Source: Paris Pact
Geographical area: Global
Date: 8 February 2023
The Paris Pact Initiative’s Expert Working Group (EWG) meeting in support of the Pillar II of the Vienna Declaration on “Detecting and blocking financial flows linked to illicit traffic in opiates originating in Afghanistan”, was scheduled to take place at the Turkish National Police (TNP) Headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye, from 7 to 8 February 2023, in a hybrid format. A record-high number of 185 delegates were officially nominated for attending the event, representing 40 partner Member States and 9 international and regional organizations.
Unfortunately, a series of devastating earthquakes, causing massive casualties, occurred in Türkiye on 6 February 2023. Consequently, for safety and security reasons, a decision was taken by the Host country’s authorities to cancel the meeting. Due to the need to secure sufficient internet network capacity for emergency communication and in view of the Turkish counterparts’ non-availability to attend the meeting in the context of the ongoing earthquake relief operations, the meeting cancellation concerned also its online component. The decision to cancel the meeting was fully respected. A new date for the EWG meeting on Pillar II will be identified and communicated to Paris Pact partners as soon as possible. The rescheduled meeting will take place only in a virtual (on-line) format.
The Paris Pact programme of UNODC expresses sincerest condolences to the Government of Türkiye for the loss and suffering that have resulted from the earthquakes. Our thoughts remain with the people of Türkiye at this difficult and challenging time.
