Why is UNOV important for PPI?

Over almost a decade of UN activities, we have consistently attended events at the UN Headquarters in New York and the office in Geneva. Around 2019 we sent a few delegates to Vienna, but COVID ended most of our activities. This year we are making a new emphasis to network and lobby at UNOV, because a lot of very important global policies that are important to our movement are decided there. The important issues include crime, drugs, trade, outer space, and nukes.

Over this past Easter holiday the chair of PPI, Keith Goldstein, met with the Pirate Party of Austria members, including the PPI main representative at UNOV, Kay Schroeder. They discussed plans this year for PPI activities in Vienna, including goals of establishing a side event, hosting further PPI visits at UNOV, making statements, crowdfunding, and grant writing to establish projects.

PPI has held special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2017, granting us the right to attend UN events, submit statements, and engage with global policymakers. UNOV representatives have been focused on events, such as those of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime´s 68th Commission on Narcotic Drugs in March 2025. We have also participated for several years now in the Cybercrime panels. Many international actors do not share our belief in a free and open internet. We hope that our presence at these events can at a minimum keep us informed about changes to the interpretation of cybercrimes, or at best to stop regulations that target innocent civilians who are not criminals but treated as such. We have also attempted to inquire about nuclear safety issues, but most of those meetings are not open to NGOs.

We share a few pictures from the most recent trip to UNOV. Please let us know if you are also interested in participating in UNOV activities. We hope to inform you soon about PPI events in the area.