This Year’s HLPF will address SDG Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Not only is there a concrete target to significantly reduce and combat organized crime, arms, and illicit financial flows directly (16.4) but nearly all targets in SDG 16 require combatting organized crime and the harms it causes for peaceful societies and effective rule of law and justice.

Reinforcing HLPF’s attention to SDG 16 and organized crime this year is the debate held at the Security Council in December 2023 on transnational organized crime and the newly designated International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime. This side event will contribute to the broader UN discussions on organized crime this year, while focusing on the impacts it has on sustainable development. Participants will hear from governments, UN agencies, and civil society organizations about the strategies they employ to address organized crime’s impact on development and support the SDGs.

Welcome Remarks

• Permanent Representative, Ambassador Leonor Zalabata, Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN
• Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN
• Permanent Mission of Austria to the UN

Panel

• SDG 16 Support Strong Institutions & Rule of Law, with a focus on poverty:
  Jairo Acuña–Alfaro, Team Leader, Governance, Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP
• SDG 16.4 Towards a more strategic response to reduce organized crime:
  Mark Shaw, Director, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
• SDG 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development:
  Delphine Schantz, Director of UNODC Liaison Office in New York, UNODC
• SDG 16.1 Violence reduction, organized crime and peaceful societies:
  Mauricio Vieira, Chair on Countering Illicit Trade and Preventing Transnational Organized Crime, University for Peace
• SDG 16.2 Strong legislation, innovative responses and partnerships to protect children:
  Bindu Sharma, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children

Moderator

Summer Walker, Head of Security and Rights Initiatives, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime