7th Informal Meeting of the Alliance

Location: WebEx Meeting
04 Aug 2020, 15:30 - 17:00 (GMT+1)

7th Informal Meeting of the Alliance for Vienna-based Representatives of International NGOs     
August 4th, 2020 15:30 – 16:50 (via Webex)

Participants: Anna Alvazzi del Frate (Chair), Ingeborg Geyer (Treasurer), Evelyn Dürmayer, Cecilia ODwyer, David Peters, Gary Hill, Gerson Nozea, Jolanta Redo, Jay Albanese, Michael O’Connell, Michael Platzer, Phil Reichel, Terutoshi Yamashita, Francesco Serra (Intern), Yasushi Higashizawa, Tobias Krachler (Secretary), Mirella Dummar-Frahi (UNODC-CST), Billy Batware (UNODC-CST), Mariana Cirmaciu (UNODC-CST).

The informal meeting via Webex was facilitated by the Secretary. The Chair welcomed the participants and introduced the agenda of the meeting:

  • Updates from the Alliance
  • Tour de table with discussion
  • AOB

Updates from the Alliance

Chair:

The Chair welcomed the participants and shared updates on forthcoming events:

The nomination period for the remaining board positions is open now. It is possible to nominate candidates until September 2nd, 11:55 p.m. CET. The Annual General Assembly, which will be held in October, is going to be (partly) in remote.

Treasurer:

47 Ordinary members have received the invoices for the membership fee. Most organizations have already paid, some still need to pay. Only Ordinary Members who have paid their fees by 31st of August will be in good standing. Only Ordinary Members in good standing are eligible to vote or run.

Secretary:

On behalf of the nomination committee an email will be sent out to all members, explaining the nomination process in detail. The Secretary, together with the Intern, has compiled guidelines to facilitate content sharing on the Alliance’s website. It will be sent out to the members with the minutes of the Informal Meeting.

Philip Reichel, Vice-President, on the working groups for the Crime Congress:

Gave an update on the working groups for the Crime Congress. The group is divided in subgroups. Phil Reichel’s group will work on the outlines of the whole statement, while Ian Tennant’s group will focus on the effect of the pandemic on crime. The working group would like to read statements from previous congresses (Micheal O’Connell has a draft from the 2010 statements and he can find some more; and Micheal Platzer has the Doha Declaration).

Tour de table

Many participants shared information on their ongoing work and experiences also via chat (copy of the chat is attached for information). Topics included updates on the impact of the pandemic on imprisonment; safety of journalists; lethal violence against women; trafficking in persons; protection of lawyers; as well as updates on new publications and research initiatives. Many participants shared links to relevant information and publications in the Webex chat, which is attached as an Annex to these minutes.

Updates from UNODC-CST

Mirella Dummar Frahi, CST:

The new dates for the Congress will be 7th to 12th of March 2021 the venue remains the same. While the dates are almost certain, there are doubts about the format, which most likely will  be a hybrid event with  in person and online participation.

Billy Batware, CST:

Following the success of the first training focused on the Americas, applications are open for representatives of NGOs, academic institutions and the private sector from Africa and Europe to apply for the second SE4U Training which will take place on 15-17 September 2020. The training aims to enhance the capacity of participants in supporting their governments in fighting organized crime.  Deadline for applications: 31 August.

Gary Hill, Coordinator of Ancillary Meetings and non-governmental Activities:

265 ancillary meetings have been confirmed, no additional meetings will be approved. March 6th will be kept for a preparatory meeting. As soon as an agenda has been adopted, the Congress’ timeframe will be adapted accordingly. Ancillary meetings will be probably reduced to 1-hour events. The Congress will most likely be a combination of in person and virtual meetings. 

The meeting concluded with information on next meetings:

31 August 2020 – 15:30 Vienna Time – 8th Informal Meeting