United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

1. What decisions or new strategies has the governing body of your organization taken to guide the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? Please provide a brief summary below, including the overarching vision of your governing body for the Decade of Action on the SDGs.

UNODC’s governing bodies, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), actively contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, as sustainable development and the mandates of the Commissions are strongly interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The Commissions have laid out their vision for the Decade of Action on the SDGs in their contributions to the 2020 High-level Political forum on the theme “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”, available on https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/SDG/high-level-political-forum.html.

The CND considers the world drug problem from a broad and comprehensive perspective. In the 2019 Ministerial Declaration, Member States reiterated that efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to effectively address the world drug problem were complementary and mutually reinforcing. Further, Member States reaffirmed their determination to ensure that all people can live in health, dignity and peace and to address public health, safety and social problems resulting from drug abuse, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3 on “ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being for all at all ages”. The work of the CND also links to Goal 5 on achieving gender equality. The CND emphasizes the importance of responding to the specific needs of vulnerable members of society and communities, who are more prone to being “left behind”, including children, adolescents, women. By emphasizing the need to strengthening cooperation and promoting information-sharing among judicial and law enforcement authorities to respond to the challenges posed by the increasing links between drug trafficking, corruption and other forms of organized crime, the CND further supports the implementation of Goal 16 on promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

Sustainable Development Goal 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) is of particular relevance also to the work of the CCPCJ, as most targets of the Goal are directly linked to topics under the purview of CCPCJ, from addressing violence against women and children, to the rule of law and justice for all, the reduction of illicit financial and arms flows derived from criminal activity, fighting corruption and terrorism as well as supporting good governance. Other Goals are relevant as well including, but not limited to, Goal 4 on quality education, Goal 5 on gender equality, Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities, Goal 14 on life below water, Goal 15 on life on land and Goal 17 on partnerships for the goals.

The CCPCJ in 2018 negotiated a dedicated resolution entitled “Enhancing the role of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, as adopted by the General Assembly later that year (A/RES/73/183), aiming to contribute, within the CCPCJ’s mandate, to the advancement of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Goal 16, which was under in-depth review by the meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council in July 2019. Information on the implementation of the resolution is included under question 4 on the HLPF.

The Commissions have included their follow-up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a standing item on their respective agendas “Contributions by the Commission to the work of the Economic and Social Council, in line with General Assembly resolution 72/305, including follow-up to and review and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” in the normative segments, in line with General Assembly resolutions 68/1 and 72/305.In accordance with the resolutions, the Commissions have been contributing to the work of the Council relating to the common themes of the annual framework of the Council and have annually submitted written contributions to the High-level Political Forum, which have been presented by the Chairs. The contributions, as well as other information related to the work of the Commissions on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, is reflected on a dedicated website. (https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/SDG/commissions-2030.html)

The United Nations Crime Congresses on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice are also contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The main theme of the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, originally scheduled to be held in Kyoto, Japan, in 2020, and now being postponed – due to the COVID 19 health crisis - to yet to be confirmed dates in the first half of 2021, was set to “Advancing crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The strong interrelation between the rule of law and sustainable development and their mutually reinforcing nature, was discussed at the previous Crime Congress and the 14th Congress is expected to further advance the discussion and conclusions drawn.

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) is a unique international legal instrument with a global scope and substantive provisions that are of key relevance to the work of the international community to counter corruption. The full implementation of the Convention by States is crucial for achieving good governance and to fight against corruption and money- laundering in the context of achieving the wider 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At its eighth session, held in December 2019, the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention adopted several resolutions (https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/COSP/session8/Advance_unedited_resolutions_final.pdf ), all of which stress the crucial importance of the 2030 Agenda in the efforts of the international community. In those resolutions, the Conference, inter alia, reiterated that corruption in all its forms posed a serious challenge to the stability and security of States, undermines institutions, ethical values and justice and jeopardized sustainable development and the rule of law. The 2030 Agenda and the relevant goals are therefore at the core of the efforts of States parties and UNODC in all the thematic areas covered by the Convention and beyond.

In its resolution 73/191, the General Assembly decided to convene in the first half of 2021 a special session on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation. In that resolution, the Assembly also decided that, at that special session, it shall adopt a concise and action-oriented political declaration, agreed upon in advance by consensus through intergovernmental negotiations under the auspices of the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention. Furthermore, the Assembly invited the Conference of the States Parties to lead the preparatory process for the special session by addressing all organizational and substantive matters in an open-ended manner and requested UNODC to provide substantive expertise and technical support. Moreover, at its eighth session, the Conference approved a resolution entitled “Special session of the General Assembly against corruption”, which was transmitted to the General Assembly for adoption. The resolution stresses that the 2030 Agenda addressed the need to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, and concern about the seriousness of the problems and threats to the stability and security of societies posed by corruption, which undermined the institutions and values of democracy, ethics and justice and jeopardize sustainable development and the rule of law. A dedicated website (https://ungass2021.unodc.org/ungass2021/en/index.html) has been established by UNODC through which all documentation and processes will be channeled and shared throughout the preparatory process, with the first intersessional meeting of the Conference on the preparations for the special session scheduled for June 2020.

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols thereto provide another crucial legal framework to help Member States attain the Sustainable Development Goals, including Target 16.4 “By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime”. In 2019, the General Assembly reaffirmed in its resolution 74/177, that UNTOC and the Protocols thereto represented the most important tools of the international community for fighting transnational organized crime and noted with appreciation that the number of States parties had reached 190, which was a significant indication of the commitment shown by the international community to combating transnational organized crime. As at 25 May 2020, 190 States were parties to the Convention, 176 were parties to the Trafficking in Persons Protocol; 149 were parties to the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol; and 118 were parties to the Firearms Protocol. In 2018, the Conference of Parties to the UNTOC addressed, in its resolution 9/2, among other topics, the need for systematic firearms data collection and the enhancement of record-keeping and tracing systems to help monitoring SDG target 16.4 (ops 7 and 8) and requested UNODC to continue to support national capacities to compile and analyse data on illicit trafficking in firearms, thus helping States achieve target

16.4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (op 34).

2. At the secretariat level, what steps has your organization taken (or will it take) in the follow-up to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? Please specify actions, including but not limited to the following areas:

2.1 SDG-specific strategies, plans or work programmes;

The work of the Office, while specialised and focused on its normative mandates is also closely aligned with Member States’ efforts to fulfil the achievement of Goals under the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda explicitly recognizes the interrelationship between sustainable development on the one hand, and the fight against drugs and crime, corruption and terrorism on the other. Furthermore, the 2030 Agenda helps the Office to locate and communicate what it does in the larger context of national and global priorities on sustainable development – this has become increasingly important in the context of the reform of the UN Development system and the revamped UNCTs.

Ever since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, UNODC has undertaken a number of initiatives to mainstream the SDGs into UNODC's programming efforts and technical assistance delivery. The Office continues to review and advise on new and already existing results frameworks of UNODC global, regional, and national projects to ensure alignment with the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, in the course of 2019, UNODC conducted trainings specific to SDGs in the UNODC Field offices. In addition, the Office, through the establishment of RBM Quality Assurance Focal Points in 2016, has maintained and ensured RBM oversight (i.e. review and approval of all project logframes) and provided support to field offices to reflect theories of change throughout the results chain in programme documents, including joint proposals to assist Member States in achieving the 2030 Development Agenda.

Through inter-divisional work, the Office also supports the systematic positioning and integration of UNODC programmes and mandates in Common Country Analysis and United Nations Sustainability Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). In particular, UNODC has mapped the Common Country Analysis (CCA) and Cooperation Frameworks of the country presence (both entity presence and non-entity presence) in UNCT to understand the contribution towards UNCTs and UNDS reform. This mapping highlights information such as start and end of UNSDCF cycle and budget, CCA progress and the names of UNODC members present in Country Teams. This data was gathered from the UNSDG Country Level data available on the website and was then verified by field SDG Focal Points and is updated quarterly. Further UNODC collects and analyses information from all our field offices on (i) UNCT, CCA, UNSDCF to understand how we engage with countries specifically and how could we contribute to/benefit from the UNSDCF processes, and (ii) on the regional approach in terms of revamping, reprofiling and restructuring the Development System. The data has been analysed to understand the gaps in implementation and to support field colleagues with information and available tools and resources. In this regard, the all the SDG Focal Points were sent and presented in the quarterly SDG meetings with guidance on our work to support SDG indicators as well as the link between development and violence.

Further, to support knowledge management and information-sharing of documents of DCO, UNCT and RCOs in a systematic manner, UNODC has created an online platform on Microsoft Teams. This platform functions as a repository for gathering and disseminating information (UNSDCF, Companion Pieces, Business Innovation Groups, Regional Reviews, Voluntary National Review, SDG Joint Fund, etc.) on a working level with UNODC SDG Focal Points.

2.2 Aligning the structure of the organization with the SDGs and the transformative features of the 2030 Agenda, including any challenges and lessons learned in doing so;

In 2019-2020 UNODC took concrete measures to enhance synergies with the UNDS reform especially, both within the framework of a strengthened cooperation with UNCTs and involvement in the roll-out of UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. The recent SG report on the Quarterly Comprehensive Programme review include positive references to UNODC engagement in 84 UNCTs and related UNSDCF work. In order to further support Member States in their implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, UNODC has established a peer network called the UNODC SDG Focal Points in each of its field offices and substantive divisions in headquarters. This was done with the aim to share knowledge and provide guidance; gather and disseminate information; collate best- practices and discuss common challenges in the SDGs and 2030 Development Agenda.

2.3 Readjusting or updating results-based budgeting and management, including performance indicators;

Regarding result-based management (RBM), UNODC has stepped up its efforts in mainstreaming adherence to the principles and approach of the Project Cycle Management, RBM and the 2030 Agenda into all of the global, regional and national programmes of the Office which has allowed to improve monitoring and reporting mechanisms ensuring accountability, transparency and adaptive management of its programmes. As part of this effort, UNODC conducted a peer review of the RBM approach which took place at a time of strategic change within the UN System, with significant implications for RBM, in particular on implementing the 2030 Agenda and mainstreaming SDG targets into UNODC programmes and projects. The recommendations of the peer review report were presented to Member States at the informal working group meeting on governance and financial management (FINGOV) in November 2019 and will be further discussed with Member States and other key stakeholders in 2020, focusing on responding to key recommendations and ensuring effective actions aimed at improving UNODC’s performance on programme and project management.

In order to enhance knowledge and skills on RBM of staff based in HQ and field offices, in 2019, UNODC designed interactive material and practical exercises on RBM and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to develop an e-learning training course. This new tool is currently in production and will be made available to users on Inspira in 2020. For the same purpose, UNODC developed the Handbook, “Results-Based Management and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which is a user-friendly resource that contains explanations of key concepts and tools that facilitate operationalizing harmonized RBM approaches within UNODC to achieve higher quality programmes and projects and greater alignment between the UNODC portfolio and the 2030 Agenda.

Moreover, the Office has conducted a series of workshops that have enhanced the results-based reporting skills among focal points across UNODC’s HQ based global programmes and its field office network with an emphasis on reporting back at the outcome level, rather than the output and activity levels. This approach has enabled the Organization to track on progress achieved by UNODC programmes and projects, as well as to provide greater information on how donor resources are used ensuring effective and efficient use of their contributions.

2.4 Action to enhance support to the principle of "leaving no one behind" and to integrated policy approaches;

UNODC’s mandates specifically cater to the vulnerable and marginalized on issues such as access to justice, crime and drug prevention and counter-terrorism. This population has gained special attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. UNODC has strengthened its efforts in scaling up its programmes to meet the specific needs of Member States. This includes technical assistance in prevention of COVID-19 among prison population, drug users, wildlife crime and responses on prevention of violence against women and children and sex workers. For example, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic UNODC has immediately published infographic guidance notes to ensure the continuity of treatment, care and rehabilitation services for people with drug use disorders, as well as HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services for people who use drugs. This has been followed by a series of webinars to disseminate such information both through professional bodies and through targeted seminars on request from national stakeholders developing COVID-19 preparedness plans. Such guidance is available in all official languages and at least 10 local languages each and has been complemented by materials on ensuring the health of people living and working in prison. Moreover, UNODC developed and disseminated supporting materials for parents to support them in dealing with the stress caused by the pandemic without resorting to negative coping mechanisms such as violence or abuse against children and/or substance abuse (40 languages). Finally, UNODC is participating in webinars providing best practice examples on how to ensure access to controlled drugs for medical purposes also during the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted the exporting chain.

2.5 Action to address the interlinkages across SDG goals and targets;

UNODC’s work addresses the various goals and targets in the 2030 Agenda in a targeted and integrated manner. One notable example is the Global Programme, “Global Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants” (GLO.ACT). The Independent Quality Assessment of UNODC Evaluation Reports 2019 published in April 2020, highlights GLO.ACT, as a best example, for clearly specifying the relevant goals and targets and discussing the linkages between SDG targets and intervention activities. This programme focuses on targets 5.2 and 16.2 focus on addressing trafficking and exploitation of women and children which requires actors to use a gender and age-sensitive lens when addressing human trafficking. Alongside the measures highlighted above in relation to target 8.7, the focus on certain kinds of trafficking to which women, girls and boys may be particularly vulnerable, including for example GLO.ACT’s activities to raise awareness of bride kidnapping, forced marriages or the recruitment of children for armed groups all point towards positive action towards achieving this target.

Another example is UNODC’s work on corruption. There is an increasing policy debate on the role of gender in corruption, both in relation to the likelihood of citizens to pay bribes and to the inclination of public officials to request and take bribes. Thus, UNODC is exploring the intersectionality between gender and corruption, and here, a major obstacle remains the availability of gender disaggregated data as well as primary exploratory research on the issue, partly due to the complicated and dynamic nature of both these elements. Based on data collected in 2016 and 2019 through nation-wide surveys on corruption in Nigeria, and in a bid to improve understanding of the gender-specific aspects of bribery and other forms of corruption, UNODC will reuse the survey data to serve as a basis for a gender analysis. A better understanding of why these differences exist will provide an evidence-base that may help policymakers both to promote gender equality in public service and to design and implement evidence-based gendered anti- corruption policies.

In addition, with a view to enhancing gender-sensitive education, UNODC’s Education for Justice initiative (E4J) developed a number of university modules focused on the interlinkages between gender and UNODC mandate areas, such as organized crime, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, among others, and organized an international academic conference in July 2018 aimed at encouraging new research on these topics. University modules have also been developed to explore the linkages between different crime types, including terrorism and organized crime, cybercrime and organized crime and corruption and organized crime. Related international academic conferences aimed at encouraging and gathering novel insights into these topics were organized in April 2018 - conference on terrorism and organized crime - and June 2018 - conference on cybercrime and organized crime, including trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.

UNODC also produced a number of publications which highlight the interlinkages between the SDGs. For example, the Office advanced efforts to mainstream gender in terrorism prevention, publishing the Handbook on Gender Dimensions of Criminal Justice Response to Terrorism in May 2019, the first publication produced by the United Nations on the topic. Integrating a human rights perspective, the handbook supports the work of policymakers, judicial officials, prosecutors, law enforcement and corrections officers, and lawyers assisting suspects or victims in terrorism matters. In addition, UNODC, through its global expertise and field research network, has developed a number of tools and resources highlighting the link between violence and sustainable development. The Office also published a brochure titled, “UNODC and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which underscores the importance and necessity of a multi-faceted approach to accelerate progress on the Agenda. Moreover, the Office has developed a number of guidance documents on addressing the interlinked nature of the SDGs through the Office’s programmatic work. For example, the guidance note, “The SDGs, Human Rights, Gender, and Sustainable Development in the 2030 Agenda”, provides guidance on the interlinkages between SDGs and how these relate to UNODC’s mandate areas, as well as the implications of these for strategic planning and project design.

2.6 Others.

3. What normative, analytical, technical assistance or capacity building activities is your organization providing to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? Please provide a brief account of the activities you have organized or intend to undertake, including but not limited to the following areas:

3.1 Enhancing national implementation including by supporting the mainstreaming of the SDGs in development plans and policies or through national sustainable development plans/strategies;

UNODC supports the CCA and CF processes through its technical assistance, especially in providing statistical and research inputs for CCA, chairing Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG / UNCT National Engagement, and the others agreed on the work plan as follows; being a part of Operations Management Team (OMT), Results Group; provide relevant inputs were provided to all documents at country and regional level, including CCA, LNOB table, results framework, UNCT configuration, and regional cooperation; creation of SDG financing framework for the country; integrate Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus; conducting an inter-agency workshop to prepare the theory of change for the UNSDCF based upon the CCA.

3.2 Mainstreaming the SDGs in sectoral strategies, including specific SDG/target strategies;

Some examples of UNODC’s work in mainstreaming the SDGs in sectoral strategies include:

Fast-tracking UNODC’s global HIV responses across several SDG areas; UNODC’s HIV work is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals in particular SDG 3 and its target 3.3 to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, which has also been stressed in the 2016 UNGASS on Drugs Outcome Document.
Support to Member States to establish fair, effective and human-rights compliant criminal justice systems and to implement evidence-based crime prevention, which are instrumental for reducing violence and crime and achieving relevant targets of SDGs 5 and

16. SDG targets related to the reduction of crime and violence, the promotion of the rule of law and access to justice feature prominently in the context of legal and policy advice, as well as capacity building that the Office provides in the above areas.

As the guardian of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), UNODC continued to support national efforts to counter corruption through the development of national anti-corruption strategies, the introduction of conflict of interest and asset disclosure systems, the strengthening of systems encouraging the reporting of corruption (whistle-blowers) and the protection of reporting persons and witnesses, as well as assistance to strengthen the criminal justice institutions to detect corruption and to effectively investigate and prosecute complex corruption cases. Acknowledging that corruption is a major threat to the rule of law and a key spoiler to the sustainability of development efforts, UNODC’s work on corruption considers not only Goal 16 and target 16.5, “Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms”, but also a range of other goals and targets in the 2030 Agenda including Goals 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10.

3.3 Supporting the strengthening of national institutions for more integrated solutions;

UNODC strengthens national institutions through its normative work, including policy advocacy and legislative assistance to promote the ratification and implementation of the relevant international treaties at the national level; its research and policy support work to expand the evidence base; and technical cooperation to enhance the capacity of Member States. In addition, the Office is working to provide more integrated support to national counterparts to specially address the nodal links between drug use, illicit drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, illicit financial flows, corruption and terrorism, considering them within the broader framework of increased well-being of people. By engaging with a broad spectrum of actors within the UN system, civil society, academia and the private sector and other concerted efforts, UNODC aims to ensure that challenges are addressed in a holistic and integrated manner.

3.4 Data and statistical capacity building;

UNODC action to improve SDG data is structured along three lines of work:

Improve quality, coverage and availability of data
Improve methodological tools
Support countries to develop their capacities

UNODC manages a number of global data collection mechanisms and five of them (data collections on drugs, crime and criminal justice, firearms, trafficking in persons and wildlife crime) provide data on the 16 SDG indicators UNODC is responsible for. Data are collected from Member States and, when relevant and possible, integrated with data from additional sources. A new data portal (dataUNODC, at dataunodc.un.org) has been recently released to facilitate access and use of data produced by the Office, including on SDG indicators. A series of high-quality analytical reports produced by UNODC focus on relevant SDG indicators and provide in-depth analyses to understand trends, drivers and policy implications in relation to several topics, such as the Global Study on Homicide (2019), the World Drug Report (2020, forthcoming), the World Wildlife Crime Report (2020, forthcoming) and the Global Report on Trafficking on Persons (2020, forthcoming).
Methodological work by UNODC continue on a number of SDG indicators, such as the one on Illicit Financial Flows (indicator 16.4.1) and the one on illegal trade of Protected species (Indicator 15.7.1). Thanks to this work preliminary estimates of IFFs related to illegal markets will be available for volunteer countries by end 2020 and data on SDG indicator on illegal trade will be released with the 2020 World Wildlife Crime Report. Furthermore, UNODC is working with UNDP and OHCHR to develop a series of standard survey modules to collect high quality and comparable data on 10 survey-based indicators of Goal 16. The testing phase of these survey modules will continue as soon as the situation related to COVID emergency will allow field testing in volunteer countries.
UNODC continue to support countries in producing SDG indicators in the area of crime, violence, illicit trafficking, access to justice, corruption and drug treatment. This is done through regional and national workshops or seminars, as well as other advisory and training activities. Such activities are conducted by UNODC HQ and through the two Centres of Excellence on Crime statistics (UNODC-INEGI Centre of Excellence in Mexico City and UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence in Daejeon, Rep. Korea). To note, for example, the third regional Conference on Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics held in Chengdu, PR of China in November 2019. During the emergency situation related to COVID-19, an increasing number of webinars and other on-line events were held to continue to support national representatives active in data collection and production at country level.

3.5 Harnessing science, technology and innovation for the SDGs;

Particularly on the issue of combating crime, AI-based tools can be useful entry points for addressing crime-related threats. However, caution is needed in the specific application of these tools to ensure responsible and ethical use and to avoid unintended consequences. This is particularly important given that many of the present and future technologies could carry serious implications for personal privacy and civil liberties. A balanced approach is therefore needed to find solutions where technology and privacy or other human rights seem to be on a collision course. To avoid the use of technologies as a “Trojan horse” for potential infringements in the sphere of fundamental rights, technology development needs to be continuously monitored and evaluated in terms of its impact. Another pressing need is to enhance training for law enforcement and criminal justice personnel to make effective use of the modern technologies at their disposal.

The issue of the use of technology both in the hands of criminals and as a tool at the disposal of criminal justice and law enforcement against crime is the focus of a workshop within the framework of the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Congress was scheduled to be held in Kyoto, Japan, from 20 to 27 April 2020. It was postponed due to the COVID 19 emergency situation, but it will take place as soon as this emergency situation ceases to exist. The discussion at this workshop will be led by panelists, will be of technical nature and will promote the exchange of views and experiences among the participants, in an environment (UN Crime Congress) which constitutes the most diverse gathering of policymakers, practitioners, academia, intergovernmental organizations and civil society in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. It should be noted that almost all regional preparatory meetings for the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice stressed the necessity and significance of exploring ways and means to enable criminal justice and law enforcement practitioners to utilize and take full advantage of evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence and information and telecommunication technologies including big data in the fight against crime, particularly transnational organized crime, and with a view to addressing sophisticated and complex criminal activities. In addition, one of the current priority areas of the Global Judicial Integrity Network is the ethical implications of the use of artificial intelligence in the judiciaries. Recognizing the risks that the artificial intelligence may pose in terms of algorithmic biases – whether socioeconomic, racial or gender-based biases – or other challenges in delivering fair and equal results, the Network aims to collect existing practices and develop global guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in the judiciary.

With regard to specific SDG targets, to effectively attain and monitor SDG target 16.4, “By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime”, national authorities require comprehensive record-keeping systems that support tracing seized firearms to their origin and provide an easily accessible overview on the legal and illicit firearms within the country. However, countries across the globe often face challenges with implementing and feeding such systems. UNODC, through its Global Firearms Programme, therefore intends to support countries in overcoming these challenges by providing electronic record-keeping solutions or supporting the improvement of systems that may already be in place.

3.6 Multi-stakeholder partnerships;

UNODC is working with other stakeholders, Member States, and United Nations sister agencies at local, national, regional and global levels to help Member States better understand the nature of the challenges they face, as well as to design coherent programmes and policies to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For example, through its project, “Building the capacity of non- government stakeholders to engage in the UNTOC, its review mechanism and related activities”, the Office is able to prepare CSOs, academia and the private sector to support Member States in a successful implementation of UNTOC and to facilitate their broad and inclusive participation in the review process. UNODC’s Civil Society Team initiated the drafting of a Civil Society Guide and a Stakeholder Engagement for UNTOC (SE4U) Training Toolkit. The Team formed a Stakeholder Engagement resource group covering several countries and regions, and initiated dialogue with three Member States to facilitate country-specific pilot initiatives aimed at providing space for engagement on UNTOC at the national level. This aims at building multi-stakeholder partnerships for furtherance of the SDGs in the UNTOC. Furthermore, the Office’s Civil Society Team facilitated a multi-stakeholder workshop held in Addis Ababa to build capacity of CSOs on the implementation of the UNCAC. The multi-stakeholder workshop held a session on the SDGs to familiarise the 2030 Agenda for the participating CSOs.

3.7 Bolstering local action and supporting sub-national plans/strategies and implementation for the SDGs;

In addition to its work at national, regional and global levels, UNODC also works with counterparts at the sub-national level to achieve progress in its mandate areas and the 2030 Agenda. At community level, UNODC has worked on preventing substance abuse, preventing crime, especially among youth, promoting education for justice and peace, preventing and responding to gender-based violence and violence against children.

3.8 Leveraging interlinkages across SDG goals and targets;

UNODC’s work addresses the various goals and targets in the 2030 Agenda in a targeted and integrated manner. One notable example is the Global Programme, “Global Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants” (GLO.ACT). The Independent Quality Assessment of UNODC Evaluation Reports 2019 published in April 2020, highlights GLO.ACT, as a best example, for clearly specifying the relevant goals and targets and discussing the linkages between SDG targets and intervention activities. This programme focuses on targets 5.2 and 16.2 on addressing trafficking and exploitation of women and children which requires actors to use a gender and age-sensitive lens when addressing human trafficking. Alongside the measures highlighted above, in relation to target 8.7, the focus on certain kinds of trafficking to which women, girls and boys may be particularly vulnerable, including for example GLO.ACT’s activities to raise awareness of bride kidnapping, forced marriages or the recruitment of children for armed groups, all point towards positive action towards achieving this target.

3.9 Supporting policies and strategies to leave no one behind;

Criminal justice systems are challenged to ensure equal access to justice for those in vulnerable situations, including women facing violence, children in contact with the justice system, and marginalized sectors of society. The UN standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice, that UNODC is mandated to promote, provide practical guidance on how to address the above challenges. In this context, UNODC also actively promotes evidence-based crime prevention, including policies and practices that target known risk factors of crime and violence and strengthen protective factors, thereby enhancing the wellbeing of citizens, including at-risk youth, and making communities more resilient to crime, violence and drug-use.

For example, in 2019, UNODC prevented drug use, youth violence, other risky behaviours, and child maltreatment in 18 countries amongst 95,000 children and parents through the implementation of evidence-based family-skills training and life-skills education programmes. This contributed to the achievement of SDG target 3.5 (strengthen drug prevention and treatment), 3.3 (on infectious diseases epidemics, including HIV/AIDS), 3.4 (on non-communicable diseases and promoting mental health), 5 (gender equality, as these interventions have been shown to be more consistently effective for both boys and girls), 16.1 (reducing violence), 16.2 (eliminating violence against children), and 16.a (strengthen institutions against violence and crime).

Moreover, UNODC expanded and/or improved drug treatment, care (including overdose prevention) and rehabilitation services, including also special services for children, adolescents, women, and pregnant women, in 22 countries reaching an estimated 51,000 patients. This contributed to the achievement of SDG target 3.5 (strengthen drug prevention and treatment), 3.3 (on infectious diseases epidemics, including HIV/AIDS), 3.4 (on non-communicable diseases and promoting mental health), 5 (gender equality), 16.1 (reducing violence), and 16.a (strengthen institutions against violence and crime).

Finally, UNODC promoted access to controlled drugs for medical purposes, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries where 80% of the global population without access to these medications resides. UNODC supported five countries in developing new national policies, training trainers (150), health workers (100) and organized advocacy events in multiple fora (IAEA General Conference, General Assembly, Commission on Narcotic Drugs, World Cancer Control Congress) in the context of a wide partnership (including WHO, INCB, IAEA, the Union for International Cancer Control, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, Human Rights Watch). This contributes to SDG target 3.8 (universal health coverage) and 3.8 (access to essential medicines).

3.10 Supporting the mobilization of adequate and well-directed financing;

3.11 Reducing disaster risk and building resilience;

3.12 Supporting international cooperation and enhancing the global partnership;

UNODC aims to support international cooperation and enhance the global partnership on its mandate areas. The Office’s work in this area are varied in nature, some examples are outlined below:

UNODC supports, through its substantive and secretariat functions, the work of the Expert Group to Conduct a Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime and responses to it by Member States, the international community and the private sector, including the exchange of information on national legislation, best practices, technical assistance and international cooperation, with a view to examining options to strengthen existing and propose new national and international legal and other responses to cybercrime. The Expert Group was established by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in accordance with General Assembly resolution 65/230, in which the Assembly endorsed the Salvador Declaration on Comprehensive Strategies for Global Challenges: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Systems and Their Development in a Changing World, adopted at the Twelfth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Expert Group’s mandate was renewed in the Doha Declaration on Integrating Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice into the Wider United Nations Agenda to Address Social and Economic Challenges and to Promote the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels, and Public Participation, adopted by the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 70/174. The Expert Group has held a total of five meetings, in 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Its sixth meeting is to be held in July 2020. In its resolution 26/4, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice requested the Expert Group to continue its work. This work, to be conducted on the basis of a structured workplan, is aimed at compiling recommendations to be considered at a stock-taking meeting to be held no later than 2021, with a view to producing a consolidated and comprehensive list of adopted conclusions and recommendations for submission to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
UNODC facilitated civil society’s participatory role and contribution to the “2019 Ministerial Declaration on strengthening our actions at the national, regional and international levels to accelerate the implementation of our joint commitments to address and counter the world drug problem”, aimed at strengthening CSO actions at the national, regional and international levels to accelerate the implementation of the African Union commitments to address and counter the world drug problem. This work will support international cooperation and enhancing global partnerships. In addition, UNODC’s Civil Society Team has developed publications which have reflected on civil society and the 2030 Agenda, including a guide ‘Civil Society for Development: Opportunities through the UNCAC’ and another entitled ‘WORKING TOGETHER, The 2019 Ministerial Declaration on Drugs and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Guide for NGOs’. Both these publications reflect on the SDGs in civil society’s work with stand-alone chapters devoted to each. Two other publications are currently being finalized, one entitled ‘Toolkit on Stakeholder Engagement for the UNTOC, Protocols thereto and the Review Mechanism’ and the other entitled ‘Guide for Civil Society Community Engagement with the UNTOC Review Mechanism’.
UNODC supports several international networks of focal points that facilitates the expeditious cooperation in cases related to terrorism. This is demonstrated by the work of UNODC-supported networks, such as the Multi-Agency Task Force for the Middle East and North Africa Region, the Network of Prosecutors and Central Authorities from Source, Transit and Destination Countries in response to Transnational Organized Crime in Central Asia and Southern Caucasus, Sahel Security Cooperation Platform, of the Group of Five for the Sahel, the Regional Judicial Platform of the Sahel countries and the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors against Organized Crime. Through these networks, the Office facilitated cooperation on 48 requests for assistance between central authorities. The Office also established a new informal judicial cooperation network for countries of the South East Asian region (SEAJust).
Illicit arms flows, as referenced in SDG target 16.4, often have a transnational dimension, crossing borders between two or more countries. As global issues require global responses, international cooperation and information exchange are key to preventing and combatting such flows. UNODC, through its Global Firearms Programme, started to establish the Community of Practitioners, an informal network of law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners working on firearms-related criminality that aims to enhance responses to illicit firearms trafficking by fostering dialogue, international cooperation, sharing success stories and information exchange among Member States. During 2019, four meetings contributing to the establishment of this Community of Practitioners took place, including three regional meetings in Mexico targeting Central and South American countries and in Serbia targeting Western Balkan countries.

3.13 Others.

It does so through three broad interconnected and mutually supportive work streams:

normative work, including policy advocacy and legislative assistance to promote the ratification and implementation of the relevant international treaties at the national level, and the provision of secretariat and substantive services to the treaty-based, governing and other Member State-driven bodies which help identify areas of focus, challenges, responses, and commitments in relevant mandate areas relating to drugs, crime, and counter-terrorism;
research and policy support work to expand the evidence base, as well as its interface with the policymaking processes at national, regional and global levels, through increased knowledge and understanding of drugs and crime issues; and
technical cooperation to enhance the capacity of Member States and other stakeholders to counteract illicit drugs, crime, and terrorism at the national, regional and global levels through its extensive field network and headquarters.

4. The high-level political forum (HLPF) is the central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Has your organization participated in or supported the work of the HLPF? If yes, please specify your involvement in the following areas:

4.1 Supporting the intergovernmental body of your organization in contributing to the thematic review of the HLPF;

UNODC contributes to the review of progress made towards the Sustainable Development Goals through the support it provides to its governing bodies - the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice - as functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 67/290, the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) is the United Nations central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. The functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council provide support to the HLPF by conducting thematic reviews of the Sustainable Development Goals (A/RES/70/1). The General Assembly furthermore called on the functional commissions to “ensure that they address the implementation of the 2030 Agenda within their respective areas of expertise and mandates” in its resolution 70/299.

The Office supported the contributions made annually by the Commissions to the HLPF since 2016, as well as the contributions of the Chairs of the Commissions to the preparatory work conducted by ECOSOC.

UNODC has also created a website that reflects the work of the Commissions on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/SDG/high-level-political-forum.html) and hosts the contributions by CND and CCPCJ on the following themes:

2016 - Ensuring that no one is left behind

2017 - Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world 2018 - Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies

2019 - Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality

2020 - Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development

Further to the CCPCJ resolution entitled “Enhancing the role of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (adopted by the GA as A/RES/73/183), the Secretariat compiled views by Member States and other stakeholders on how the CCPCJ can further contribute to the review of the Sustainable Development Goals and shared them with the Commission in document E/CN.15/2019/CRP.1, including information provided on action taken towards meeting the targets of Goal 16.

Information on the implementation of Goal 16 included in their voluntary national reviews (VNRs) in 2019 as well as relevant information that was contained in the VNRs of 2016, 2017 and 2018 was collected and shared with the Commission at its 28th session (E/CN.15/2019/CRP.4). Furthermore, in implementation of the resolution, the Commission - together with UNODC- organized in 2019 a discussion series on the targets of SDG 16, a goal of particular importance to the mandates of CCPCJ and under in-depth review in 2019.

Moreover, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice have strengthened their cooperation with other functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council, in particular with the Commission on the Status of Women and the Statistical Commission, with a view to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including through the participation in each other’s meetings and through the organization of special events in the margins of the sessions of the Commissions and the meetings of ECOSOC and the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Advancing the implementation of the 2030 agenda has also been the overarching theme during special events jointly held by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on the occasion of visits to Vienna by the President of the General Assembly. This happened most recently in August 2019, when the Vienna-based Commissions organized a joint CND & CCPCJ Special event to honour the visit of the President of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly H.E. Ms. María Fernada Espinosa Garcés on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Vienna International Centre featuring “Contributions of the Vienna Commissions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda".

Special attention has been given to the implementation of Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and women empowerment, with the CCPCJ and CND joining efforts to foster substantive and meaningful participation of women in their work, including through their “Let’s talk gender” meetings.(https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/SDG/commissions-2030_implementation-of-sdg-5.html)

4.2 Contributing to policy/background briefs for the HLPF;

4.3 Helping organize SDG-specific events in the preparatory process;

In preparation for the 2020 HLPF Thematic Review, UNODC is one of the co-convenors of the thematic online consultation (which replaced the usual EGMs that were not possible to convene in 2020) for the workstream, “Bolstering local action to accelerate implementation”; other UN agencies include UNECE, UNESCAP, UN-Habitat, and DESA. The co-conveners of each consultation have jointly prepared the initial questions for the consultations and identified the experts who are invited to participate from outside the UN system. The virtual consultation will include approximately 20-30 non-UN experts as well as all interested UN entities. In addition, UNODC provided input into a virtual HLPF consultation for the workstream, “Sharing Economic Benefits”. In this regard, UNODC contributed in the area of gender as an agent for change in the fight against corruption.

UNODC also facilitated a number of events on SDGs as part of the preparatory process for the 2019 HLPF. For instance, in collaboration with UN Women and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Secretariat and UNIDO, organized an Expert Group Meeting in February 2019, in Vienna, to assess progress on SDGs 10, 13 and 16 and consider the interlinkages between them from a gender perspective, as a contribution to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2019. The meeting, which brought together experts from governments, academia, and civil society, discussed the latest evidence, good practices, challenges and data gaps, to strengthen the integration of a gender perspective in policies and practices at all levels, with particular emphasis on the principle of leaving no one behind. As a direct contribution to the HLPF debate on barriers for transformative and lasting change, the EGM developed a set of catalytic and actionable recommendations to support the achievement of sustainable and resilient societies through the accelerated and gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as related UN priorities on prevention and sustaining peace.

In addition, the Office contributed to the preparatory conference for the 2019 HLPF under the theme, “Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies: SDG 16 implementation and the path towards leaving no one behind”. Progress made and challenges related to SDG 16 were discussed through an expert group meeting which was co-organized by UNODC and comprised of academic experts, civil society representatives, government officials as well as representatives of sister UN agencies. The expert group meeting gathered valuable insights from the collective experiences and knowledge of these various actors as regards emerging policy issues that required serious consideration during the HLPF.

4.4 Organizing side events or speaking at the HLPF;

4.5 Supporting the VNR process.

UNODC has supported Member States in its VNR process in several countries and through different modalities of cooperation. In particular, UNODC has organized, co-organized and attended VNR orientation workshops; supported the drafting of VNR Road Maps and Media Plan; participated in the VNR stakeholders’ engagement workshops; Rapid Integrated Analysis (RIA) workshop and analysis; SDG complexity analysis; LNOB analysis; supported with data.

5. How has your organization cooperated with other UN system organizations to achieve coherence and synergies in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? In this regard, has your organization launched or intend to launch any joint programmes or projects in collaboration with other UN entities? Are there any results or lessons you would like to highlight that might help improve the design and impact of such efforts? Has your organization participated in any of the following coordination systemwide mechanisms or any other relevant platform - CEB, UNSDG, EC-ESA Plus, regional coordination meetings, UN-Energy, UN-Water, UN-Ocean, IAEG, IATT? Please specify which and indicate any suggestions you may have about improving collaborations within and across these mechanisms/platforms.

UNODC has cooperated with other UN system organizations to achieve coherence and synergies in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. The Office has established various joint projects and coordination groups that involve other entities of the United Nations system. They include gender equality and women’s empowerment (UN-Women); drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation (the World Health Organization); law enforcement (the International Criminal Police Organization); border management (the World Customs Organization); corruption (the United Nations Development Programme, UN Commission on International Trade Law, UN Women, UN-Habitat); trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling (the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons); terrorism prevention (the Office of Counter-Terrorism of the Secretariat and the entities cooperating in connection with the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact); access to justice for children (the United Nations Children’s Fund); urban safety governance (UN-Habitat, UN-Women), civil society engagement (Non-Governmental Liaison Service); as well as ensuring coherence in collection of statistics pertaining to its mandates in coordination with the Statistics Division of DESA. The Office remains an active co-sponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and is the substantive leader in the area of HIV prevention, treatment and care among people who use drugs and in prison settings. Since all these areas and partnerships are relevant for the 2030 Agenda, UNODC and its partners have linked its work and are showing to external audiences their impact on achieving the SDGs through various publications, and in regular dialogue with Member States.

In order to enhance synergies, UNODC has collaborated on submitting joint proposals with other agencies on issues such as Crisis Prevention (humanitarian-development-peace nexus), air pollution and decarbonization, migration, inequality, and resilience, DDR and adaptation. The Office has also actively participated in the Joint SDG Fund’s two calls for proposals with inter-divisional support from technical experts in HQ in relation to the areas of corruption and crime prevention. Two field offices (Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan) were successful in their joint programmes receiving funding from the first call.

UNODC, as an office of the Secretariat, participates regularly in the CEB, as well as in the HLCM and HLCP. UNODC is also part of the ECESA platform. UNODC is a member of UNSDG and as such participates in the various coordination mechanisms set up in UNSDG, including the ASG Advisory Group represented through a rotating chair for Non-Resident Agencies.

6. How has your organization engaged with stakeholder groups, both in supporting implementation at the country, regional and global levels, and within your own organization? If yes, please provide main highlights, including any lessons learned. If your organization has established any multi-stakeholder partnerships to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, please describe them and how their performances are being monitored and reviewed.

UNODC has continued to work on inter-agency initiatives focused on youth. This work includes co-chairing the Inter-Agency Network for Youth Development (IANYD) and participating in the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security (GCYPS). Co-chairing IANYD has allowed UNODC and other actors to identify key priorities and plan collaboratively to implement related initiatives; share good practices and expertise and to promote effective cooperation among the entities in programming at country and regional levels; and identify global strategic opportunities, ensure coordinated input, facilitate and support sustainable follow-up mechanisms. As a member of GCYPS, UNODC was able to exchange information, coordinate and collaborate with various members to support policy and programmatic efforts in the field of youth, peace and security; enable partnerships between youth, multilateral, governmental and civil society actors; monitor progress and measure the impact of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2250 (2015) and 2419 (2018); and advocate for young people’s meaningful and inclusive participation in policy-making at the global, regional and national levels.

Building on the synergy between CSOs, UNODC and Member States in the implementation of the international conventions on drugs, corruption, crime, and organised crime, UNODC’s programme “Looking Beyond: Towards a Strategic Engagement with Civil Society on Anti-Corruption, and Drugs and Crime Prevention” aims to increase CSO understanding of conventions falling under UNODC’s mandate, and enable them to promote their implementation at global, regional, national and local levels. This is achieved by improving dialogue between CSOs and Member States, including ensuring effective communication with relevant stakeholders through advocacy, enhancing the cooperation with CSOs in UNODC thematic and regional programmes, and informing and training CSOs on the implementation of the conventions under UNODC’s mandate, in particular the UNCAC and its review mechanism. Finally, the programme implements activities that facilitate CSO participation in intergovernmental meetings on the margins of the CND, CCPCJ, the Conference of the Parties to the UNTOC (UNTOC COP), and the Conference of the States Parties to UNCAC and its Review Mechanism (CoSP UNCAC).

UNODC is part of the Global Alliance for Reporting Progress on Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a coordinating platform for Member States, private sector, civil society and UN entities to work together for peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16). As part of the Global Alliance, UNODC was actively involved in the development and publication of the study, ‘Enabling the implementation of the 2030 Agenda through SDG16+: Anchoring peace, justice and inclusion’, which provides an overview of country level actions and progress on SDG 16+ across different regions and development contexts, highlights significant trends and findings on SDG 16+ implementation globally and outlines key recommendations to accelerate progress towards achieving SDG16+. UNODC is also active in the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies initiative, in which a group of Member States, international organizations, global partnerships and others come together to focus on the “SDG16-plus forum” on Goal 16 and the 2030 Agenda targets on peace, justice and inclusion.

Such multi-stakeholder initiatives have strengthened collaboration and exchange among all relevant UN entities and other relevant actors, while respecting and harnessing the benefits of their individual strengths and unique approaches and mandates.

7. Has your organization organized any conferences, forums or events designed to facilitate exchange of experience, peer and mutual learning in connection with the SDGs? If yes, please provide a brief summary, below and include lessons learned and gaps identified based on the outcomes of these events. Please also include any events you want to organize in the coming years.

UNODC is the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the secretariat to the Conference of the States Parties and the Implementation Review Mechanism. UNODC also provides technical assistance to States parties for a more effective implementation of the Convention, from its offices in Vienna and in the field as well as through its network of regional anti-corruption advisers. The Convention is supported by a unique Implementation Review Mechanism, which enables States parties to self-assess the level of implementation and to benefit from the knowledge and experience of the peer States parties involved in the review. As the same individuals often participate as reviewers in more than one country review, as well as in their own country review, their enhanced understanding of the Convention is often shared with other anti-corruption practitioners nationally, creating a powerful multiplier effect. UNODC has continued to provide assistance for strengthening the capacity of States parties to prevent corruption through the subsidiary bodies of the Conference of the States Parties as well as through targeted interventions upon request and as identified in the course of the UNCAC implementation reviews.

Furthermore, UNODC, in its capacity as the Secretariat of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its subsidiary bodies (working groups), has continued to organize and service their regular meetings to facilitate exchange of views, information, experiences and good practices among States parties with a view to ensuring better and more effective implementation of the Convention and its supplementary Protocols. The Office also organized, from 9 to 11 April 2019, in Vienna, an informal expert group meeting on international cooperation in criminal matters. The meeting brought together 36 experts and practitioners from 19 countries, representing both civil and common law legal systems, coming from institutions and agencies directly dealing with practical problems and challenges encountered in the field of international cooperation in criminal matters. The participants discussed, among others, the use of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as a legal basis for international cooperation in criminal matters; advantages, current challenges, lessons learnt and possible responses to international cooperation through mutual legal assistance; international cooperation for confiscation and disposal of confiscated proceeds of crime or property; practical aspects, challenges encountered and good practices in the field of extradition; and UNODC tools on international cooperation in criminal matters and regional networks.

CSOs play a fundamental role in influencing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda because they enable the goals to be exported from the global level to the level of communities, thus allowing the SDGs to be better realised in local realities. UNODC carried out activities involving Members States, CSOs and the private sector that directly or indirectly contribute to the achievement of SDGs 4, 5, 16 and 17. These include facilitating CSO participation in CND, CCPCJ and COSP meetings as well as the multi-stakeholder workshops mentioned above. For example, UNODC’s Civil Society Team organized a workshop on ‘Combatting Transnational Organized Crime through UNTOC to Ensure Safer and Sustainable Cities’, in the margins of the 68th United Nations Civil Society Conference in Salt Lake City, USA. The workshop introduced participants to the Convention and demonstrated how civil society can meaningfully contribute to its successful implementation. The CST also organized a two-day Needs Assessment workshop for 40 representatives of CSOs, academia and the private sector in October 2019 in Vienna. Finally, the CST organized a workshop for African NGOs in the margins of the African Union’s 3rd Specialized Technical Committee on Health, Population and Drug Control in Cairo, Egypt. The working session facilitated bilateral dialogues between CSO representatives with their governments and increased knowledge on the 2019 Ministerial Declaration on strengthening our actions at the national, regional and international levels to accelerate the implementation of our joint commitments to address and counter the world drug problem. As a result, the African Civil Society Common Position was agreed, which will guide cooperation between African NGOs and the African Union. Some of the lessons learned include that when non-governmental stakeholders are engaged, they are able to affect change on the ground, improving the lives of citizens by improving cooperation with their governments. Moving forward, the CST plans to conduct an online Stakeholder Engagement for UNTOC training to build the capacity of NGOs, academics and the private sector on the implementation of the Convention in June 2020. The training will aim to:

equip participating non-governmental stakeholders with the requisite substantive knowledge about UNTOC provisions in order to achieve their meaningful participation in the Review Mechanism;
inform the participants about the methodology, entry points and available tools for engagement in the review process;
provide a platform for discussing joint actions to fight organized crime at the national and regional levels in support of their governments;
provide a platform for a constructive dialogue and sharing of experiences, network, build confidence and promote positive interaction among different non-governmental stakeholders in general and at the forthcoming COP10 meeting in Vienna, Austria, in October 2020.

8. Is there any other information you would like to share, including annual reports of your organization and any impact assessment or evaluation reports? If yes, please use the space below and attach the document(s). Please also use this space to provide any other information, comments or remarks you deem necessary.

Annual reports

Since 2014, UNODC has produced the Results Based Annual Report which presents the most significant results achieved by UNODC´s global, regional and country programmes and projects during the year and highlights the Office’s efforts in assisting Member States to fulfil the achievements of the global agenda. These reports also contained examples of good practices in the inclusion of human rights approaches, along with gender and youth mainstreaming across its interventions. The Results Based Annual Report has contributed to improve organizational reporting and promoting transparency and accountability with UNODC´s donors. In addition, UNODC also produces a public facing Annual Report (https://www.unodc.org/documents/AnnualReport/Annual-Report_2018.pdf), which provides an overview of the Office’s work across the globe in assisting Member States to address the threat posed by drugs, crime and terrorism. In addition to highlighting the Office's achievements for the year, it showcases the human impact of UNODC's work through a series of success stories and the effect on the ground.

Evaluation and the SDGs

Human rights, social justice and gender equality approaches are as well at the forefront of the Global Evaluation Agenda. Evaluation has a critical role to play in assessing these dimensions and showing what works and why. UNODC’s Independent Evaluation Section (IES) has fully revised its Evaluation norms and standards to ensure that universally recognized values and principles of human rights and gender equality are integrated into all stages of each evaluation. Moreover, IES has mainstreamed the assessment of UNODC's contribution to achieving the SDGs as well as human rights and gender into the whole evaluation cycle - starting from the ToR with a gender sensitive methodology when conducting an evaluation up to identifying recommendations, lessons learned and best practices in relation to human rights, gender and the SDGs.

9. In your view, what should strategic directions look like for the UN system in support of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs in the Decade of Action? What key elements should they include and what major challenges should they address?

The most relevant strategic direction from the UN system in support of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs in the Decade of Action would be receiving support in our wide range of operational capabilities, roles and implementing modalities that respond to different contexts and needs. This could be in terms of processes, access to information, resources (both financial and human); nature of our normative work. In particular, strengthening the knowledge management and information sharing on the process should be enhanced included regular flow of information on SDG indicator development; SDG related substantive research outcomes. It would also require a strategic direction on a higher level to tackle the issue of overlapping mandates among UN agencies. While encouraging a coherent approach in delivering technical assistance to Member States, the overlap of mandates within UN agencies often is a challenge when it comes to allocation of resources. Further there is limited funding available from traditional donors who focus on least developing countries and there is a need to explore innovative forms of financing with the private sector and have a strategic vision of the set of different partners and their financing instruments to work the 2030 agenda in an integrated way, where capacities need to be developed to tap these funds.

10. Please suggest one or two endeavours or initiatives that the UN system organizations could undertake together to support the implementation of the SDGs between now and 2030.

The issue of corruption and the need to promote accountability, integrity and transparency is reflected in Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda and is also a prerequisite for the effective implementation of all Goals. Frameworks and approaches to combat corruption exist and the UN system has a crucial role to play in implementing and enforcing strong anti-corruption standards, pledging support to Member States to build strong, independent institutions to effectively address corruption, inequality and impunity as well as to ensure the rule of law. The UN General Assembly Special Session against corruption provides an opportunity to re-emphasize the link between corruption and the implementation of the SDGs.

Due to COVID-19, the issue of wildlife trade has garnered increased global attention. Wildlife trade often involves organized criminals supplying the illegal wildlife trade, bringing illegally sourced and trafficked wildlife from all over the world to sell in markets. This illegal trade is wildlife crime and as such, UNODC has a key role to play in line with its obligations under the UNTOC and UNCAC and GA, ECOSOC and CCPCJ resolutions. While UNODC is already working in this area, wildlife trade is an issue characterized by nuances, exceptions, business opportunities and moral dilemmas requiring greater system-wide cooperation. UNODC currently has a strong partnership with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Secretariat (CITES). This would need to be expanded to enable greater cooperation, additional resources and increased political support from UN Principals and Member States.

ECESA Plus Member

UNODC

Year of submission: 2020