Director’s statement in response to objections made to GI-TOC’s participation in the Constructive Dialogues of the Review Mechanism of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), and other UN processes.

In light of the Republic of Türkiye’s objection to GI-TOC’s attendance at the Constructive Dialogues of the Review Mechanism of the UNTOC, I would like to make the following points clear on behalf of the organization, in response to the issues raised by Türkiye:

The GI-TOC is an independent and neutral civil society organization which does not support what is referred to by the government of Türkiye as the “Fetullah Gülen Terrorist Organization”.  Our objectives are focused on putting in place the building blocks for an inclusive global strategy against transnational organized crime, and in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 we support achieving peaceful societies through non-violent means and within the rule of law.

Our research also shows that democracy makes states more resilient to organized crime and corruption. In this context we do not support in any circumstances the illegal overthrowing of governments by force through means of military coups; and we therefore make clear our condemnation of the 2016 attempted military coup in Türkiye.

We have no doubt that we offer the relevant expertise and knowledge to meet the criteria of a ‘relevant non-governmental organization’ as stipulated in Rule 17 of the UNTOC Conference of Parties Rules of Procedure, and highlight that no objection to our participation at previous Conferences has been raised by any Member State.

Furthermore, the GI-TOC will continue to support, encourage and advocate for broad civil society participation in organized crime-related UN processes including the Constructive Dialogues and the Review Mechanism of the UNTOC more generally.