Pakistan Civil Society Voice at UNTOC Conference of Parties-Vienna (17-21 October 2022)
On behalf of the Civil Society, a National Initiative against Organized Crime in Pakistan was launched in 2019. We are working closely with the UNODC, as the custodian of the UN Convention on TOC. Together, we are undertaking a broad and multi-pronged strategy to help ensure meaningful civil society engagement in the review mechanism, for achieving the following outcomes:
1) Diverse civil society perspectives are incorporated into the UNTOC review mechanism process, in a visible, impactful, coherent and coordinated manner.
2) The CSO community working against OC is brought together to enter a dialogue, and coordinate and engage with the review mechanism in an informed and strategic manner.
One of the key initiatives of the UNODC is to initiate voluntary country-specific “Pilot Initiatives” by interested Member States, aimed at strengthening cooperation between the concerned national authorities, CSOs, academia, and the private sector. Mexico was the first country to launch the Pilot Initiative. I am proud to state that Pakistan is second globally and first in Asia to have launched the Pilot Initiative on UNTOC Review in Islamabad on 15 September this year, with active support and involvement of the UNODC CSU and the UNTOC Secretariat. A Civil Society Alliance of about 50 CSOs, experts, academics and representatives of the private sector has been formed to associate with the Pakistan UNTOC Review process. There is complete ownership and declared commitment by the Government of Pakistan.
It gives us satisfaction that advocacy by the civil society has also resulted in approval by the cabinet to ratify the UNTOC Protocol on Trafficking in Persons.
A trilateral cooperative framework between the Government of Pakistan, the Civil Society Alliance and the UNODC has provided the necessary impetus to lay a strong foundation for a long-term roadmap for UNTOC Review under the forthcoming review clusters.
The Civil Society in Pakistan is committed to making a difference.
Tariq Khosa
Director CGR
24 October 2022