For information only - not an official document
UNIS/CP/939
28 September 2016
VIENNA, 28 September (UN Information Service) - The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, today met with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the UN on Youth Employment Werner Faymann.
Mr. Faymann, the former Chancellor of Austria, was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to help support the realization of employment-related goals and actions under the United Nations System-wide Action Plan on Youth, and youth employment targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals.
At the meeting Mr. Fedotov warmly welcomed Mr. Faymann's appointment and stressed the importance of youth employment as an essential element of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a driver for countering crime, illicit drugs, and terrorism, as well as promoting fair and inclusive societies everywhere.
On the issue of violent extremism, Mr. Fedotov said youth unemployment could cause individuals to become marginalized and propel them into the waiting arms of terrorists and extremists.
He said the UN Secretary-General's Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism acknowledges the scale of these challenges when it states, "the absence of alternative employment opportunities can make violent extremist organizations an attractive source of income."
The Executive Director noted that UNODC in 2015 had signed a funding agreement with the Government of the State of Qatar under its Global Programme to implement the Doha Declaration to create educational material on crime prevention and criminal justice matters for youth at the primary, secondary and university levels.
UNODC was also working on helping young people, at risk of engaging in illicit cultivation or drug trafficking, to benefit from educational, vocational and technical training. Mr. Fedotov underlined the need to enable these young people to be integrated into the formal labour market. He said there was also a real need for increased awareness raising among vulnerable youth on drug use prevention.
Mr. Fedotov ended the meeting by offering Mr. Faymann his full support for his crucial work and said that UNOV/UNODC stood ready to assist in the many areas where their work intersected.
* *** *
For further information please contact:
David
Dadge
Spokesperson, UNODC
Phone: (+43 1) 26060-5629
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-5629
Email: david.dadge[at]unvienna.org
