Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Ahmed Sareer called upon the international community to explore innovative ways to combat organized crime and stressed on the importance of enhancing cooperation and coordination through capacity building and technical assistance to the most vulnerable societies.
Speaking at the United Nations Security Council Arria Formula meeting, he noted that transnational organised networks do not just threaten international peace and security but also they represent serious violations of human rights and undermine social and economic development.
In his intervention on the subject, "international cooperation in criminal matters within peace and security pillars: the role of central authorities", Ambassador Sareer noted that the Maldives has in the recent past strengthened its legal framework and institutional architecture to establish a coordinated response mechanism to fight the scourge of organised crimes.
The Maldives highlighted that transnational organised networks create vectors of violence that leave a trail of death and destruction in their wake and that there is a growing connection of these networks to terrorist groups, which makes countering those networks only more essential with the United Nations and the Security Council having an important role to play. The Maldives also called upon the Member States to deepen their participation in regional and sub-regional initiatives and organisations, in a spirit of cooperation and determination, to work towards improving the comprehensiveness of regional frameworks dealing with the subject.
The Open Arria Formula meeting was convened by the Delegation of Italy and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.