels, in the wider context of poverty eradication and human development, is required. Criminal justice and law enforcement responses must be supported with programmes aimed at addressing the root causes of crime and the eradication of poverty. In that regard, the United Nations system as a whole should recommit itself to the goal of assisting countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015. We cannot overstate the need for cooperation, coordination and committed and concerted action by the international community. Our discussion today has afforded us yet another opportunity to reflect on the consequences of transnational threats to regional and international peace. We already have the legal instruments and tools to make crime unattractive and unprofitable. What we need most at this time is to mobilize the requisite political will and resources to win the war against organized transnational criminals. We support the draft presidential statement to be issued at the end of this debate. Sir Mark Lyall Grant (United Kingdom): I thank the presidency of the Council for initiating today’s debate and for focusing the Security Council’s attention on the serious threat posed to international peace and security by transnational crime. I am also grateful to Mr. Costa for his informative and insightful briefing this morning. I want to focus on three points. First, the threat posed by drug trafficking is real and it is global. The United Kingdom, along with all other Member States, has a responsibility to support work which reduces both the demand for and the supply of drugs that are doing so much harm to our families, communities and societies. But the scale of the challenge means that we require a coordinated response from the international community, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is playing a vital role in this regard. I would like to highlight in particular UNODC’s important work in Afghanistan. The annual survey released last year confirmed a 22 per cent reduction in poppy cultivation in 2009. We agree with UNODC’s recent analysis that poppy cultivation is likely to remain stable in 2010. This shows that effective global and regional action to counter the threat of drug trafficking is possible. But it also shows that there is no room for complacency. Secondly, the threat posed by drug trafficking is one part of a broader challenge posed by international crime. The United Kingdom deplores the growing number of kidnappings and hostage-takings aimed at raising funds or gaining political advantage, whether in South Asia, Africa or Latin America. Last year, the Economic and Social Council called for kidnappers to be denied the benefit of substantive concessions. We urge all Member States to heed this call, not to pay ransoms, and thus deprive criminals and terrorists of a vital source of funding and political leverage. As many colleagues have said this morning, the linkage of conflict and terrorism to drugs and international crime is clear. We also need to see stronger national and international action against the scourge of corruption. The United Nations Convention against Corruption has a vital role to play. We encourage all States parties to work together to ensure that the review mechanism agreed in Doha last year is as effective as possible. Thirdly, it is clear from our discussions today that criminals and terrorists undermine stability and security, as well as democratic institutions, in fragile parts of the world. Countries in regions where the rule of law is weak and where there is an underdeveloped criminal justice system are particularly vulnerable to these transnational threats. This underlines the importance of coordinated international engagement, often with a strong peacebuilding focus, to build capacity in countries and regions most at risk. Time and again, as we look at situations of recurring conflict, we see that weak judicial systems and lack of effective policing capacity are a big part of the problem. These are sensitive issues for all Governments. There are no easy answers, but if transnational criminals are agile and inventive, so must be the response of the international community. We strongly support the call in today’s draft presidential statement for the Secretary-General to consider these threats when he is analyzing conflict situations and submitting recommendations to the Security Council. I look forward to further discussion of these issues in the future in the Council.

I would like to congratulate France on taking the initiative to organize a briefing on transnational organized crime as a threat to peace and security. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Secretary-General and Mr. Antonio Maria Costa for their helpful briefings. The international community has intensified its efforts to combat transnational organized crime, in particular since the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime 10 years ago. Drug trafficking is closely connected with transnational organized crime. International counter-narcotics efforts, also over the past 10 years, culminated in the adoption by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs last year of a new Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem. Despite all of these coordinated international efforts to combat the serious threat posed by drugs and crime, one can hardly say that the situation has improved over the past 10 years. I would like to point out three factors that make the challenge more complicated to deal with. First, advances in transportation, information technology and financial systems have made it easier for cross-border human trafficking and smuggling, the trade in illicit arms and drugs, and the transfer of proceeds of criminal activity. These advances have enabled organized crime groups and networks to become more diversified and connected. Secondly, there is an increasingly strong linkage between drug trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime, such as trafficking in arms and persons, money-laundering and corruption. Such a linkage is most noticeable, as many of my colleagues have stated previously, in States embroiled in conflicts or struggling through fragile post-conflict situations. With the profit from the illicit trafficking of drugs and sometimes of minerals, as well as the trade in small arms, non-State criminal groups are able to corrupt State institutions and better equip themselves with powerful operational capacity. They can finance acts of terrorism while conflicts in fragile situations are prolonged, which in turn prevents the establishment of democratic governance and the rule of law and impedes sustainable development. As a result, organized crime groups gain control and establish dependable routes for illicit trade, as governance by fragile State institutions becomes further weakened. Thirdly, the activities of organized crime groups can easily cross borders and have negative impacts on neighbouring countries first and then throughout entire regions. It is indispensable to supplement national efforts with regional and international cooperation. In the light of all these challenges, I would be grateful if Mr. Costa could perhaps provide additional thoughts on two questions. First, with respect to the role of the Security Council, it is useful to have these briefings on transnational organized crime to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of this threat and to mobilize political will, which is a primary role of the Security Council, but does Mr. Costa have any additional suggestion as to how the Security Council may best reflect his analysis and assessment in its work? The second question relates to information- or intelligence-sharing. We should encourage the creation of regional networks in problem areas to share information. But what concrete additional actions could be taken to promote timely and more effective information-sharing and joint operations among diverse players? I would like to conclude by stressing how important it is to combat this transnational threat, not only in order to prevent conflicts and favour peacebuilding, but also for promoting the human security of the individual. Japan fully supports the UNODC’s valuable work in mobilizing international efforts.

On behalf of the United States, let me thank France for its leadership in drawing attention to these important issues. I also want to thank the Secretary-General for his commitment and his presence here today, as well as Executive Director Costa for his customarily candid and thoughtful briefing and for his continued work with this Council. Not so long ago, the topic that we turn to today might not have made it onto the agenda of the Security Council, but organized crime and drug trafficking and the terrible consequences that follow in the wake of such large-scale crime and corruption are precisely the type of threat to global security and stability that this Council must confront in today’s interconnected world. We face an extraordinary array of global challenges, including drug trafficking, that no more stop at national borders than a gale force wind stops from house to house. Drug trafficking, like global terrorism, pandemic disease and climate change, is a transnational security threat that, by definition, cannot be tackled by any one country alone. The work we do together in the Security Council to shore up fragile States and build up their capacity to provide for their people is essential to fighting these twenty-first century threats. States wracked by poverty and rattled by conflict often struggle to control their own territory, provide for their citizens’ basic needs, and extend the rule of law. That leaves them more vulnerable to exploitation by terrorist and criminal networks, which strengthens these transnational predators and in turn undermines global security for all of us. The nexus here is inescapable. Where development falters, security suffers. This dynamic is particularly clear when it comes to the scourge of illegal narcotics. The menace of international organized crime and drug traffickers is magnified by conflict, chaos, poverty and instability, and it magnifies all those ills in return. As Executive Director Costa rightly notes, we face a vicious cycle in all too many States. He said that “vulnerability attracts crime, and … crime, in turn, deepens vulnerability”. All too often, States that lack the capacity to provide basic services for their citizens also lack the strength to fend off the vultures of global crime. Drugs and drug trafficking do more than just threaten political stability; they also undermine the rule of law, overload prisons, strain public health systems, waste lives and devastate communities. They also stall and stifle the development efforts that can bring lasting prosperity, peace and security. They pave the road back again towards poverty, chaos and conflict, and by bringing misery and despair to the daily lives of citizens of other nations they threaten the security of all nations. The direct economic costs are bad enough. International observers, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have calculated that transnational organized crime and corruption may siphon off as much as 15 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product. But today, the security costs of this dangerous form of organized crime may be even more grave, because even beyond the corrosion and corruption that drug cartels inflict upon all too many States, drug traffickers have increasingly well- documented links to terrorist and insurgent groups that further endanger political security and economic development. Criminal syndicates now help terrorist groups to slip across borders, smuggle weapons and forge documents. Meanwhile, terrorist groups are also often turning to organized criminal activity to extend their reach. They now often use extortion, drug-dealing and even credit-card fraud and insurance scams to finance their activities. The growing interdependence among terrorist groups and organized crime makes it much more difficult to staunch the flow of terrorist financing. As terrorist groups increasingly mimic the tactics of organized crime, our international response must include tools used by traditional law enforcement. And so the United States is working with our international partners to identify and attempt to dismantle these terrorist criminal linkages wherever they exist; better yet, we are working to strengthen criminal justice and law enforcement institutions so they can thwart such linkages before they are forged. This brings us to a new global template for international law enforcement cooperation, created by the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime — the Palermo Convention — and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. These accords, along with the three United Nations conventions against illegal drugs, form the spine of a common multilateral framework to better protect our nations from the linked threats of crime, drugs and corruption. It will not in any way be easy to meet these challenges. In the years since the conventions were adopted, criminal networks have taken advantage of the Internet, electronic financial transactions, rising trade and other technologies associated with globalization to expand their grasp and cover their tracks. Such criminal activity is particularly hard to trace and prevent in regions still struggling with deep poverty or recovering from conflict, so we must work together to better use the tools with which the conventions provide us and work to short-circuit the destabilizing syndrome of transnational crime. Having discussed the overall nature of the challenges, I should like to say a few words about the role that the United States is working play to tackle them, as underscored by our efforts to help Governments to take responsibility as equal partners in this shared challenge. From 2008 through 2009, the United States provided approximately $36 million to support UNODC activities. We are committed to continuing that support, and we recognize that the efforts of UNODC and other international and regional organizations act as an important force multiplier. For 2010, the State Department has allocated approximately $2 billion to high-priority programmes to support three interrelated objectives: first, to institutionalize the rule of law by developing partner countries’ criminal justice systems to strengthen law enforcement, increase judicial effectiveness, foster cooperation in legal affairs and advance respect for human rights; secondly, to disrupt the overseas production and trafficking of illicit drugs through targeted counter-narcotics efforts, institution-building assistance and stronger coordination with other Governments and international organizations; and thirdly, to minimize the harm that transnational crime and criminal networks inflict on the United States and others through enhanced international cooperation and foreign assistance. Let me also say a word about the related and appalling problem of human trafficking. As we all know, one of the key components of the Palermo Convention is its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. The trafficking of persons strikes at our common humanity and tears the social fabric of communities around the world. During these times of economic turmoil, people desperate for work can be especially vulnerable to trafficking organizations and crime cartels, particularly in impoverished, fragile or post-conflict States. It is not enough simply to enact an anti-trafficking law or announce a national plan of action; we must act globally and firmly to implement trafficking laws and to ensure that these statutes help victims even while we prosecute those who prey on them. Simply put, this is a modern form of slavery. The suffering is vast and the victims should not have to wait. In conclusion, let me turn back to the realities of our interconnected age and the nexus between development and global security. Drug trafficking and other transnational threats gravely undermine post- conflict States, whose criminal justice sectors may have been destroyed or even hijacked by criminal organizations. When States suffer, so do their neighbours. Regions wracked by conflict, want and instability are often breeding grounds for drug traffickers, terrorists and other nefarious actors, who in turn undermine reconstruction activities and threaten the security of States in the region and around the world. Unfortunately, we will all have to grapple with the threat of international drug trafficking for years to come. Given the threat that drug cartels and organized criminals often pose to development and reconstruction efforts, this Council should consider how best to develop judicial and law enforcement capacities when creating or reviewing mandates for peacekeeping operations in areas where such criminals threaten international peace and stability. In the twenty-first century, a threat to development anywhere can soon be a threat to security everywhere. It is for that reason that we are pleased to support the presidential statement to be adopted today.

Let me join previous speakers in thanking the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, for his comprehensive briefing. We share his concerns regarding the impact of drug trafficking in different regions of the world. Drug trafficking and related organized crime tend to weaken domestic institutions and may contribute to bringing about political instability, as pointed out by many in this Chamber today. This is particularly serious in situations of armed conflict or in countries emerging from conflict. In some cases, there is also evidence that proceeds from drug trafficking are used to finance terrorism. The Security Council may therefore find itself confronted with significant threats to international peace and security brought about by drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. When faced with such challenges, the Council should be ready to act in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, with due consideration for the specificities of each case. Avoiding such a grave risk should be a common goal to be pursued through the active cooperation of Member States in the specialized international entities and bilateral and plurilateral initiatives. Drug trafficking is, indeed, a matter that by its very nature requires concerted and multidimensional action at all levels. Needless to say, efforts in this area should be based on the principle of shared and common responsibility and should focus on all aspects of the phenomenon. Among the several areas where such cooperation is important, capacity-building in law enforcement is of particular relevance, especially in the judicial and security sectors. Strong State agencies and well-trained personnel are indispensable in the fight against drug trafficking. This is an area where the prospects for South-South cooperation are promising. Brazil, for example, has been working closely with the UNODC in West Africa, particularly in Guinea-Bissau, where we have been investing in training law enforcement agents and establishing related infrastructure. My delegation is concerned with the situation in West Africa in general. We praise efforts already undertaken by the Economic Community of West African States and look forward to the full implementation of its regional anti-drug operational plan. We also welcome the West Africa Coast Initiative and extend our support to the creation of transnational crime units that will allow for increased sharing of information and intelligence in the region. In my capacity as Chair of the Guinea-Bissau Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, I value the cooperation with the promoters of the Initiative. Repressive measures alone, however, are not enough to fight drug trafficking in an effective and sustainable manner. It is indispensable to address the frequent underlying socio-economic factors of the problem, which tend to thrive in a context of economic despondency and high unemployment. Any successful anti-drug plan must therefore encompass actions aimed at creating alternative livelihoods, especially for young people, to prevent the population from being lured by the drug business. Only through broad engagement that takes into consideration all dimensions of drug trafficking and transnational organized crime will we succeed in our common endeavour against them. The United Nations system provides us with the institutional means through which we can actively and effectively cooperate. In so doing, we shall be able to avoid the risk that such problems will threaten international peace and security. Brazil supports the draft presidential statement that we will adopt today and thanks the French delegation for work well done.

Let me start, Mr. President, by thanking you for taking the initiative to organize this important briefing on drug trafficking and transnational organized crime as a threat to international peace and security. Austria attaches great importance to the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. We also highly appreciate the efforts of the delegation of France and support the draft presidential statement that will be adopted today. I would like to express my gratitude to the Secretary-General for his personal interest in and commitment to this matter. Let me also thank Under- Secretary-General Antonio Maria Costa for his valuable input and for his committed leadership of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Let me say that my country is honoured to host that important Office in Vienna. That gives us a chance to observe its work and the exceptional leadership of the Under-Secretary-General on a daily basis. We also appreciate the initiative of UNODC and France to present, in Vienna in the run-up to today's briefing, a report on crime and instability. At various recent meetings of the Council, delegations, including my own, have underlined the need to develop a better understanding of the root causes and aggravating factors in situations of armed conflict and post-conflict situations. We thank UNODC for contributing to our better understanding of the interlinkages among data on illicit trafficking routes, conflicts, per capita income and other matters important in this context. All of these data illustrate convincingly the links that exist among drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, conflict and, as others have already said, underdevelopment. The globalization of transnational criminal activity and finance has also benefited illicit business and criminal groups, allowing them to organize themselves and operate transnationally. To put it more bluntly, the globalization of organized crime has so far moved much faster than the globalization of law enforcement. As a result, crime is being transformed from a threat at the personal and national levels to a strategic menace that can affect international peace and security. It is only by acting in concert that the international community will be able to prevail in the fight against drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime such as human trafficking, migrant smuggling and money-laundering. We must help States develop their own capacities to rebuild and strengthen their institutions, to administer justice and ensure the rule of law and to provide security. Here too, UNODC can make an important contribution. The Council itself should duly take this into account when designing sustainable strategies for conflict areas. Universal adherence to and accurate implementation of pertinent international legal instruments, such as the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the United Nations drug control conventions and the international conventions related to terrorism, should be our common goal. In the process of implementation, international human rights and the standards of due process will have to be fully respected. Furthermore, we must constantly improve the existing instruments, with a view to keeping pace with the changing nature of transnational crime. Having agreed on a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the international community should now focus on a strong and effective review mechanism for the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Council has repeatedly recognized the close connection between international terrorism and transnational organized crime in its various manifestations and has underlined the need to enhance coordination of efforts at the regional, global and national levels. Here again, UNODC and its Terrorism Prevention Branch can play an important role when delivering assistance. The Terrorism Prevention Branch also plays a very important role in the Counter- Terrorism Implementation Task Force. Recent studies have confirmed the relationship between corruption and organized crime, suggesting that corruption facilitates all forms of organized crime, which in turn foments renewed corruption. The seventh Global Forum on Reinventing Government, which was held in Vienna in June 2007, underlined in the Vienna Declaration the need to increase transparency and accountability to combat corruption. More cooperation on implementation of the United Nations Convention on Corruption will be needed, including the development of anti-corruption policies and institutions as well as preventive anti-corruption frameworks. In this context, we would like to draw the attention of the Council to the upcoming establishment of the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Laxenburg, Austria, near Vienna. This Academy, based on the United Nations Convention against Corruption, aims at promoting anti-corruption measures through academic research and professional academic training. The main audience of the International Anti-Corruption Academy will be, inter alia, law enforcement officers, judicial staff, private sector representatives and representatives from non-governmental and international organizations. The establishment of the International Anti-Corruption Academy will be another important step in the fight against corruption worldwide. We fully support the invitation to the Secretary- General, in the draft presidential statement before us today, to include information on transnational threats in his reports to the Council when analysing conflicts, assessing or planning missions, and making recommendations for future action. More regular briefings by the Executive Director of UNODC will further contribute to our understanding and help the Council to integrate these issues into its work in a more consistent manner.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of France. I thank the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for his briefing. The topics of drugs, crime and corruption are not at the heart of the Security Council’s mandate; those subjects are dealt with in a comprehensive way by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. In that respect, we welcome the General Assembly’s initiative in organizing for the next quarter, within the framework of the tenth anniversary of the Palermo Convention, a special high-level meeting devoted to organized transnational crime. Nonetheless, the large-scale development of these cross-cutting problems, above all drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, is having a growing impact on States’ security and, beyond, on regional and international stability and security. The Council has observed this phenomenon as it relates to several items on its agenda, be it in West Africa, Haiti or Afghanistan. When the consequences of the activity of these criminal networks threaten international peace and stability, it is the responsibility of the Security Council to deal with them. Such threats can weaken or destabilize States, damaging their good governance and slowing their economic development. They compete with legal economic systems and promote corruption. They hamper the post-crisis reconstruction efforts of public institutions and development organizations led by national authorities and the international community. Criminal networks not only benefit from weak or failed States; their activities also help to exacerbate political tensions, inter alia, by financing non- governmental armed groups and insurgency movements. Moreover, the links between the various drug trafficking networks and international terrorism seem to be getting stronger. Due to their transnational character, these threats can destabilize entire regions; challenging them demands close international and regional cooperation with a view in particular to strengthening the capacity of weaker States through technical assistance. Aware of the growing reach of organized crime, in 2000 the international community adopted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. However, we can only observe that criminal networks have learned since then to adapt and to take advantage of changes that have occurred in our societies, be it in improved information and communications technologies or the opening up of financial markets. As a result, we call more than ever for the universalization of the Palermo Convention and its additional protocols, and we hope that the upcoming Conference of the Parties will be directed towards more effective implementation of its texts. We welcome the important role played by UNODC, as well as the quality of its assistance to States and its projects throughout the world. We also encourage the Secretariat and its various components to step up their activities in the area of cross-cutting threats, especially through networking efforts with the Department of Political Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the United Nations Development Programme — in close cooperation, of course, with UNODC. In the Security Council, we are in favour of taking further into account these cross-cutting threats when we look at conflict analysis, prevention strategies, integrated missions and peacekeeping missions. In that regard, we attach the greatest importance to all the elements that the Secretariat may be able to convey in its various reports to the Council. Lastly, we welcome regional initiatives on drug- trafficking, including the Praia Regional Plan of Action adopted in October 2008 by the West African States, and that adopted in San Domingo in March 2009 by the Caribbean region. Since 2003, at the initiative first of France and then of Russia, the Paris Pact, renewed in Moscow, has made it possible to implement operational cooperation within the framework of the fight against heroin trafficking out of Afghanistan, and to raise genuine awareness of the problem posed by the diversion of chemical precursors. I support the proposals that have been submitted by the Russian Federation in that regard. The briefing by the Executive Director of UNODC has given us a thorough picture of the threats we face. Drug-trafficking networks and organized crime have taken on a global dimension and are endangering international peace and security through their activities. We hope that the Council will remain engaged in this matter, which has direct consequences for our work, and that we can be given regular briefings by the Executive Director of UNODC so that we can keep the Council thoroughly informed on the evolution of these cross-cutting threats. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. I give the floor to Mr. Costa to respond to the comments that have been made. Mr. Costa: Let me begin by thanking you once again, Sir, for the invitation, and the members for their kind words and support for the work of my Office. I heard three questions raised by the Japanese representative, and I would like to add a couple more comments on more general issues raised during the debate. The first question posed by the representative of Japan dealt with how the Council could incorporate the analysis and assessment of our Office into its work, its function and the role it plays. There are at least three ways that the Council could be helpful. First, as I said in my statement, the Security Council’s engagement in promoting security worldwide is what is needed to reduce areas of conflict and instability. Indeed, instability creates insecurity and, as a consequence, the Council’s own work generally is the first and most important antidote. Secondly, regarding our own work and how it may benefit the Council, I think the Council has already gone a long way. It started in 2004, when we began alerting the Council and Member States of the threat posed to Africa by traffickers from across the Atlantic. In a crescendo, the Council has adopted a number of measures and has certainly listened to our reporting, in writing and in person here in this Chamber. Our periodic reporting has indeed facilitated a better understanding of the role of law enforcement in peacebuilding; in Department of Peacekeeping Operations activities, which are always approved by the Council; in the integrated missions; and in the use of early warnings, such as we have already provided concerning West and East Africa. The third and most or equally important role that the Council can play is through the work of individual member States. Around this table are, obviously, some of the world’s major economic and military Powers. The work that they are doing bilaterally in the various areas I have referred to, and the work that they are doing by providing resources to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the work it does on behalf of Member States and the Council in this area is another important contribution. The second question — actually twin questions in a single statement — asked by the representative of Japan was about what I meant by “sharing information”. First and foremost, mine was a general exhortation to Member States about working together, naturally based on the nature of this institution and of our United Nations work. Regional efforts are ongoing, but I think we need a change in attitude. No, I am not asking Member States to “love thy neighbour”, but certainly I would ask Member States to “trust thy neighbour”, or to trust their neighbours at least to the extent of being willing and able to share intelligence information. We have seen — and I saw it myself last week — the important seizures in West Africa, whether in a poor country like Sierra Leone or a somewhat better- off country like Senegal. These important seizures were the result of transatlantic intelligence-sharing, such as information coming from Colombia or tips coming from Venezuela. We have to build on this. It might have been unrealistic to assume that the two West African countries I referred to could seize tons of cocaine, but they were able to do so because the tips came from a neighbouring country, or at least a neighbour across the sea. So I believe that this is a crucial element, which is still missing. Our own Office has been working quite actively. The representative of Brazil mentioned what we are doing in West Africa, through the West Africa Coast Initiative. Reference was made to the Central Asia Regional Information and Coordination Centre, and I should mention the Gulf Centre for Criminal Intelligence as well. Today, the Secretary-General mentioned an important session we are holding this afternoon to promote the processes of the Santo Domingo Pact and Managua Mechanism. They mimic, to some extent, in a different regional context and for different drugs, the Paris Pact, to which you referred yourself, Sir. All of this is extremely helpful, but more is needed. At the meeting held on 8 December (see S/PV.6233), I referred to the importance of establishing a network of monitoring stations throughout the Sahel and Sahara. There we find countries with very limited resources — I am referring to Mali, which I visited on Thursday, and Niger. They are very large countries: Mali has 7,500 kilometres of borders with five different neighbours. They are practically uncontrolled. And it was in Mali that a Boeing 727 with 10 tons of cocaine crashed. All of this shows that, unless we help these countries through various new technologies — perhaps not through physical border control, but virtual control through satellites and radar stations and in various other ways — I am afraid we will have some nasty surprises. To finish on this second point, with regard to intelligence sharing, I appreciate the statement by the representative of Austria, in which he said that the globalization of law enforcement has not been able to keep up with the globalization of crime. This is indeed the point that I have been trying to make, namely, that globalization has perhaps not weakened sovereignty, but has transferred it to market forces: to traders and to the financial sectors, through information technologies and so forth. However, there are, of course, sinister forces in the market: the ones we have been talking about. They have also taken advantage of globalization. We therefore need — and this is the point raised by the representative of Gabon — to regain control of sovereignty by working together and perhaps sharing sovereignty. The final point, raised by the representative of Japan, is about system-wide cooperation within the United Nations. The legal frameworks are in place. I was very pleased that the representative of the United States referred to the whole set of conventions and instruments we make use of at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, not only the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime or the United Nations Convention against Corruption, but also the three drug conventions and the various protocols. We have to see all of these in a systematic way. When our Office was established in 1997, we inherited three programmes: drugs, crime and, eventually, terrorism. They were separate programmes, with different commissions and different expertise; people would not talk to one another. It took a number of years, seven or eight years, until 2005 or 2006, to bring about an integrated view of all of this. Indeed, drugs interact with crime, as has been said here, and crime interacts with terrorism, and so forth. Now we are moving one step forward, thanks to the members of the Security Council and to the Council itself. The United Nations system as a whole is being advised by the Council to mainstream these three areas, which have already been addressed in an integrated set of instruments and policies, into the overall work of the United Nations. Now, the system did respond positively a few years ago when the United Nations Chief Executives Board called for the mainstreaming of our work within the United Nations system. This has only worked up to a certain point. To a large extent, the matters we have been talking about today — drugs, crime and terrorism — are rather sinister, both in name and in logic, and some of our colleagues who deal with the very noble causes of education, health, employment and so forth resist, in a way, being associated with these sinister causes. But the Council has done a good job of spinning the work differently: not only drugs but health; not only crime but security; not only terrorism but stability. I believe that with this kind of logic that the Council has put forward, it may be possible for the Secretary- General to propose the integration of our work within the system at large, just as he did in 2008, a year and a half ago, when he promoted an effort to mainstream human rights within the global logic of the United Nations. This is an important development for us, because those institutions of the United Nations that work for development, whether Bretton Woods institutions or the United Nations Development Programme, are helping, in their work, to reduce the threat of crime. Members mentioned poverty and underdevelopment being midwives, in a way, to crime. The bodies dealing with security — the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Department of Political Affairs, the Peacebuilding Commission and so forth — can indeed help. Those working with the environment — I refer to environmental crime, illegal logging and so forth — such as the United Nations Environment Programme, can become an important related institution in our work. Urban security is another element. Everything that we have been talking about is a threat especially to individuals and to society at large, especially in large cities. UN-Habitat is an important player, and so are those dealing with education and health and so on and so forth. I would like to make a couple of quick points, just to refer to specific important considerations. The representatives of Japan, China and Mexico underlined the importance of shared responsibility. Those are key words; they are not slogans. Yesterday someone — a member of the Council — looked at the maps that are included in our report and said, “All the arrows on all these maps point to the North. What is the problem?” Well, the problem in the North is that that is where the demand is. I am glad that the representative of the United Kingdom also explicitly called for not only a reduction of supply and trafficking in drugs, but also a reduction of demand. Regarding the question of the trilogy of development, security and justice — and I list them as the three cornerstones of the work that we can do together — these are indeed crucial, because it is the absence of development — namely, poverty — or insecurity in post-conflict situations that creates the context that is so helpful to organized crime in terms of establishing itself. This is not only because there are weak judicial institutions, but because there are foot soldiers, and plenty of them. Travel to West Africa: half of the population is below age 30. They are largely unemployed, perhaps even illiterate. And a little lubricant from an organized crime group, paying them to play the role of foot soldiers in distributing drugs, is certainly welcome. Of course, it would be very difficult for me to criticize those kids. I think it is our inability to help find those kids a job or some sort of a decent life that is to be blamed. Finally, on the situation in Afghanistan, referred to by the representatives of the Russian Federation and United Kingdom, indeed, our most recent report, which was shared with the international community two weeks ago, shows that in 2010 we are likely going to see a stabilization in cultivation — still at a very high level, 130,000 or 140,000 hectares, but still about 36 per cent less than two years ago. The 20 opium-free provinces we listed last year will, by and large, remain opium-free, and perhaps with some energetic measures by some governors, that number could even go up to 22 or 23. Much, of course, will depend on security. The recent military operation in the Marjah district was important from the point of view of stability, but what is also important to note is the tremendous amount of drug seizures. These large seizures proved that, indeed, the link between terrorism, insurgency and drugs is very present in that country. Progress is possible, but there is no room for complacency, as the representative of the United Kingdom said.

I thank Mr. Costa for the clarifications he has provided. I note that he made reference to the notion of trust in international relations, and I am reminded that in an office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a Council member is written the sentence: “In God we trust; others, we verify”. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council reaffirms its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. “The Security Council notes with concern the serious threats posed in some cases by drug trafficking and transnational organized crime to international security in different regions of the world. These transnational threats are a source of growing concern. “The Security Council, in this context, further notes with concern the increasing link, in some cases, between drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism, including through the use of proceeds derived from illicit cultivation, production of and trafficking in narcotic drugs and their precursors, as well as illegal arms trafficking. “The Security Council notes that these transnational crimes may threaten the security of countries on its agenda, including post-conflict States, and expresses its intention to consider such threats, as appropriate. “The Security Council notes with concern that drug trafficking and transnational organized crime contribute to undermining the authority of States. “The Security Council notes that, in a globalized society, organized crime groups and networks, better equipped with new information and communication technologies, are becoming more diversified and connected in their illicit operations, which in some cases may aggravate threats to international security. In this context, the Council expresses concern at the increase in incidences of kidnapping and hostage-taking, in some areas of the world with a specific political context, with the aim of raising funds or gaining political concessions. The development of cybercrime is another particular source of concern. “The Security Council calls upon Member States to increase international and regional cooperation, on the basis of a common and shared responsibility, as well as their cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Narcotics Control Board, in order to counter the illicit production of, demand for and trafficking in drugs, and to identify emerging trends in drug trafficking. It welcomes relevant initiatives such as the Paris Pact. The Council also encourages Member States to undertake further action, as well as to consider, on the basis of concrete proposals by UNODC and INCВ, through the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, possible new international initiatives aimed at strengthening the combat against illicit trafficking in chemical precursors. “The Security Council encourages the coordination of United Nations actions, including those of its agencies, funds and programmes, in order to enhance the effectiveness of appropriate international efforts. “The Security Council reaffirms and commends the important work of UNODC in collaboration with other relevant entities of the United Nations. “The Security Council encourages States to strengthen international, regional and subregional cooperation to counter drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, terrorism and corruption and to investigate and prosecute, as appropriate, persons and entities responsible for these crimes consistent with international law. Through compliance with their obligations under international law, including the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, States can help strengthen international peace and security. The Council notes relevant international conventions such as the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000 and the Protocols thereto, the United Nations Convention against Corruption of 2003 and the relevant international conventions and protocols related to terrorism. “The Security Council expresses its concern about the number of victims caused by acts of terrorism in various regions of the world. The Council further reiterates that acts, methods and practices of terrorism, as well as knowingly financing, planning and inciting terrorist acts, are contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The Council calls upon States to continue to condemn in the strongest terms all terrorist acts, irrespective of their motivation, whenever and by whomsoever committed, as well as the incitement of terrorism. “The Security Council invites the Secretary- General to consider these threats as a factor in conflict prevention strategies, conflict analysis, integrated missions’ assessment and planning and to consider including in his reports, as appropriate, analysis on the role played by these threats in situations on its agenda. “The Security Council welcomes further briefings, as necessary, on a more regular basis, by the Executive Director of UNODC.” In French, at least, that was hardly an example of literature. This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2010/4. There are no further speakers inscribed on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.