Dramatically increasing global manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, and ensuring equitable access, is the fastest way to end the pandemic, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
Speaking during his latest briefing from Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pushed for more developers to support the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), the voluntary platform for sharing scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property.
“We’re holding the door open for pharmaceutical companies that have become household names, although too few households have benefited from the life-saving tools they have developed”, he said.
“They control the IP that can save lives today, end this pandemic soon and prevent future epidemics from spiraling out of control and undermining health, economies and national security”.
Vaccine inequity unacceptable
C-TAP was established a year ago by the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, and more than 40 Heads of State, together with WHO.
President Alvarado Quesado, who also addressed journalists, underlined the need to protect everyone, everywhere.
“It is not acceptable that more than 50 per cent of the globally available vaccines were used in only five countries that account for 50 per cent of global GDP. Shamefully, low-income countries have received only 0.3 [per cent] of the world’s doses”, he said.
Tedros explained that contributing to C-TAP will allow qualified producers across the world to manufacture products against COVID-19.
If fully functional, it could lead to increased supply for countries and the global vaccine solidarity initiative, COVAX.
Study into COVID-19 origins ‘poisoned by politics’
Investigations into the origins of COVID-19 are being “poisoned by politics”, a senior WHO official said on Friday.
Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director, was responding to a journalist’s question regarding a lack of progress on the launch of a second phase following an international expert mission to China in January.
Preliminary results, announced in February, found the novel coronavirus was “extremely unlikely” to have come from a lab, but perhaps jumped from animals to humans.
Dr. Ryan noted that there have been increased media reports about the investigation in recent days “with terribly little actual news, or evidence, or new material”, which he found disturbing.
“We would, though, like for everyone out there to separate, if they can, the politics of this issue from the science. This whole process is being poisoned by politics”, he said.
Dr. Ryan added that countries and entities are free to pursue their own theories of origin.
“Putting WHO in a position like it has been put in is very unfair to the science we are trying to carry out. And it puts us as an organization, frankly in an impossible position to deliver the answers that the world wants”, he said.
“So, we would ask that we separate the science from the politics and let us get on with finding the answers that we need in a proper, positive atmosphere where we can find the science to drive the solutions, through a process that is driven by solidarity, as Dr. Tedros always says”.
The world is far from achieving equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, a tragedy that must be avoided at all costs, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday during an online conversation on fair access to these lifesaving treatments.
Participating in the Global Solutions Summit 2021, the UN chief stressed the need to defeat the virus through doubling the number of doses produced and ensuring their fair distribution among countries.
We are in an unprecedented crisis that requires unprecedented action.
Collaboration between countries, communities, public & private sectors is key.
By working together, we can vaccinate the world, end the #COVID19 pandemic & kick-start a strong recovery.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 28, 2021
Scale-up production
“It is absolutely essential to double the production of vaccines, and there are different mechanisms that are needed for that…but we absolutely must have an equitable distribution, and we are far from having it”, he said.
“We have seen vaccine nationalism, hoarding of vaccines, many countries buying three or four times the volume of their population. And on the other hand, we see enormous difficulty in supplying vaccines to the Global South. And this is a tragedy that we need to avoid at all cost”.
Earlier this week, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) described the ongoing vaccine crisis as “a scandalous inequity”. When asked his opinion about the situation, the Secretary-General responded, “it’s exactly that”.
Risk of inequity
Just 10 countries have received 75 per cent of all vaccines administered so far, he said, while 0.3 per cent have gone to lower-income nations, with the African continent receiving just one per cent.
The Secretary-General highlighted the risk inequity poses in the face of a virus that spreads and mutates, noting “this is a race against time”.
He warned that either vaccination becomes much quicker and more equitable, and thus able to prevent “a possible dramatic mutation” that is immune to vaccines, or countries which have inoculated their populations “might discover that those vaccines will serve no purpose because the mutations in the Global South will undermine the vaccination campaign in the Global North.”
Fully support COVAX
At the recent G20 Health Summit, vaccine producers committed to delivering one billion doses to poorer countries. While welcoming the development, the Secretary-General said it was far from enough.
Mr. Guterres stressed the need to fully fund and supply the global vaccine equity initiative, COVAX. He noted that one of its main manufacturers, the Serum Institute of India, has had to cut back supply due to the surge in cases in the country, while deliveries from other contractors have been later than expected.
He urged countries to channel their excess vaccines through COVAX, “instead of a geo-strategic competition, with several powerful countries giving vaccines to their friends, or trying to compete with each other to see who gains more influence, thanks to the vaccines”.
The Secretary-General also reiterated his proposal for a G20-led Task Force that would work with pharmaceutical companies, and other stakeholders, on providing vaccines for all people, everywhere.
Mexico City, May 2021 – This year marks the 10th anniversary of the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence in Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice (CoE) in Mexico City. This partnership, between UNODC and the Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) has strengthened national statistical systems and the analytical and monitoring capacity of 29 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean aiming to produce evidence-based public policies.
In line with the UNODC Strategy 2021-2025, our programmes rely on solid data that allow us to understand the context, offer adequate technical assistance and advice, and measure the result of our actions. Using data to improve human lives, promoting research for better security policies and using statistics to promote more just criminal justice systems.
A trendsetter at international level, the Center has been promoting methodological research on complex issues such as the measurement of victimization, corruption, organized crime, and illicit financial flows.
To commemorate this anniversary, INEGI and the UNODC Office in Mexico hosted a webinar to discuss the challenges and future trends of crime statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean. The high-level participants from INEGI, UNODC Research, academia and government institutions, discussed the trends and changes that the region is facing in terms of data and statistics, as well as the global challenges posed by organized crime, the increased threat of cybercrime and the COVID-19 pandemic. The world is in a continuous need of more and better information.
The debate contributed to setting a road map for the CoE, always looking to be a step ahead. Until today, it has worked with 29 countries in the region, promoting the collection and improvement of data, and encouraging the use of evidence for the design of public policies. Also facilitating the monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals and directly contributing to Goal 17, mainly promoting the “availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data”.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has indicated that producing and using reliable data is a top priority for the advancement of peace, security, and sustainable development. This acknowledgement gives inspiration to the CoE to continue its work and use the experience gained in the past 10 years to expand its scope to other regions.
The Center of Excellence is committed to work continuously to advance and improve the quality of statistical information and contribute to the construction of more just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.
The Center of Excellence is an international trendsetter in improving the production of statistics on governance, security, and justice. It was founded in Mexico 2011 as the result of a collaboration between UNODC and INEGI. Looking towards the next ten years, the challenge is to capitalize on its experience to enhance its outreach to areas such as the measurement of victimization, corruption, and illicit financial flows, amongst others.
28 May 2021 – To foster ethical decision-making in the private sector, the UNODC Global Integrity Education project is equipping young university graduates with the skills to develop an ethical mindset which they can apply at their future workplace. The project creates innovative partnerships between the private sector and academia in developing and implementing an integrity education programme in companies and universities in Kenya, Mexico and Pakistan.
The 16 modules of the project currently available were developed under the UNODC Education for Justice (E4J) initiative. They include the input from academics and private sector practitioners and feature local readings (e.g. articles and books), case studies and practical examples of integrity challenges from specific sectors such as healthcare, education, legal and banking.
In the last months, UNODC provided training on anti-corruption, integrity, and ethics to over 250 university lecturers from Kenya, Mexico, and Pakistan. Each lecturer will in turn provide training on the same topics to each of their students, amounting to a total of 7,500 across the three countries. Students will also have the opportunity to gather first-hand experience of compliance and integrity issues during internships in the private sector.
The project continues to engage students after graduation, involving them in adapting the modules to ‘on-the-job’ training programmes and empowering them to serve as ethics ambassadors at work. In doing so, the project bridges the gap between academia and business, and ensures that education impacts practitioners across the span of their early career.
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The Global Integrity Education project is funded by the Siemens Integrity Initiative. It is helping companies promote integrity and level the playing field for a fair and transparent economic environment.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought “a tsunami of suffering”, taken over 3.4 million lives and 500 million jobs, while wiping trillions of dollars from global balance sheets, Secretary-General António Guterres told business leaders on Thursday, appealing for equitable vaccine distribution worldwide.
“This is indeed much more than a health crisis. It’s a social crisis and an economic crisis, with dramatic long-term consequences for livelihoods, businesses, and for economies”, he said to a virtual roundtable event – part of the UN’s global campaign, #OnlyTogether – hosted jointly with the IKEA Foundation and Purpose – the social mobilisation organization which partners with the Department of Global Communications leading the UN Verified initiative, to combat misinformation.
The UN chief recognized the many lives that have been saved: “To have you leading this meeting is a guarantee of success because what our partnership has always represented is indeed the very symbol of the values we represent”.
Vaccine equity to prevent ‘further havoc’
Having delivered safe and effective vaccines in record time, science has shone a light for some parts of the world.
However, despite the World Health Organization’s (WHO) authorization for 13 vaccines and the “incredible success” of rollouts in more than 170 countries, Mr. Guterres bemoaned “a large and growing vaccine gap between rich and poor countries”.
“Just ten countries have administered more than 75 per cent of all vaccine doses. In poorer countries, even health workers and people with underlying conditions cannot access them”, he said, adding, “this is not only unjust, it’s self-defeating and dangerous – to everyone”.
Fast, equitable vaccination is the only way “to prevent new and more dangerous variants from emerging and wreaking further havoc”, in rich and poor countries alike, said Mr. Guterres.
Global vaccination plan
He said a global vaccination plan was needed, beginning with a G20 Task Force comprised of countries with vaccine production and manufacturing capacities, the WHO and Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) partners, as well as international financial institutions.
“I am ready to mobilize the entire United Nations System to support this effort, but we need political will to move forward”, he said.
To this end, Mr. Guterres highlighted that the private sector could leverage its influence and expertise, use its communication channels to share accurate information and donate its service and resources, to encourage innoculation.
While this sector has been “central to every breakthrough” throughout the pandemic, he reminded that it achieved this by collaborating with countries, communities and the public sectors.
“By working together, we can vaccinate the world, end the pandemic, and kick-start a strong recovery”, the Secretary-General concluded.
Surge in South Asia threatens COVAX initiative
In a further development, WHO, GAVI the vaccine alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) issued a joint statement warning against “patchy achievements made so far”.
While cases of COVID-19 are declining in some countries, South Asia is suffering a traumatic surge. And because vaccine access is important to stem the tide, “we must focus on ensuring countries who have not benefitted from these life-saving tools do so now, and with urgency”, the statement said.
Although COVAX, the global mechanism for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, has proven itself time and again, the harrowing surge in India has severely impacted its supply to the point that by the end of June it will face a 190-million-dose shortfall.
Up against ‘catastrophic’ consequences
Although more vaccine doses will be available later this year, the statement said, “if we do not address the current, urgent shortfall the consequences could be catastrophic”.
At the World Health Assembly last Friday, governments recognized the political and financial urgency of supporting COVAX with doses and dollars.
“It is now imperative…to secure full funding for COVAX and more vaccines – right now – for lower income countries at the Advance Market Commitment Summit on 2 June”, read the statement.
Women from Venezuela’s indigenous Warao refugee community attend a COVID-19 educational session in Brazil.
Ambitious solutions
For COVAX to deliver on the promise of global equitable access, the partners called for the immediate funding of the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), the mechanism that allows COVAX to provide doses to lower income economies; sharing of doses; and freeing up of supply chains by removing trade barriers, export control measures, and other restrictive barriers.
“Now more than ever, at the peak of the pandemic, we need ambitious, global solutions. When it comes to worldwide vaccine distribution, COVAX is the only initiative capable of rising to the challenge of this moment”, the statement spelled out.
While understandable that some countries wish to inoculate all their citizens, by donating vaccines to COVAX alongside domestic vaccination programmes, at-risk populations globally can be protected, which is “instrumental to ending the acute phase of the pandemic, curbing the rise and threat of variants, and accelerating a return to normality”.
Since COVAX was established in mid-2020, it has had the support and resources of 192 of the world’s economies, enabling it to deliver an unprecedented global rollout.
“It’s time to finish the job”, the statement concluded.
25 May 2021 – For nearly a decade, UNODC’s Youth Initiative working on drug use prevention and youth empowerment has been able to support NGO projects in 55 countries around the globe with the help of donations from Japan’s Drug Abuse Prevention Center (DAPC).
At a ceremony early May, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in Vienna, Takeshi Hikihara, presented this year’s pledge from DAPC to UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly.
The donation of US$ 110,00 (JPY 12,000,000) was raised by youth volunteers of DAPC last year for youth drug prevention NGO projects. With this, Japanese youth is supporting and empowering their peers around the globe.
At the ceremony, Ms. Waly expressed appreciation for the opportunity to receive another donation from DAPC Japan also this year for the involvement and engagement of the youth on youth drug prevention. Ms. Waly also highlighted that DAPC Grant Programmes are geographically diverse and have also attracted a high level of interest from a number of NGOs.
Ambassador Hikihara said: “I am pleased to have the opportunity to present the funds raised by DAPC Japan. Fundraising was supported by the Japanese people, involving youth and civil society. I hope that this donation will be allocated to effective anti-drug activities by NGOs and contribute to the global fight against drug abuse.”
The youth volunteers working with DAPC in Japan, mobilize communities and raise funds to be donated to UNODC in support of youth-centred activities on drug use prevention, which align with the UNODC/WHO International Standards on Drug Use Prevention. This initiative is truly from youth, to youth, for youth!
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, DAPC funded activities have successfully adapted operational practices to ensure project continuity and minimize health risks. In Serbia, activities have continued, and are being implemented in accordance with the country’s epidemiological recommendations and by working in small groups of parents and pupils.
To respond to the changed circumstances due to the pandemic, the programme in Bolivia adapted its training materials for virtual use. It also has been increasingly providing virtual support for volunteers and educators through chat groups and publishing videos and other documentation of the project on social media platforms.
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Since 1993, DAPC Japan has made a total donation of approximately US$ 6.6 million to UNODC. And since 2012, 55 countries have benefited from the DAPC Grant Programme funding.
Water Under Fire Volume 3, highlights that children’s access to water has been threatened in nearly every conflict-related emergency where UNICEF is responding.
The report focuses on nine countries where violence and conflict are prevalent, and the impact the attacks have on children. Some 48 million people are estimated to need safe water and sanitation services in the follocountries (Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen).
‘Attacks on water and sanitation are attacks on children’
The protection of secure, reliable water and sanitation services is shown to be a critical factor in ensuring the survival of millions of children. The study notes that, in fragile countries, children under the age of five are 20 times more likely to die due to diarrhoeal diseases than to violence.
“Access to water is a means of survival that must never be used as a tactic of war,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes. “Attacks on water and sanitation infrastructure are attacks on children.”
“When the flow of water stops, diseases like cholera and diarrhoea can spread like wildfire, often with fatal consequences”, added Mr. Fontaine. “Hospitals cannot function, and rates of malnutrition and wasting increase. Children and families are often forced out in search of water, exposing them, particularly girls, to an increased risk of harm and violence.”
A nine-year-old girl pushes a wheelbarrow loaded with water-filled jerrycans in a IDP camp in Darfur, Sudan.
The report catalogues the devastating nature of attacks on water infrastructure: in Eastern Ukraine, for example, where some 3.2 million people needs water and sanitation services, 380 attacks have been recorded since 2017.
In the State of Palestine, there have been 95 attacks against 142 water and sanitation infrastructures since 2019, leaving more than 1.6 million people without access to these basic services.
And Yemen has seen 122 airstrikes on water infrastructure during the six-year-war. A cholera epidemic continues to make thousands of children ill every week, and around 15.4 million people urgently need safe water and sanitation.
Stop attacks immediately
UNICEF outlines a number of steps that should be urgently taken, to ensure that children are protected in conflict zones, and are guaranteed access to safe and sufficient water.
Parties to conflict, says the agency, must immediately ending attacks on water and sanitation services and personnel, and fulfilling their obligations to protect children in conflict.
The reports also calls for UN Member States, including Security Council members, to take firmer action to hold the perpetrators of these attacks to account; for donors to invest in water and sanitation in conflict situations; and for the public to add their voice to protect infrastructure, and water workers.
Water, sanitation and UNICEF
UNICEF works in conflict-affected countries to protect children and provide safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services.
The agency improves and repairs water systems, trucks water, sets up latrines and promotes awareness of hygiene practices.
In 2020, UNICEF led emergency water, sanitation and hygiene responses in 120 countries, reaching 39 million people with clean water and nearly 7 million with sanitation services.
New York/Vienna, 24 May 2021 — Young people have much to lose from corruption, as it affects their employment prospects and impedes their access to basic services such as education and health care.
Over the next three days, 850 young people from 122 countries will gather online for the UNGASS Youth Forum against Corruption to discuss the effect of corruption on young people, and how the international community can better empower youth to actively engage in and help lead the design of future anti-corruption efforts.
Opening the Forum, Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly, said that while youth was one group most hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time has also provided young people “with a window on the state of the world as it came to a standstill.”
While youth “have witnessed how the various actors took advantage of this crisis to engage in crime and corruption when lives were at stake,” Mr. Bozkir also emphasized that participants of the Forum represent 1.8 billion young people from all around the globe, and with this, he said, young people “have the power to end corruption, reduce inequalities and create a better world for all.”
“I urge you to use this opportunity to actively be part of solutions,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. “True progress relies on you being proactive and positive, to be part of the change that needs to happen. Good examples of good governance need to be celebrated and shared so they can inspire and help others.”
“Your voices will not only be heard here but your perspectives will be communicated to policymakers at the special session. With your help, we can ensure that UNGASS is not just an event but the beginning of transformative global action against corruption,” she added.
“Corruption steals from young people and stymies progress – depriving them of a prosperous future,” said the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake. But all too often, “youth are excluded from decision-making, they lack access to information and are victims of corruption.”
Ms. Wickramanayake highlighted that young people “have the capacity to revolutionize the way society views and addresses corruption and while bringing energy, strength, and innovation to create real change.” She underlined the responsibility of the international community to “ensure that young people are not only heard, but understood, not only engaged but empowered, and not only contributing but leading global efforts.”
Youth rapporteurs will summarize the discussions during the UNGASS Youth Forum into a collective youth Statement. This call to action from young people on the current challenges they see in preventing and countering corruption, as well as their expectations of the international community in addressing this crime, will be presented by a Youth Forum representative to world leaders at the UN Special Session of the General Assembly against Corruption 2021 (UNGASS 2021), to be held from 2-4 June in New York.
In a video message to the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of UN agency WHO, Mr. Guterres warned against the dangers of “a two-speed global response”, a concern he has frequently expressed.
#COVID19 cannot be seen in isolation from fundamental problems with our health systems: inequality, underfunding, complacency, neglect.
With the right primary health care systems, we will recover more quickly from this pandemic, and prevent the next before it takes hold.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 24, 2021
“Sadly, unless we act now, we face a situation in which rich countries vaccinate the majority of their people and open their economies, while the virus continues to cause deep suffering by circling and mutating in the poorest countries,” he said.
“Further spikes and surges could claim hundreds of thousands of lives, and slow the global economic recovery,” he added.
Action on vaccine access
The UN chief called for coordinated action in three areas that will pave the way to recovery and a sustainable future for people and the planet, starting with solidarity to stop the virus.
“World leaders must urgently step up with a global plan for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments,” he said, emphasizing the need to fully fund established mechanisms for equitable vaccine distribution.
Adding that “we are at war with a virus”, Mr. Guterres reiterated his appeal for G20 nations to establish a Task Force “able to deal with the pharmaceutical companies and other key stakeholders.” The goal would be to at least double vaccine manufacturing capacity through means such as voluntary licenses and technology transfers.
Bolster health care
For his second point, Mr. Guterres focused on boosting primary health care and universal health coverage.
“COVID-19 cannot be seen in isolation from the fundamental problems with our health systems: inequality, underfunding; complacency, neglect. With the right primary health care systems in place, we will recover more quickly from this pandemic, and prevent the next before it takes hold,” he said.
But while robust health systems are a start, they are not enough, he added, and countries must prepare for the next global health emergency.
Prepare for the next pandemic
The Secretary-General underlined support for the recommendations made by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness, which this month called for overhauling the current warning systems.
He said high-level political commitment is needed to transform the existing system, and that the World Health Organization (WHO) must be at the centre of global preparedness. The agency also must have adequate resources and be fully empowered to do its job.
Not yet out of the woods
In his address to the Assembly, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that there have been more COVID-19 cases so far this year than in the whole of 2020.
“Almost 18 months into the defining health crisis of our age, the world remains in a very dangerous situation,” he said. “On current trends, the number of deaths will overtake last year’s total within the next three weeks.”
Regardless of vaccinate rates, “no country should assume it is out of the woods,” he added. And although none of the COVID-19 variants has significantly undermined current vaccines, the virus is constantly changing.
Vaccines: “A scandalous inequity’
Tedros said every country can do more, including in increasing surveillance and testing, protecting health workers, and fighting against misinformation. They can also implement national vaccine programmes, and donate excess doses to the global solidarity initiative, COVAX.
He described the ongoing vaccine crisis as “a scandalous inequity that is perpetuating the pandemic” as most doses, or 75 per cent, have been administered in just 10 countries.
“There is no diplomatic way to say it: a small group of countries that make and buy the majority of the world’s vaccines control the fate of the rest of the world.”
COVAX has shipped roughly 72 million doses to some 125 developing nations, but those vaccines represent barely one per cent of their combined populations.
Health workers conduct a COVID-19 vaccination awareness campaign in a neighbourhood in Mumbai, India.
Millions more doses needed
Tedros pushed for countries to vaccinate at least 10 per cent of the global population by September, with a drive to reach 30 per cent by December.
“Sprinting to our September goal means we must vaccinate 250 million more people in low- and middle-income countries in just four months, including all health workers and the most at-risk groups as the first priority,” he said.
The WHO Director General also highlighted a proposal by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to vaccinate 40 per cent of the world’s people by the end of the year, and 60 per cent by 2022. Discussions are underway on how to make these goals achievable.
Tedros also welcomed countries’ commitment to donate doses, including announcements made by G20 nations at their health summit last Friday.
“But to achieve the goals for September and the end of the year, we need hundreds of millions more doses, we need them to go through COVAX, and we need them to start moving in early June,” he said.
Tedros urged vaccine manufacturers to ensure countries can quickly share their doses through COVAX. They should also give the mechanism first right of refusal on new volume of vaccines, or to commit 50 per cent of their volumes to COVAX this year.
“And we need every country that receives vaccines to use them as quickly as possible. No dose can lay idle, or worse, be thrown away,” he said.
“The bottom line is that we need a lot more doses, we need them fast, and we must leave no stone unturned to get them.”
Tribute to health workers
Both the Secretary-General and the WHO chief dedicated parts of their speeches to pay tribute to the world’s health workers.
Tedros opened his remarks with stories of some of these professionals, who “have stood in the breach between life and death.”
WHO estimates around 115,000 health and care workers have also died while working to save lives and serve others.
“Health and care workers do heroic things, but they are not superheroes. They are humans like the rest of us,” Tedros said, noting that many feel frustrated, helpless and unprotected in the pandemic.
“We owe them so much, and yet globally health and care workers often lack the protection, the equipment, the training, the decent pay, the safe working conditions and the respect they deserve.”
Following his address to heads of state or government during the EU summit on Monday, EP President Sassoli will hold a press conference on Tuesday 25 Mayat 10.00.
President Sassoli is set to convey Parliament’s position and answer journalists’ questions regarding the EU’s response to COVID-19, EU-UK relations, climate change and relations with Russia
Vienna, 24 May 2021 – The thirtieth session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Crime Commission, CCPCJ) concluded in Vienna on 21 May. Participants from over 125 Member States, 15 intergovernmental organizations, 49 non-governmental organizations and several UN entities met in person and online to find solutions to prevent and counter crime and promote the rule of law.
“Action through this Commission for more inclusive and integrated justice responses is needed to strengthen prevention and the rule of law, and to help break vicious cycles of inequality, corruption, crime, and violence”, said Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, in her opening remarks on the first day of the Commission.
The Commission adopted seven resolutions on the implementation of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons; international cooperation in addressing the smuggling of migrants; integrating sport into youth crime prevention and criminal justice strategies; preventing and combating crimes that affect the environment; reducing reoffending through rehabilitation and reintegration; and strengthening the criminal justice system reform during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Crime Commission, as the preparatory and follow-up body for the United Nations crime congresses, also adopted a resolution on the Fourteenth Crime Congress which was held in Kyoto earlier this year. With this, it endorsed the Kyoto Declaration and encouraged Member States to take action to implement the commitments made in the Declaration.
The CCPCJ celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, and its current session is chaired by Alessandro Cortese, Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN in Vienna.
High-level speakers included Munir Akram, President of the Economic and Social Council, Alma Zadic, Minister of Justice of Austria, Marta Cartabia, Minister of Justice of Italy, Yōko Kamikawa, Minister of Justice of Japan, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Anna Alvazzi del Frate, Chair of the Alliance of NGOs on crime prevention and criminal justice.
This year also marks 20+ years since the adoption of the Migrant Smuggling Protocol1. To mark the occasion, institutes of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Network (PNI) organized an interactive workshop where participants exchanged best practices and innovative approaches for improving the response of the international community with respect to migrant smuggling .
Over 80 online side events were held on the margins of the thirtieth CCPCJ.
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The Commission acts as the principal policymaking body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice and is working to improve international action to combat national and transnational crime and the efficiency and fairness of criminal justice administration systems. The Commission provides an invaluable forum for Member States and stakeholders to exchange expertise, experience and information in order to develop national and international strategies, and to identify priorities.
1 Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
Gerald James Daly, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bhutan., by UN Photo
“Bhutan has been exemplary in the way it has responded to COVID-19. Practically the entire eligible adult population of more than 530,000 people (anyone in Bhutan with no history of allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccines is eligible) have received the first dose. The initial batch of AstraZeneca doses were a gift from India, and the UN assisted with advocacy and cold chain support.
One of the features of Bhutan is the fact that there are so many communities living in remote geographical areas. The government coordinated its approach and reached out to all of these remote communities often by helicopter, with vaccines, which were then often distributed on foot by health workers, sometimes walking from village to village, through ice and snow.
Volunteers are a very important element in Bhutan’s success. They support the Ministry of Health, for example, with logistical support for vaccination programmes, and they man quarantine facilities. They were also very effective in implementing the lockdown, and also helped with the distribution of food and vital supplies during that period.
Bhutan’s national volunteer scheme (De Suung, or ‘Guardians of Peace’), was already running for around four years before the pandemic. Then, with the onset of COVID-19, people realised the volunteers could support the Ministry of Health and the other ministries, and so they strengthened and beefed up the scheme. As a result, they have become one of the key success factors in Bhutan’s ability to respond so effectively to COVID.
A time of heightened quarantine
Bhutan has had some 1,300 confirmed cases, with only one death, according to figures released on 19 April. Not one health worker has been infected.
In normal times, there is a fair bit of movement across the border but the Government is currently ensuring incredibly tight borders: anybody coming into the country needs to do a quarantine of 21 days.
Within Bhutan, there is a real commitment to social distancing. PPE is provided everywhere, and gatherings are kept small. Whenever there are even small breakouts of virus, those specific areas go into lockdown.
UN Photo/Gill Fickling
Many people live in remote areas in Bhutan.
Supporting the vunerable
While Bhutan has managed to avoid a health crisis, the economic impacts have been very tough. The country depends significantly on tourism, and we know recovery in the sector is going to be slow: unemployment has risen to 14 per cent.
In the meantime, the UN is supporting the most vulnerable and looking for ways to build self-reliance and resilience: we support the government strategy to increase home food production; we have programmes that address the challenges around gender-based violence and mental health; and we are supporting the government strategy to become financially sustainable by, for example, introducing a smarter taxation system.
Bhutan is the land of ‘Gross National Happiness’. This is a core value of this country, and the moral and practical compass that the country follows. It often means that Bhutanese look after each other, including the most vulnerable.
Constant vigilance
During the period of lockdown, we have seen this strong element of community support, as well as common sense on the part of the population: they have accepted that there are good reasons for the lockdown, and that everyone has to pull together.
Despite the success we’ve had so far in coping with the pandemic, with very low rates of transmission and high rates of vaccination everyone understands the need to stay vigilant. Bhutan has a limited number of ventilators and oxygen: the Bhutanese have seen what is going on in the rest of the world, and they don’t want to get into that type of a situation, so there is a very strong willingness by everybody here to maintain this constant vigilance against COVID complacency.”
Vienna (Austria), 21 May 2021 — At the thirtieth
session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Crime Commission, CCPCJ),
Member States discussed the follow-up to the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Crime
Congress).
The Crime Congress, the world’s largest gathering on crime prevention and criminal justice, was held in March in Japan
this year. It adopted the Kyoto Declaration, where Member States called for
stronger partnerships among different parts of the international community to prevent and address all forms of crime, including
against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Crime Commission, as the preparatory and follow-up body for the UN crime congresses, acted upon the Kyoto Declaration,
and encouraged Member States to implement the commitments made therein.
“The Kyoto Declaration is the monument to the great effort made by the Member States in the negotiations, and we must make
best use of the commitments made therein”, said Yamauchi Yoshimitsu, Assistant Vice-Minister of Justice of Japan, speaking
at the CCPCJ on behalf of the host country of the Fourteenth Crime Congress.
The Commission negotiated a resolution, for adoption by the United Nations General Assembly, on policy and operational
measures for the follow-up to the Fourteenth Crime Congress. In this resolution, the CCPCJ is called upon to hold intersessional
thematic discussions to effectively follow-up on the Kyoto Declaration, where Member States and other stakeholders will be
able to exchange information, and share good practices and lessons learned.
***
The United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is the world’s largest and most diverse gathering
of policy-makers, practitioners, academia, intergovernmental organizations and civil society in the field of crime prevention
and criminal justice. The Congresses have been held every five years since 1955 in different parts of the world, dealing with
a vast array of topics. They have made considerable impact in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice and influenced
national and international policies and professional practices.
The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) acts as a preparatory body and as a follow up body for
the Congresses, providing substantive support and direction and also considering the outcome of the Congresses and taking
decisions on appropriate follow-up measures.
Stressing that no one is safe until everyone is safe, the UN chief told the G20 Global Health Summit in Rome “it is time for decisive action.”
Mr Guterres repeated his call for the G20 to establish a Task Force “able to deal with the pharmaceutical companies and other key stakeholders”, which would address equitable vaccine distribution through the COVAX global initiative.
‘We are at war’
The goal would be to double manufacturing capacity using all options such as voluntary licenses, technology transfers, patent pooling and “flexibility” on intellectual property.
“Let’s be clear, we are at war with the virus,” the Secretary-General said. “And if you are at war with the virus, we need to deal with our weapons with rules of a war economy, and we are not yet there. And this is true for vaccines, and it is true for other components in the fight against the virus.”
Pledging the UN’s full support for the effort, the Secretary-General said the G20 Task Force “should be co-convened at the highest levels by the major powers who hold most of the global supply and production capacity.”
Support COVAX initiative
Membership would comprise countries that can produce vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO), financial institutions, and the multi-sector partners behind the ACT Accelerator, the global collaboration to develop and equitably distribute COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
COVAX, its vaccine arm, should have delivered 180 million doses worldwide by now, but Mr Guterres said just 65 million have been distributed due to “vaccine nationalism”, limited production capacity and lack of financing.
He called for G20 countries to “lead by example” by contributing their full share of funding.
The only way out
The Secretary-General said vaccinating quickly and thoroughly, combined with continued public health measures, are the only way to end the global pandemic and prevent more dangerous COVID-19 variants from emerging.
However, more than 80 per cent of vaccines have gone to rich nations, with poorer countries receiving a paltry 0.3 per cent.
“Grossly unequal access to vaccines, tests, medicines and supplies, including oxygen, have left poorer countries at the mercy of the virus,” he said.
“Recent surges of COVID-19 in India, South America and other regions have left people literally gasping for breath before our eyes.”
The Secretary-General emphasized that although global action on vaccines can end this pandemic, it will not help prevent the next.
“The bedrock of the recovery from COVID-19, and of preventing and addressing future health crises, is universal health coverage, and robust primary health care systems,” he said.
‘The world cannot wait any longer’
Addressing the summit, the head of UN health agency, WHO, warned that people will continue to die if global disparity in vaccines persists.
“Yes, the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is a triumph of science. But their inequitable distribution is a failure for humanity”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General.
“We can only end the pandemic if everyone has the tools to stop it.”
Tedros called on G20 countries to fully fund the ACT-Accelerator, share more doses through COVAX, and waive intellectual property for vaccines, particularly for Africa.
“The G20 has all the means to vaccinate the world, and the world cannot wait any longer,” he said.
Death toll likely higher
There have been more than 165 million recorded cases of COVID-19 worldwide, but WHO said on Friday that the true number of deaths could be two to three times higher than the officially reported figures.
Although 3.4 million deaths were reported in the first year of the pandemic, its latest report found these “are likely a significant undercount” when based on deaths that were either directly or indirectly attributable to the disease.
Last year, more than 1.8 million deaths were reported to the UN agency but WHO’s State of the World’s Health report indicates there were “at least three million”.
The 1.2 million more deaths include people who died from coronavirus infection, and others who were unable to access health care because resources were diverted to deal with the pandemic. It is likely that the finding will be repeated this year due to data gaps in reporting.
Across the region of almost 2 billion people, more than three new COVID-19 infections are being recorded every second, while over three lives are lost every minute to the disease, according to UNICEF.
George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, warned that the scale and speed of the COVID-19 surge is “outstripping” countries’ abilities to provide life-saving treatment for their populations.
The mortality rates in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are staggering. Every minute that passes, three people lose their lives to #COVID19 in South Asia.
— George Laryea-Adjei (@G_LaryeaAdjei) May 21, 2021
“Hospitals are overwhelmed, there is an acute lack of oxygen and other critical medical supplies, and there is a real risk of fragile health systems collapsing.”
This week saw India record daily deaths at 4,529, the highest ever number since the pandemic erupted last year.
Neighboring Nepal is also experiencing case positivity rates as high as 47 per cent, while Sri Lanka and the Maldives are recording new highs in cases and deaths on a daily basis, according to UNICEF. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bhutan could all face similar devastating surges, it cautioned.
‘We must do everything in our power’
UNICEF also warned of the impact of the crisis on the region’s children and mothers, as already fragile health systems reel under the acute and severe burden of COVID-19.
“We need to do everything within our power to prevent and treat COVID-19 while keeping the critical health care services that children and mothers so heavily depend on running”, Mr. Laryea-Adjei said.
UNICEF’s regional appeal identifies urgent requirements for oxygen equipment, including on-site oxygen-generating plants for hospitals, portable oxygen concentrators and cylinders; medical and diagnostic equipment including RT-PCR and RNA extraction machines; personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to keep health & frontline workers safe.
It also highlights the need of infection prevention and control including, such as hand washing stations, sanitizers and hygiene supplies; as well as therapeutics and medical supplies, including nutrition support.
Healthcare staff and service-seekers at the Narayani Hospital in Birgunj in Parsa District in southern Nepal where many COVID-19 treatment facilities have been stretched to the limit.
‘Breaking point’ in Nepal
Meanwhile, UN agencies in Nepal issued a separate emergency response plan, as part of a national effort with partners, to address immediate needs and assist 750,000 of the most vulnerable people affected the pandemic.
After several months of relatively low daily cases, infections began to rise rapidly in mid-April – 150 cases per day to over 8,000 cases per day, within a matter of weeks, according to the UN Country Team in Nepal (UNCT). In addition, with almost half of the COVID-19 tests nationally reporting positive, there are fears that the actual number of infections are much higher than reported.
The surge in cases has overwhelmed hospitals in capital Kathmandu and other cities, with many having to turn away patients due to a shortage of beds, and gaps in vital supplies, including oxygen, are reported across the country. The situation in rural areas is especially worrying, with health facilities facing staff shortage to operate ventilators and provide ICU case management.
The Nepal Covid-19 Response Plan calls for swift action and international solidarity, which are “desperately needed to save lives” and prevent unnecessary suffering today, tomorrow, and in the weeks to come, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal said in a statement.
“The current outbreak is having a devastating impact not just on health but across all sectors, hitting the poorest and most marginalized people in Nepali society the hardest … We have no time to lose.”
Vienna (Austria), 20 May 2021 – Where borders are difficult or impossible to cross regularly, migrant smugglers
facilitate movements of people along land, sea, and air routes. We need to learn more about this crime to be able to prevent and address it. UNODC today launched the Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants, which provides up-to-date information and analysis by the UNODC Research team.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not halted smuggling operations; for example, two and a half times as many people arrived irregularly by sea to Europe in 2020 as in 2019. By its very nature, migrant smuggling is a cross-border crime. It demands the attention of the international community, as it all too often has negative implications for the human rights of the people who are smuggled.
At an event launching the Observatory during the 30th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said: “As part of UNODC’s work to help countries implement the Protocol against migrant smuggling, we have been expanding the knowledge base through data collection and analysis. The first-ever Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants takes our research efforts one step further.” “The information and insights generated by the Observatory will feed into our technical assistance programmes and allow us to provide greater value to all of our partners, complementing the migration data made available by other UN agencies.”
UNODC is committed to improving States’ capacities to combat migrant smuggling and protect the human rights of people who are smuggled. Research on the smuggling of migrants is essential to ensure evidence-based and effective responses from policymakers, based on accurate, up-to-date and reliable data and analysis.
The Observatory’s use of qualitative interviews alongside quantitative data provides rich and detailed analysis, allowing UNODC to present findings as an engaging and accessible narrative on a new, interactive website.
The Observatory answers questions such as: Who uses smugglers? Which routes do they take? How is it paid for? Who are the smugglers? It also analyses the abuses people suffer in the context of migrant smuggling, either at the hands of smugglers or other actors, and examines the effectiveness of counter-smuggling activities in preventing the crime and protecting the rights of smuggled people.
Research data will be uploaded on the website in phases, providing real-time information on smuggling of migrants along key smuggling routes. This first phase presents an analysis of the inter-connected West African, North African and Central Mediterranean routes.
The event was co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN in Vienna.
The Common Position reiterates that prison systems around the globe continue to face fundamental challenges that undermine the ultimate purpose of a prison sentence. Instead of protecting society from crime and preventing re-offending by preparing prisoners for their social reintegration upon release, overincarceration, prison overcrowding, neglect and abuse rather reinforce inequalities, exclusion and marginalization in many countries.
Accordingly, the United Nations system at large commits to enhancing advocacy and technical assistance aimed at (i) shifting policies towards prevention and non-custodial measures; (ii) improving prison conditions and strengthening prison management; and at (iii) advancing the rehabilitation and social reintegration of offenders. The Common Position firmly positions prison reform and the treatment of offenders as urgent justice and rule of law priorities, and as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s commitment to “leave no-one behind”. In her opening remarks, UNODC Executive Director Ms. Ghada Waly expressed her sincere hope that the Common Position’s findings and recommendations “will spark new approaches to incarceration and rehabilitation, while prioritizing human rights and evidence-based policies.”
The two Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules, Ambassadors Rapulane Molekane (South Africa) and Gerhard Küntzle (Germany) welcomed the United Nations System Common Position on Incarceration
as an important milestone and evidence of a genuine “one-UN” approach. Ambassador Rapulane Molekane emphasized that “we must enhance our efforts to tackle the root causes of over-incarceration, poor prison conditions and re-offending”. The priority areas in the UN Common Position “should now be replicated by similar awareness, direction and support from our side as Member States”.
In her keynote intervention on behalf of OHCHR, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris recalled that “COVID-19 has exposed the extent of the global incarceration crisis by worsening the conditions in detention centers and severely undermining the human rights of persons deprived of their liberty”, and called for long-term, structural and social reform. On behalf of DPO, Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions Alexandre Zouev warned that the overuse of imprisonment and poor prison conditions “can represent a serious risk for peace and security in peace operations and other fragile settings”, also pointing to an enhanced risk of mass escapes and the radicalization of prisoners to violence.
For all of the above-mentioned reasons, UNODC’s Director for Operations Miwa Kato emphasized that “the Common Position is not shying away from advocating for a paradigm shift when it comes to criminal justice policies and the resort to incarceration”: Namely, from punishment and isolation to prevention, rehabilitation, restorative justice and social reintegration.
As the custodian of the Nelson Mandela Rules and on the basis of its double mandate on criminal justice and health, UNODC will endeavour to give practical meaning to the Common Position. Priorities will include efforts to significantly enhance the Organization’s portfolio of technical assistance; strengthen its data collection around incarceration; more broadly disseminate its extensive guidance material around prison and penal reform; and consistently integrate a strong gender perspective and responsiveness.
Vienna (Austria), 20 May 2021 – Because Gender-Based Violence Against Women (GBVAW) is still happening every day, everywhere, UNODC is implementing several initiatives around the world in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, through trainings with police, reviewing legislative initiatives, promoting essential services for survivors, or coaching judges to improve criminal justice systems, to name a few.What is Gender-Based Violence Against Women (GBVAW)About 1 in every 3 women worldwide have experienced sexual and other form of violence, and women are more likely than men to being killed by intimate partners or family members.
GBVAW consists of several types of abuse, including physical, sexual, physiological, and economic abuse, consequently harming families and communities on a socio-economic scale.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic unfortunately witnessed a great surge in gender-based violence, further reducing contact with the police and justice services. Lockdown policies made victims live with their abusers 24/7 without any privacy or means to access police stations. UNODC conducted a Global Review on the impact of COVID-19 on Criminal Justice System Responses to GBVAW, highlighting evidence-based findings and ways forward
In Guatemala, for example, UNODC increased women´s access to justice by improving the capacities of Guatemalan Police and the Attorney General Office to respond to violence against women, in particular indigenous women, by enhancing reporting channels and the documentation of cases.
In Nepal, UNODC conducted a study on the situation of women in the criminal justice system, enabling practitioners to understand the realities of survivors and use strategic entry points to improve the administration of justice in this area. UNODC conducted training workshops for judges and prosecutors to strengthen their responses to GBVAW. To raise throughout the country, UNODC also developed a public service announcement broadcasted and developed awareness raising materials on GBV, which were disseminated to reach 6,000 people.
In Egypt, UNODC conducted training workshops for judges on handling cases of violence against women (VAW), based on its Handbook for the Judiciary, such as but not limited to, female genital mutilation, child marriage, and the effective implementation of the national legal framework in Egypt. Under the same joint programme, UNODC supported the Egyptian Forensic Medicine Authority (FMA) by providing medical supplies and securing the specialized VAW clinics’ needs especially in response to COVID-19
Every day, women and girls worldwide are murdered because of their gender. The 30th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is gathering Member States to discuss how to ensure peace, justice and strong institutions for all, especially women, children and victims.
A side event on 18 May on: “Enhancing police and justice responses to gender-based violence against women” allowed to share experiences, tools, and good practices on criminal justice responses to GBVAW, particularly in light of COVID-19 and in view of possible future emergencies.
Vienna (Austria), 19 May 2021 – The world today is home to 1.8 billion young people, the largest generation of
youth in history. Investing in youth is the key to building a better tomorrow, as their energies, learning abilities and resourcefulness
make them great agents of change.
At the same time, youth are particularly vulnerable to crime, violence and drug use. Certain factors at the individual,
family, community, and societal levels make them especially likely to participate in crime. For example, low literacy and
early school drop-out, weak parenting skills or family distress, the availability of drugs and arms, unemployment and weak
rule of law all increase the risk of criminal behaviour.
Unfortunately, the
COVID-19 pandemic has worsened many of these risk factors for young people worldwide, from forcing schools to shut down
and worsening youth unemployment to impeding the delivery of important health and wellbeing services.
Recognizing the importance of safeguarding young people from crime to enable them to become positive actors of change,
UNODC has made the protection, participation and empowerment of youth one of the three cross-cutting commitments of its Strategy for 2021-2025.
Empowering youth and enhancing their resilience to crime through healthy living and life skills training programmes
Investing in the healthy development of young people is a major component of UNODC’s efforts to prevent youth involvement
in crime. For instance, UNODC’s <a href="https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/news/2021/02/unodc-forges-new-partnerships-in-peru-to-advance-youth-crime-prevention-through-sport--despite-the-pandemic.html" rel="nofollow">Youth
Crime Prevention through Sport (YCP) initiative</a> uses sports and sports-based learning to teach young people key personal
and social skills and to engage their communities, helping to create safe public spaces for positive youth development.
Through sports, UNODC reinforces youth and community resilience to crime, even in the middle of the pandemic. An example
is the recent <a href="https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/news/2021/02/unodc-forges-new-partnerships-in-peru-to-advance-youth-crime-prevention-through-sport--despite-the-pandemic.html" rel="nofollow">partnership
with key actors in the sports and youth areas in Peru</a>, which has helped to empower youth with new skills and reinforce
their well-being through a series of online events, learning courses and training sessions revolving around sports.
<h3>Mobilizing families and communities to address the conditions giving rise to crime</h3>
UNODC also mobilizes young people’s families, schools and communities to address the conditions that give rise to antisocial
behaviour and crime before they appear.
For instance, in Central America and the Caribbean, UNODC’s <a href="https://www.unodc.org/ropan/en/DrugDemandReduction/strong-families.html" rel="nofollow">Strengthening
Families Programme</a> supports parents with children between the ages of 10 and 14 to prevent drug abuse, crime and other
risk behaviours in youth.
<h3>Strengthening youth crime prevention through the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice</h3>
Reflecting on the significance of this challenge, strengthening youth crime prevention will be the focus of several side
events throughout the 30th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice happening this week in Vienna
and online.
Young people are our most precious resource to build safer, healthier and more just societies. To enable them to achieve
their transformative potential, through the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and beyond, UNODC will continue
its efforts to safeguard and empower history’s largest generation of youth.
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