DRAFT MESSAGE BY MR. ANTONIO MARIA COSTA, EXECUTIVE 
         DIRECTOR, UN OFFICE ON DDRUGS AND CRIME, ON THE OCCASION OF 
           THE FORTHIETH ANNIVERSARY OF OPEC’S MOVE TO VIENNA 
        Let me extend my sincere congratulations to OPEC on its anniversary to mark forty 
        years since it established itself in Vienna.  As a pre-eminent intergovernmental 
        organisation OPEC hardly needs introduction.  OPEC has coordinated oil production 
        policies to help stabilise the oil market and ensure that consumers continue to receive 
        stable supplies of oil.   As such, the organisation has added to the international 
        standing of its prestigious host city. 
        OPEC, like the UN, embodies multilateral cooperation to safeguard the individual and 
        collective interests of its Member States.  Its founding Members acted in strict 
        observance of the UN’s principles and aims and throughout its existence, OPEC has 
        always promoted the ideals of the UN, as witnessed by the important Solemn 
        Declaration adopted in 1975 by the First Conference of Sovereigns and Heads of State 
        of OPEC Member Countries.  Those leaders stated that peace and progress depended 
        on the mutual respect for the sovereign equality of all members of the international 
        community in accordance with the UN Charter.   
         
        OPEC has also striven to address the problems besetting developing countries by 
        creating in 1976 the OPEC Fund for International Development, an intergovernmental 
        development finance mechanism that provides flexible, untied and highly favourable 
        assistance to countries in need.  The Fund has done much to promote cooperation 
        between OPEC countries and developing nations, particularly the least-developed 
        countries, as an expression of South-South solidarity.   For three decades, OPEC 
        Member States have allocated part of their development budgets to deliver aid in 
        innovative forms, thereby contributing to social and economic advancement 
        worldwide. 
         
        It is in this spirit that OPEC Fund has made valuable contributions to the work of my 
        organisation, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.  Two OPEC Fund /UNODC 
        particularly deserve mention in this regard.  In 2003, OPEC Fund gave UNODC 
        funding worth $ 150,000 for a project for Drug Abuse Prevention and Health 
        Promotion in Bolivian Schools.  This year, the Fund is planning to support a project 
        aiming to increase capacity for effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care among drug 
        users in prison settings in Central Asia and Azerbaijan.   Let me express my gratitude 
            for OPEC’s cooperation, which I sincerely wish to see continue between our two 
            institutions for the sake of promoting the well-being of people everywhere.  
             
            Let me add a word on the important contribution of the city of Vienna to the work of 
            UNODC. The Ministry of Foreign Relations of Austria, and the city of Vienna co-
            sponsor the United Nations Vienna Civil Society Award. Every year, the award is 
            given to individuals or organizations, which have made outstanding contributions to 
            strengthening civil society in the fight against drug abuse, crime and terrorism and to 
            promoting justice and social progress.     
             
            Next month in New York, the UN too will be observing a special occasion - the 
            commemoration of its sixtieth anniversary.  Member states will review progress 
            towards achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals.   The UN can be 
                                             st
            successful in building a better and safer world in the 21  century with partnerships, 
            such as those we enjoy with OPEC.  
             
            I conclude with the words of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to underline the 
            importance of the role played by the UN’s global partners: “The urgency of global 
            cooperation is now more apparent than ever. A world warned of its vulnerability 
            cannot stand divided while old problems continue to claim the lives of millions and 
            new problems threaten to do the same”  (25 April 2005). 
             
            Allow me again to congratulate you on this special occasion.