Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

Two of our Member States, Poland and Czechia, have tabled, respectively, a draft Decision on the Participation of the EU, for consideration by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, at these reconvened sessions, on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

The aim of these two texts is simple: To reaffirm the existing practice whereby the representatives of the European Union may continue to participate, without the right to vote, in the work of the Commissions, and be inscribed on the list of speakers, in order to make interventions on behalf of the European Union, including for opening remarks. Such opening remarks have traditionally been delivered, in the CND, the CCPCJ and in fact all UN fora, by group representatives, whether regional groups, the G77 and China, or the European Union. The Secretariat might wish to confirm that this has indeed been the case.

This practice is well-established and has served us well in Vienna. It derives from the basic principle that it is a sovereign right of each UN Member State, each group, and each organisation to define the modalities of its external representation. Our aim is not to change anyone’s speaking rights or set precedents for other fora, simply to maintain the existing practice in the CND and the CCPCJ.

In the case of the European Union, EU Member States have entrusted the external representation of the European Union to institutional representatives such as the EU Delegation in Vienna. After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, we informed the UNODC in writing about these arrangements in 2019, in an effort to make it clearer to all. Since then, this has been the accepted practice.

However, since one UNODC Member State has now explicitly challenged the status quo, we have no choice, but to seek a written confirmation of the existing practice. This is indispensable so that the European Union can continue to participate in the work of the CND and the CCPCJ and present positions of the European Union and its Member States, as agreed by them. This includes statements at the Plenary and interventions in the Committee of the Whole and in informals, similar to the past CND and CCPCJ sessions, nothing less, nothing more.

Chair,

During the informal consultations, we heard dozens of delegations saying that they support the current practice, and do not wish to set precedents for other UN fora. The proposed amendment tabled by the Russian Federation would do the opposite. It would mark a significant change to the existing practice.  Firstly, the amendment would remove the important reference to members of the Extended Bureau whose role is recognised in ECOSOC Resolution 2003/31. These include regional groups, the G77 and China, and the European Union, who are inscribed on the list of speakers for opening remarks reserved for members of the Extended Bureau. Secondly, the proposed amendment would create a new category of speaking rights for dozens of international organisations, without necessarily having a prior authorisation from their members. This would clearly not serve the work of the CND, but make it unworkable, unwieldy and impossible to govern. It is not up to the international organisations, but their member States, to decide about their external representation

Chair,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and all delegations for the constructive and productive discussions that have taken place over the past two weeks, helping us to improve our original drafts. We have carefully listened to your suggestions and tried to incorporate them to the extent possible, with the aim to achieve broad support. We have also consulted the Secretariat, and through the Secretariat the Office of Legal Affairs, and are most grateful for their valuable advice.

We recall that most delegations who spoke during the informal consultations said they were not opposed to the current practice. Some asked if it was necessary to put this practice in writing and what would be the most appropriate venue for doing so. From our perspective, putting the existing practice on paper is necessary now, in order to bring certainty and continuity to our work before the next regular sessions of the CND and the CCPCJ in spring 2025.

Let me conclude by saying that the EU has engaged in an open, inclusive and transparent manner with all delegations on this issue. Our preference is to have these Decisions adopted in a smooth fashion. I would like to invite all delegations to carefully study our texts and if you are satisfied with the existing practice, to support their adoption and oppose any amendment to the draft.

Thank you, Chair.