Mr. Chairperson, Executive Director, Dear Colleagues,   We took note of the remarks made by Madam Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director during last week’s FinGov meeting. My delegation is resolutely committed to work closely with her to help boosting concrete and positive steps toward realizing UNODC's comprehensive policies, strategies and programs as well as to effectively improve the governance and financial situation of the UNODC for fulfilling its imperative mandate. Accordingly, we welcome maintenance and upholding dialogue and regular consultations between Member states and UNODC in order to collectively address all correlated issues, concerns and challenges we face, and to find most appropriate means and solutions for responding to them.   Indeed, UNODC is mandated to address a significant number of important issues that are absolutely critical for all member states in particular the developing countries. Given the scale and nature of the challenges faced including by developing countries in terms of crime, drugs, corruption, cybercrime and terrorism, UNODC and G-77 Members, should work hands in hands towards formulating and implementing a unified and holistic approach for supporting each other to duly address those serious challenges of our era. Undeniably, together we are stronger and are more capable to find innovative ways and means to accomplish that noble end.   Mr. Chairperson, Our struggle against the COVID19 virus is far from over. The full recovery will be time consuming and painstaking, and requires our unyielding solidarity and devotion. The COVID-19 pandemic is far more than a health crisis but a human one: it is hugely and unprecedentedly affecting societies and econ­omies at their core. While the impact of the pandemic will vary from country to country, it will most likely increase instability, violence, crimes, poverty and inequalities at a global scale as well.   Without urgent socio-eco­nomic responses, global suffering will escalate, jeopardizing lives and livelihoods for years to come. Immediate development responses in this crisis must be undertaken with an eye to the future. Development trajectories in the long-term will be affected by the choices coun­tries make now and the support they receive. In this connection, we believe that UNODC should play its crucial role to deal with Member State’s needs, challenges and opportunities during the pandemic.   Mr. Chairperson, Developing countries also need assistance in understanding and adapting to the challenges and opportunities posed by new technologies and the emerging threats that accompany them - namely in the areas of cybercrime and illicit financial flows, where we need targeted assistance to eliminate corruption, and to develop the policy framework and capabilities to recover stolen assets and halt illicit financial flows. For that reason, we emphasize the inevitability for UNODC to augment effectiveness of its technical assistance programmes and activities, in close consultations with and guidance received from the Member States.   Furthermore, my delegation lays emphasis on the important of the availability of adequate, predictable, sustainable and unwavering resources and funding for UNODC to boost providing technical assistance to developing countries, upon their request. We note with concern that due to the shortfall in general purpose funding; the UNODC is now facing serious challenges which negatively affecting the Office ability to efficiently and independently uphold its core programmatic functions, in particular its normative work and research.   We also express our deep concern on some information contained in the report of the Executive Director which was circulated on 14 October 2019 on "Gender Balance and Geographical Representation" within the UNODC. In this context, we restate our firm position that tangible and effective efforts by the Office should be made to increase representation of developing countries in the staff composition of the Office. We renew our request to the Executive Director to provide a comprehensive action plan for equitable geographical representation. Finally, we reiterate that the enactment and imposition of illegal, illegitimate and inhuman unilateral coercive measures, which are in clear violation of the spirit and body of international law, international human rights law and principles set forth within the Charter of the United Nations, will have a disparaging impact on the essential international cooperation and solidarity that should prevail among nations particularly during the current pandemic. They also gravely hamper the capacity of states to respond efficiently, and sufficiently fight against drugs and crime, specifically in the context of allocation of adequate resources and the acquisition of pertinent technologies and technical equipments crucially needed.   Therefore, we call upon the international community, including the UNODC and the Member States, to condemn the use of unilateral coercive measures against developing countries specifically in the field of fighting crime and drugs and to set up and employ legal and practical measures to put in place urgent and effective actions to diminish those negative impacts on targeted countries.      I thank you Mr. Chairperson.