| United Nations | A/50/432 |
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
14 September 1995
ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH
Fiftieth session
Item 108 of the provisional agenda*
CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Progress made in the implementation of General Assembly
resolution 49/158
Report of the Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................1 - 23
II. CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE: A CRITICAL NEED3 - 93
III. PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES: A SIGNIFICANT YEAR ..............10 - 626
A. Major events .......................................11 - 146
B. Research and information dissemination .............15 - 177
C. Implementation of United Nations standards and norms18 - 218
D. Operational activities .............................22 - 479
E. Support to the Commission ..........................48 - 4917
F. Collaborative initiatives ..........................50 - 6218
* A/50/150.
95-28145 (E) 131095/...
*9528145*
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
IV. RECENT MANDATES AND THEIR PROGRAMME IMPLICATIONS .......63 - 9622
A. Action by the Commission ...........................64 - 9022
B. Programme implications .............................91 - 9530
C. Further tasks ...................................... 9631
V. STRENGTHENING PROGRAMME CAPACITY .......................97 - 12631
A. A proper place in development assistance ...........100 - 10832
B. Role in peace-building and emergency assistance ....109 - 11235
C. Information management and transfer of knowledge ...113 - 11536
D. From coordination to partnerships ..................116 - 11738
E. Harnessing the means ...............................118 - 12338
VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS .....................................124 - 12640
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The General Assembly, at its forty-ninth session, adopted resolution
49/158 of 23 December 1994 on strengthening the United Nations crime
prevention and criminal justice programme, particularly its technical
cooperation capacity. In that resolution, the Assembly recognized the
direct relevance of crime prevention and criminal justice to sustained
development, stability, security and improved quality of life. It also
recognized the urgent need to increase technical cooperation activities in
order to assist countries, especially developing countries and those in
transition, in translating United Nations policy guidelines into practice,
including training and upgrading of national capacities, and to improve
regional, interregional and international cooperation and coordination of
activities aimed at combating crime. The Assembly reaffirmed the
importance of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice
programme and its crucial role in promoting international cooperation in
that field, in responding to the needs of the international community in
the face of both national and transnational criminality, and in assisting
Member States in preventing crime within and among States and improving the
response to crime.
2. However, the Assembly also noted the considerable obstacles to the full
and effective implementation of the crime-related programme activities,
resulting from the increased workload of the Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice Branch of the Secretariat, owing to the lack of appropriate
institutional capacity, and called for an appropriate share of the
resources to be allocated to that highpriority United Nations programme, so
that its capability to respond to requests from countries and to fulfil its
other tasks could be enhanced. A number of specific steps were recommended
towards that end, including the implementation of relevant previous General
Assembly and Economic and Social Council resolutions calling for the
reinforcement and upgrading of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Branch. The Secretary-General was requested to submit a progress report on
the implementation of the resolution, which is contained in the present
document.
II. CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE: A CRITICAL NEED
3. The Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations offers an opportunity
for serious analysis of the world situation and for assessment of its role
in meeting urgent needs. In making this balance sheet, the undisputed
gains made during this time in various sectors must be recognized, as well
as the overall progress towards enhanced human development. Wars between
States seem to be subsiding and the ideological cold war is largely a thing
of the past. But violence and human suffering are not yet receding:
internal conflicts and ethnic strife plague different parts of the world,
and the threat of crime looms larger than ever even where it did not hold
sway before. Organized crime has spread its tentacles over much of the
globe, fed by corruption and the mercenary pursuit of riches, laundered
through sophisticated means, especially when legitimate businesses have
been infiltrated. Terrorist violence, usually by a fanatic fringe, sows
panic and fear. In some places, the entire economy has been subverted and
the system destabilized by the impact of these deleterious activities,
which pose a danger to the rule of law and democratic change. Even
relations between States have been negatively affected by transnational
crime and violence, which keep widening their reach.
4. At the same time, common criminality is generating a haunting feeling
of insecurity in cities of both developed and developing regions: some
areas have become veritable "urban war zones", where violence, drugs and
deprivation are the order of the day and hopelessness the common currency.
Adverse economic conditions have exacerbated survival problems and material
constraints lacerated social safety nets, compounding disadvantage. In the
burgeoning towns of developing regions, and where poverty prevails, urban
slums are likely to proliferate.
Notes
According to recent forecasts, the world's population will have more than
quadrupled this century, reaching nearly 7 billion by the year 2000, and a
projected 8.5 billion by 2025, of which 6.5 billion are likely to be living
in poor areas, with approximately two thirds in the urban slums of the
developing world. The greatest population increase will be in the 15-25
age group, which is the most highly crime-prone. It is estimated that,
even if the crime rate remains stable, crime will increase in proportion to
increases in these highrisk groups. These demographic trends are expected
to be reinforced by negative economic trends: even if global wealth grows,
it is expected to further widen the gap between rich and poor, between and
within countries. This is likely to foster social unrest, instability and
crime.
5. Failure to give proper weight to the detrimental effects of crime has
exacted a heavy human and material toll, undermining the gains of
development, the quest for greater equity and the prospects for a better
life. It has also hampered United Nations peace-keeping and institution-
building efforts, which cannot succeed in situations of complete
lawlessness, as recent experience has all too painfully shown. The lesson
to be learned is that the creation and proper functioning of the legal and
judicial system are a sine qua non for any viable society and for sustained
progress. The component on the re-establishment of the criminal justice
system, introduced during the Somalia mission, was insufficient to counter
the situation which had escalated beyond control. The Foreign Minister of
Australia noted in his analysis of the United Nations Transitional
Authority in Cambodia operation in Cambodia, "It now seems clear that the
Paris Agreements should have included specific measures for building a
functioning criminal justice system and post-conflict peace-building
exercise, as the rule of law and the institutions needed to support it had
clearly broken down in Cambodia" (Gareth Evans, Cooperating for Peace: The
Global Agenda for the 1990s and Beyond (Allen and Unwin, 1993)). It is
likely that the relative success achieved by UNTAC was in no small measure
due to the adoption, in September 1992, of provisions relating to the
judiciary and criminal law and procedure applicable to Cambodia during the
transitional period which sought to ensure respect for human life, human
rights and property and to apply penalties in their enforcement. For,
justice is the foundation upon which civil society, good governance and
democracy rest, and its promotion an essential condition for building
social trust. As noted in the SecretaryGeneral's report, "in countries
where peace efforts are in progress, it is vital to provide the police,
prosecutors, judges, prison staff, and the legal profession with
international experience and expert knowledge - indispensable tools in
building an effective and fair criminal justice system, one of the pillars
of democracy." Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Building Peace and Development
1994: Report on the Work of the Organization (United Nations publication,
Sales No. E.95.I.3), para. 94.
6. The task is all the more difficult since vested interests, particularly
armed bands, local gangs and other organized criminal elements will resist
the establishment or re-establishment of "law and order". Yet, it is
particularly needed in conditions of civil war and/or humanitarian
assistance, when offences against persons and property are likely to
proliferate. All possible measures are required to increase safety,
including that of mission personnel. Proscriptions to avoid interpersonal
violence, and especially crimes against humanity, need to be properly
enforced and a functional criminal justice system set up where it is
lacking. Prosecution of major offenders in international tribunals is a
necessary course, especially as a normative device of the international
community seeking to assert its moral authority, particularly where
national mechanisms do not exist or are not properly utilized, or where
transnational offences are involved. "The global neighbourhood of the
future must be characterized by law and the reality that all, including the
weakest, are equal under the law, and none, including the strongest, are
above it". Our Global Neighbourhood. The Report of the Commission on
Global Governance (New York, Oxford University Press, 1995), chap. 7. "A
call to action: strengthening the rule of law", p. 347. It is crucial,
however, that national and local courts be activated and proceed
expeditiously, perhaps under international supervision, so that justice can
be seen to be done and the rule of law restored, as a means also of
promoting public confidence and social cohesion. Protection, recourse and
redress for the victims also have to be assured. This requires a well-
functioning justice system. The creation of legal monitors to help spread
the culture of law has been suggested to help curtail violence and abuse.
See also Lucio Ghia, The Future of Peace Keeping, World Jurist Association,
April 1995.
7. As was pointed out at the United Nations World Ministerial Conference
on Organized Transnational Crime, held at Naples, Italy, in November 1994,
in the prevailing vacuum created by institutional breakdown and dwindling
social controls, organized crime is likely to establish itself through the
sale of arms, drugs, prostitution, diverting badly needed aid from its
envisaged recipients and dissipating assistance potential. See also the
report of the Conference (A/49/748). Even technical cooperation programmes
are vulnerable to fraud, as the experience of some United Nations agencies
has, unfortunately, revealed, but such practices tend to be even more
pernicious in complex emergencies where mutual trust and efficiency are
essential. To avoid the dwindling of scarce resources in this way, crime
prevention elements should be built into development assistance projects as
an indispensable element of quality control.
8. The new approach to United Nations activities, as articulated by the
Secretary-General, emphasizes the complementarity of peace and development,
and the need to address problems which, if left unattended, are likely to
undermine both. Human security ranks high on the list, not mainly as
protection from external foes but, increasingly, as the maintenance of
social peace and freedom from fear, conducive also to the satisfaction of
other basic needs and the development process. The lack of a secure
environment for economic growth has discouraged foreign investment, and
illicit operations have siphoned off vast sums that could have been used
for the common good. The failure to incorporate crime prevention
considerations in national planning has contributed to dysfunctional
development, compounding inequities and precluding the enjoyment by all the
people of the fruits of progress.
9. Neglect of this aspect may also jeopardize the success of major
reforms, including the movement towards market economies. Some countries
in transition have borne the consequences: organized crime is becoming
entrenched, taking advantage of the legal flux and enforcement vacuum.
This could have been predicted and perhaps even avoided. If preventive
measures are not instituted in good time, they may be unable to contain the
seemingly inexorable progression of crime, or there may be a backlash of
repression jeopardizing democratic reforms and the enjoyment of basic
freedoms. A strengthened United Nations capacity to forecast and forestall
such negative effects of institutional transformations, and wider
utilization of this expertise in technical cooperation, would help to avert
and mitigate such dangers. The urgency is very real, not only for the
countries directly affected but also because of the spill-over effect
deriving from the internationalization of crime, which has permitted
criminal organizations to cross national borders and to expand their
operations - a continuing malignant process likely to subvert the rule of
law and to endanger popular well-being. Regionalization and the
establishment of common markets are expected to accentuate it, with the
increased permeability of frontiers and economic integration susceptible to
infiltration by organized crime. They may also facilitate the illicit
traffic in human cargo with severe violations of basic human rights. These
may be further infringed by xenophobic reactions to the tide of migrants
and other extremist acts that utilize violence to threaten personal safety
and social peace. The promise of "one world" and of the "global
neighbourhood" risks being perverted unless effective, wide-ranging,
collaborative strategies are instituted to reverse this perilous trend.
III. PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES: A SIGNIFICANT YEAR
10. The year under review was an eventful one, with two world conferences
and a session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,
that highlighted many of the aforementioned concerns and proposed concrete
directions for future work. It also witnessed a wide range of other
programme activities, particularly strengthened technical cooperation
efforts.
A. Major events
11. The results of the World Ministerial Conference on Organized
Transnational Crime were submitted to the Assembly at its forty-ninth
session (A/49/748), leading to the adoption of its resolution 49/159 of 23
December 1994. By that resolution, the General Assembly approved the
Political Declaration and the Global Action Plan against Organized
Transnational Crime, and urged States to implement them as a matter of
urgency, and all entities of the United Nations system and relevant
organizations to provide their full support. The Secretary-General was
requested to transmit the Naples decisions to the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice for appropriate action, and the Commission,
to keep them under regular review. A higher level of priority for the
United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme was urged,
as well as adequate funds, particularly in the light of its added
responsibilities, and to enable it to respond to the most urgent needs of
States in the prevention and control of organized transnational crime. As
requested in the resolution, a progress report on its implementation
(A/50/433) has been submitted to the Assembly.
12. The Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders, held at Cairo from 29 April to 8 May 1995, the
first Congress to be held in Africa, was very well attended and generated
wide interest. It was a first in other ways: by using a new format, as
recommended by the General Assembly in resolution 46/152 of 18 December
1991, and by being the first major United Nations Conference to employ
remote translation, with considerable savings. The Congress, which
involved intensive preparatory work had, inter alia, input from regional
preparatory meetings Organized under the United Nations crime prevention
and criminal justice programme in January-February 1994; some further ones
were organized, for example, by the Group of Mediterranean States. and
extensive other documentation. It adopted a number of resolutions and made
a series of practical and far-reaching recommendations. The report of the
Congress is before the General Assembly as document A/CONF.169/16 and a
note by the Secretary-General summarizing the results has been submitted as
document A/50/373.
13. The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its fourth
session, held at Vienna from 30 May to 9 June 1995, considered the report
and decisions of the Ninth Congress, and adopted a comprehensive draft
resolution on the implementation of its recommendations, as well as a
number of other draft resolutions on priority themes. It also formulated a
draft resolution related to the Congress for consideration by the General
Assembly. The report of the Commission is available to the Assembly as a
background document. Official Records of the Economic and Social Council,
1995, Supplement No. 10. The Council, at its substantive session, adopted
the draft resolutions recommended by the Commission, as resolutions 1995/8-
15 and 1995/27, of 24 July 1995. The mandates deriving from the Ninth
Congress, the Commission and the Council, and their programme implications,
are considered later in the present report.
14. Expert meetings and seminars were organized during the year, largely
as collaborative ventures. Other major events, such as the World Summit
for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women, also made
some relevant recommendations. These are mentioned, as appropriate, under
other headings.
B. Research and information dissemination
15. The fourth United Nations survey of crime trends and operations of
criminal justice systems was largely completed during this year, and an
interim report A/CONF.169/15 and Add.1. on the results was submitted to
the Ninth Congress, as requested by the Commission on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice. It offers a preliminary overview of the changes in world
patterns and dynamics of crime, including violent and property crime,
during the years 1986-1990. The report contains information drawing on the
situation in 100 countries of different regions that responded to the
survey questionnaire, including the trends of violence (and dynamics of
homicide) in the world; available criminal justice resources and the
situation of prisons. A new feature was the accompanying assessment of
trends of transnational crime, especially organized crime, conducted in
pursuance of Economic and Social Council resolution 1993/34 of 27 July 1993
and the Naples Global Action Plan to serve also as an early warning for
appropriate counteraction. Ibid. Regional trend analyses were prepared
by the United Nations institutes. Extensive research was also carried out
in connection with the working papers for the Ninth Congress and the
background papers for the workshops. Surveys on special subjects falling
under the priority themes of the Commission, such as measures to combat the
smuggling of illegal migrants, were prepared for it on the basis of
government responses, as were some other survey reports. The United
Nations institutes continued their research and training activities,
including some relating to the Ninth Congress and Commission agendas (for
example, The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research
Institute (UNICRI) on penal protection of the environment, and the United
Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD) on trafficking in children).
16. A great deal of material was generated during the year in connection
with the major conferences, as listed in the annexes to their reports.
This included public information issuances, such as a Department of Public
Information pamphlet describing the United Nations crime prevention and
criminal justice programme, press kits and other releases. National
statements were submitted to the Congress and other inputs provided by
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). For example,
a special publication on migration and crime was issued by the
International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council (ISPAC) in
cooperation with the Pioom Foundation, in connection with an ancillary
meeting on this subject. Also, a volume on the Inter-organization
Colloquium on Criminal Justice Management was published by the Centro
Nazionale di Prevenzione e Difesa Sociale with support from the
International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation.
17. Special issues of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice Newsletter on the Ninth Congress and other recent events have been
prepared. Also in connection with the Congress, vol. 2, No. 3 of the UNCJIN
Newsletter was devoted to trends in urban crime and crime prevention. An
issue on violence and conflict resolution is in preparation. No. 4 of the
Newsletter highlighted the potential of the United Nations Crime and
Justice Information Network (UNCJIN) now that it is well established on the
Internet. A commentary on the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for
Non-custodial Measures (Tokyo Rules) for the non-institutional treatment of
offenders has been issued, and manuals prepared on the implementation of
the Model Treaties on Extradition and on Mutual Cooperation in Criminal
Matters, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolutions 45/116 and
45/117 of 14 December 1990. A manual on basic education in prisons was
also issued. The United Nations Manual on the Prevention and Control of
Computer-related Crime was published in No. 43-44 of the International
Review of Criminal Policy. No. 45-46 of the Review is to mark the Fiftieth
Anniversary of the United Nations, containing a topical review of the
progress made, as well as a comprehensive bibliography of all United
Nations crime prevention and criminal justice publications, reports and
other materials issued since the programme's inception. A selected
bibliography on penal protection of the environment has also been prepared.
Several joint publications which have been produced in collaboration with
other United Nations entities are mentioned below.
C. Implementation of United Nations standards and norms
18. The United Nations standards in crime prevention and criminal justice
represent internationally agreed upon norms that provide a yardstick
against which countries can gauge their current policies and desirable
reforms. They are useful training material for countries eager to
modernize their criminal justice systems and upgrade the capabilities of
their personnel. They also serve as a guide for civil police and other
United Nations peace-keeping personnel. Their importance and the need to
monitor their use and application have led the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice to include the United Nations standards and
norms as a standing item on its agenda, and to convene an in-sessional
working group on the subject. The one held during the Commission's fourth
session discussed the best ways of monitoring the use and application of
the United Nations guidelines and norms, and endorsed the guidelines
established to gather information on actual practices as well as relevant
legislation.
19. The responses of Governments to four surveys of the progress achieved
in the implementation of the first set of four United Nations instruments
are being analysed and collated for reports to be submitted to the
Commission at its fifth session, at which it will also review a new draft
questionnaire for the next set of norms, dealing with juvenile justice. A
manual on juvenile justice has been prepared to serve as a training guide
for judges and social workers dealing with juvenile offenders and children
at risk. The manual will provide information on how to make optimum use of
the United Nations standards in this field, particularly with a view to
preventing juvenile delinquency and assuring the reintegration of juvenile
offenders in the community.
20. In pursuance of Economic and Social Council resolutions 1745 (LIV) of
16 May 1973, 1984/50 of 25 May 1984, 1989 (64) of 24 May 1989 and 1990 (51)
of 24 July 1990, the quinquennial report on capital punishment was prepared
for submission to the Council at its substantive session in 1995, on the
basis of government replies; it included information on the implementation
of safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing the
death penalty. E/1995/78 and Add.1 and Corr.1. It served as a basis for
the Council's deliberations on this subject and for its resolution 1995/57.
21. The implementation of the international instruments for mutual
assistance in criminal matters and of the model treaties on different
aspects of bilateral and multilateral cooperation also requires technical
assistance, and efforts have been made to provide this, beginning with the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries of western
Africa. The manuals on extradition and other kinds of mutual assistance
should help in the adoption of national provisions that would facilitate
cooperation in this regard.
D. Operational activities
22. In paragraph 5 of its resolution 49/158, the General Assembly
recognized that operational activities should continue to receive priority
attention among United Nations activities in crime prevention and criminal
justice. By highlighting this aspect and giving further indications, the
Naples Ministerial Conference, the Ninth Congress, the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Economic and Social Council have
helped to define the parameters of this work. The practical orientation of
the Congress, with its technical assistance-oriented workshops, the special
sessions on technical cooperation, both in the Congress and the Commission,
and the ongoing dialogue with countries about their technical assistance
requirements, have all contributed to the increased operationalization of
the programme, which is expected to continue with the implementation of the
established action plans. However, the degree to which this aim can be
realized and major inroads made in helping countries to curtail criminality
and improve criminal justice administration will depend largely on the
operational capacity of the programme to render the necessary aid. If the
theme of the Ninth Congress, "Less crime, more justice: security for all",
is to become a reality, an appreciably strengthened effort and increased
programme capability are required. Some steps in this direction have been
taken, but much more is clearly required if the chasm between the needs in
this field and the international response is, if not bridged, then at least
reduced.
23. The range of possible initiatives is daunting, including needs
assessments and fact-finding missions, assistance in planning and
implementing comprehensive strategies, advisory services to deal with
priority issues, formulation and implementation of specific projects,
including expert assistance in law review and reform, and in promoting more
coherent and effective criminal justice systems and subsystems, such as the
police, the judiciary, correctional services and juvenile justice; training
and educational programmes, including the development of model curricula
and training materials; fellowships; the exchange of information and
experience; the computerization of criminal justice administration and
statistics; and experimental innovation through feasibility studies, pilot
and demonstration schemes.
1. Multiple requirements
24. The multiplicity of needs in this field has been conveyed by
Governments on various occasions: through urgent requests directed to the
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch and its affiliated institutes;
and during short-term advisory missions, which often have to help define
these needs; through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) or United
Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) channels; and during
global and regional conferences. The Ninth Congress highlighted the
pervasive needs of many countries in this field. Often, they are so
extensive and interrelated that they are difficult to isolate and
prioritize. In those cases, particularly, a comprehensive approach to
foster multi-pronged action offers the best prospects, with a coherent
policy framework and phased implementation of measures aimed at capacity-
building.
25. Many developing countries and those in transition have found
themselves overtaken by rapid political and socio-economic changes,
including the growing incidence and sophistication of crime, with which
they are ill-equipped to deal. In some cases legal provisions can be
updated; more often they have to be completely revised. Obsolete, alien
criminal codes and lack of trained personnel have made most criminal
justice systems a poor match for criminals disposing of technological means
and the latest know-how. Where the entire system is being changed, as in
countries moving towards a market economy, existing laws and structures are
being overhauled, often with external assistance. It is no wonder, then,
that legal reform, including new penal codes and codes of criminal
procedure, ranks high on the list, as does special legislation to deal with
particularly worrisome problems, such as organized transnational crime,
corruption and money-laundering.
26. Where democracy has been restored or has only recently taken root,
there is a special need for the projected changes to reinforce the rule of
law and democratic institutions rather than placing them at risk. Expert
advice, drawing on international guidelines and the experience of other
countries, can be particularly helpful in this connection, and has been
widely solicited. Some UNDP country programmes specifically include crime
prevention and criminal justice reform For example, Estonia (see
DP/1995/16, para. 16). and judicial training; For example, Latvia (ibid.,
para. 80). in other cases they may be subsumed under "governance" and
broader administrative reform, including public service upgrading.
Legislative prototypes are sought, which could be adapted to particular
needs; they can also help to harmonize laws so as to reduce gaps and
differences capitalized upon by astute offenders likely to shift operations
to areas of lesser control, in terms of both the existing statutes and
their enforcement.
27. Countries recovering from civil war or from dictatorships are
particularly eager to improve their system of governance and are aware of
the central role of the administration of justice in this regard. Where
the police has played a repressive role, not only its technical
capabilities but also its image has to be upgraded to foster public
cooperation. There is considerable interest in community policing and, in
the words of one African government official, a real need to do a great
deal of sensitive training of the police in how to behave in a democratic
society. There also seems to be a widespread need for judicial reform and
the training of judges, especially in human rights and in the range of
possible sentencing options, to counter the over-reliance on imprisonment.
New skills are sought to deal with seemingly intractable problems, such as
the difficulties in investigating and prosecuting complex economic and
technological crimes, where there is an acute dearth of expertise or it has
to be utilized in new ways, such as the use of multidisciplinary teams.
28. There is a strong interest in improving the efficiency of criminal
justice operations, especially through their computerization, but the basic
equipment is usually lacking, as is the necessary personnel. Automated
data collection is often but a desideratum, and an empirical base for
decision-making, a future aim. This aspect can often be included as part
of broader telecommunications projects, reflecting the need for aid in
context. This is true also of correctional systems, with their dilapidated
facilities and overcrowded prisons, which need to be upgraded in accordance
with United Nations standards, cleared of detainees awaiting trial, and
used only as a punishment of last resort. Many countries, for example in
Africa, in their customary justice traditions have victim restitution and
mediation mechanisms that could be much more widely applied, but they may
seek more "modern" alternatives, in spite of the trend towards de-
institutionalization and community-based "restorative or reparative
justice" in some developed countries, which is consonant with African
customary traditions. Technical assistance providers in such situations
should be particularly careful to suggest compatible options rooted in the
culture rather than introducing further alien models. Technical
cooperation among developing countries (TCDC) holds special promise in this
regard.
29. Many countries seek assistance with mounting juvenile delinquency and
the treatment of juvenile offenders. In many instances, these are
imprisoned with adults in improper facilities, under severe prison regimes.
The whole area of juvenile justice and the re-education of juveniles for a
productive role in society is a major concern, including the reintegration
into the community of those who had taken an active part in armed conflict.
Assistance with other young persons in difficult circumstances, such as
street children, is also being sought. There is a growing realization that
preventive steps are needed to reverse the progression of crime or, where
it has not yet made serious inroads, to stop it from doing so. This
provides a singular opportunity for instituting an integrated multisectoral
approach, in which a whole range of requirements can be incorporated,
including coordinating mechanisms and more rational criminal justice
systems.
30. A recurrent motif is the need for training, and requests for different
kinds and levels of training have been multiplying. There is significant
scope for it, if still a limited capacity, including the organization of
seminars, workshops and training courses, fellowships and personnel
exchanges, the development of model curricula and training materials, and
teaching modules for the training of trainers that would have a multiplier
effect. Intensified and more widespread efforts are urgently required to
build the cadres needed to upgrade national and local capacities, and to
impart a broader perspective necessary for dealing with new, transnational
crime forms and ramifications, including jurisdictional issues and
reciprocal arrangements. Finally, there is an extensive need for equipment
of all kinds and the capability of handling it. The communicated
requirements are being analysed as a basis for strategic planning of the
responses, given the shortage of means.
31. This refers not only to national projects, for in the era of
transnational crime concerted action is indispensable. It adds a whole new
dimension to technical cooperation, including efforts to harmonize national
laws in accordance with international guidelines (such as the United
Nations norms), to elaborate implementing model legislation; and to develop
collaborative agreements and arrangements, utilizing the United Nations
instruments (for example, model treaties on mutual assistance in criminal
matters, extradition, transfer of criminal proceedings and of prisoners),
with particular scope for regional and subregional cooperation, and the
integration of bilateral initiatives into a wider international approach.
Training at the interregional, regional and subregional levels can promote
joint strategies and reduce training costs. To increase and gauge impact,
provision must be made for proper monitoring, evaluation, feedback and
follow-up, and for the coordination of assistance projects and activities,
so as to avoid overlap and achieve a synergistic effect. Resource
mobilization and expenditure rationalization are a key aspect, aimed at a
favourable cost-benefit ratio in the initiatives taken. Cost-sharing,
innovative partnerships and other means of increasing programme capacity
are options being pursued but are themselves limited by the existing
constraints.
2. Advisory services
32. The proliferation of requests for crime and justice-related assistance
has led to the provision of a second interregional adviser post under the
regular programme of technical cooperation (part V, sect. 20, of the
programme budget for the biennium 1994-1995), so that short-term missions
to countries could be resumed in late 1994, after a hiatus of almost a
year. Economies in their deployment have permitted some of the earmarked
funds to be used for training and project support. Since the services of
interregional advisers are provided to countries at no cost to them for
short periods of time, appropriate preparation and follow-up, including
longer-term project development, are particularly important.
33. Since being appointed, each adviser has carried out some needs
assessment missions. Occasions such as the Ninth Congress provided
opportunities for consultations with government officials regarding their
particular requirements. Other needs assessments were carried out in the
context of peace-keeping operations, as for Haiti and Rwanda (see below).
In addition to comprehensive needs assessments, some requests for
interregional advisory services sought expert guidance in defining the
needs in a specific area or sub-sector. Thus, in Peru an interregional
adviser conducted a needs assessment for the Prison Administration, centred
on the training requirements to upgrade prison staff. In Pakistan, in a
collaborative mission, the concern was how to deal with the rapidly
increasing threat of organized crime. A correctional needs assessment for
the Caribbean countries formed the basis of a workshop on the training of
trainers. In Albania, the objective was to ascertain the need and
readiness to undertake administrative reform of the correctional services,
and to institute a new system of juvenile justice.
34. Even where requests were rather specific, however, the ramifications
were often unanticipated, necessitating broader projects and further work
to clarify the requirements and help choose the best option. Thus, a
mission to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to advise on the
establishment of proposed crime prevention councils, and on measures
against corruption and money-laundering, enlarged its scope to deal with
other aspects related to organized crime, and to provide appropriate
follow-up. Missions to Benin, Chad and Lesotho are foreseen. The
interregional advisers also provided support for activities of the regional
United Nations institutes and participated in some of their activities.
35. Advisory services were also rendered by the Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice Branch and its experts, for example, in connection with
the new Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure drafted in Belarus and
the proposed Criminal Code of Ukraine. Continuing assistance was provided
in the implementation of a criminal justice reform project in the Russian
Federation, including participation in the evaluation of the results of the
implementation of new forms of legal proceedings (Sochi, 3-7 October 1994).
3. Training
36. A substantial number of training courses, seminars and workshops were
organized and serviced during the period under review, in accordance with
the emphasis placed on training by United Nations policy-making bodies and
the Ninth Congress, and in response to the acute need for training and re-
training in developing countries and those in transition, as a means of
imparting knowledge (for example, on the United Nations standards and norms
and other elements of desirable practice), effecting attitude change,
sharing experiences and upgrading skills, including problem-solving and
conflict management capabilities.
37. In most cases, the training activities undertaken were of a
collaborative nature. A major initiative, implemented in cooperation with
the Resource Committee on Corrections of ISPAC, was a series of workshops
for prison personnel, using the ISPAC Basic Training Manual for
Correctional Workers. The first one was a seminar on penitentiary issues,
organized jointly with the Government of Argentina (Buenos Aires, 27-31
March 1995), attended by over 400 participants from Latin American
countries; the second was a workshop for trainers from Caribbean countries,
held in cooperation with the Government of Barbados (Christchurch, 9-13
April 1995). The third, organized with the United Nations African
Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders
(UNAFRI) (Kampala, 10-14 July 1995), was attended by participants from
African anglophone countries. A further one was organized for Latin
American prison personnel (Valenca, Brazil, 28 August-2 September 1995).
Other training courses are also foreseen, for example, on the treatment of
prisoners and on juvenile justice in Gabon and on the treatment of
prisoners, crime prevention and juvenile justice in Burkina Faso. The
interregional advisers have been involved, where possible, in the planning
and execution of such projects so that they could be integrated into
broader technical cooperation strategies and given appropriate support and
follow-up.
38. Collaborative training projects with organizations such as the Raoul
Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, in Lund, Sweden,
continued, with members of the Branch serving as trainers in seminars for
African countries, held in Burundi, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, the
United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, most of which dealt with
human rights in law enforcement. Subregional initiatives included a
training seminar on juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice, the treatment
of offenders and crime prevention strategies, for Portuguese-speaking
African countries, with the support of the Government of Portugal (Sao Tome
and Principe, 23-28 February 1995). Assistance was also given in training
initiatives sponsored by other organizations, such as Penal Reform
International and Caribbean Rights, for example, a seminar on criminal
justice and the rule of law in sentencing, for Latin American and Caribbean
participants (Christchurch, 15-17 September 1994).
39. Collaboration continued in training ventures sponsored by other parts
of the United Nations system, such as the Centre for Human Rights and
cooperation with UNDCP was intensified during this period, as called for by
the General Assembly and other bodies. The Branch provided resource
persons for two training courses on human rights in law enforcement, for
Egyptian police officers (Cairo, 31 May-14 June 1994), and another, for
police trainers, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Skopje, 23-
27 January 1995). A Branch member served as a resource person for the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and AsiaNet-sponsored Asia-Pacific
Training Programme on "Juvenile justice and the rights of the child"
(Bangkok, 12-17 December 1994).
40. Joint training projects were also undertaken with UNDCP, including a
two-week training course for police officers in charge of drug control
units in Ukraine (Kiev, 20 February-3 March 1995) and in Belarus (Minsk, 2-
15 October 1995). An interregional adviser served as a resource person for
the UNDCP ministerial forum against corruption and the legal workshop for
senior officials dealing with corruption and drug trafficking in southern
and eastern Africa (Pretoria, 11-14 November 1994). The regional adviser
on crime prevention and criminal justice for Asia and the Pacific, based in
the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), took
part in training courses and workshops on community-based approaches to
drug demand reduction.
41. A series of regional seminars is projected to follow up, provide
training and promote joint action in pursuance of the recommendations
concerning organized crime and corruption. These will be high-level
meetings, convened in cooperation with the United Nations regional
institutes in Africa, Asia and Latin America, in November-December 1995.
They will consider the wider application of the United Nations instruments
on mutual assistance in criminal matters, extradition, the transfer of
criminal proceedings, etc., and of the guidelines on measures against
corruption, and money-laundering, with a view to devising concerted
strategies, strengthening regional cooperation, and developing regional
agreements (such as possible conventions) and collaborative arrangements to
combat these problems.
42. The interregional advisers and Branch members also served as resource
persons for other training activities, including a seminar on "Police
apprehension and remand detention in the light of fundamental rights
guarantees", organized by the International Penal and Penitentiary
Foundation (Macao, October 1994); an international conference of experts on
"International Criminal Justice: historical and contemporary
perspectives", organized by the Institute for Higher Studies in Criminal
Sciences (Syracuse, December 1994); the first meeting of the Task Force on
Democracy, Governance and Participation of the UNDP regional programme
designed to support these and foster international cooperation in East
European States and the former Soviet Republics (Geneva, February 1995); a
conference on "Crime and criminal justice in the Mediterranean area:
promotion of informed decision-making and international cooperation,
organized by UNICRI (Malta, February 1995); the Curriculum Development
Committee and seminar for law enforcement officials from Central and East
European countries (Budapest, February and April 1995); a seminar on human
rights in the administration of justice, for magistrates from francophone
African countries, organized by the Ecole nationale de la magistrature
(Paris, November 1994); a seminar on forensic techniques, for participants
from these countries (Toulouse, France, June 1995); and a training seminar
for specialist liaison officers for offences against minors, organized by
the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) (Lyon, April
1995).
4. Fellowship programme
43. A recent innovation has been the establishment of a fellowship
programme, primarily for candidates from developing countries and some from
countries in transition, funded from both regular and extrabudgetary
sources. These opportunities were widely advertised, with the help of
United Nations resident coordinators, and eight fellows (four male, four
female) selected for 1995 out of 183 government nominees (from Albania,
Burundi, China, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Guinea, India and
Jamaica), who will be able to upgrade their own and their countries'
expertise in areas of particular concern.
5. Involvement in peace-keeping operations
44. The General Assembly, in paragraph 13 of its resolution 49/158,
welcomed the assistance rendered to States and urged that it be
strengthened, including the training of peace-keeping and emergency
personnel. In accordance with the mandate to respond to requests
channelled through United Nations peace-keeping missions, assistance in
crime control and justice-related matters was rendered in Haiti, Somalia,
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Rwanda/Burundi. In some
cases, as in Haiti, this involved successive short-term missions, starting
with an overall needs assessment, carried out by an interregional adviser
and a staff member in December 1994, in cooperation with the Centre for
Human Rights. The mission analysed the existing situation, including both
the major needs and available bilateral and multilateral technical
assistance. Among the recommendations for priority action were the
modernization of the judicial system, including a revision of the code of
criminal procedure, training of prosecutors and judges, creation of a
prison administration, assistance in training the police and teaching human
rights for a functioning civil society. Under these priorities, proposals
were made to meet the immediate, medium-term and long-term needs.
Following a specific request from the UNDP Resident Coordinator and the
Head of the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH), advisory
services for the modernization of the correctional system were provided in
January 1995 to help remedy the unsatisfactory prison conditions, and a
series of proposals made, with a basic project proposal for the development
of correctional services, including personnel training and material
requirements, such as the renovation of facilities, with cost figures. A
training course for prosecutors was held from 3 to 15 July 1995.
Cooperative arrangements were pursued in both the mission and the suggested
follow-up. The project is being implemented with support from France
(Ecole de la Magistrature) and the United States (Agency for International
Development (USAID)). See also the report of the Secretary-General on the
United Nations Mission in Haiti (S/1995/614), pp. 7-8. An associate
expert from the Branch has been recruited by MICIVIH for a six-month
period.
45. One of the interregional advisers and a consultant of the Branch
participated in the UNDP round-table on the mid-point review of the
assistance rendered to Rwanda, held in Kigali in July 1995. The request
was conveyed via the Department of Development Support and Management
Services, whose project on governance includes assistance in the
administration of justice, which in this case means the de facto
(re)establishment of a functioning justice system and improvement of prison
conditions, particularly the treatment of minors. A workshop on the reform
and rehabilitation of the justice system in Rwanda, convened during the
meeting, included the problem of prison treatment and the need for training
of judicial, correctional and law enforcement personnel. The United
Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice, still
insufficiently known, were highlighted in this connection. Assistance in
criminal investigations is also required, as is the reintegration into
society of those detained without adequate grounds, especially juveniles.
Recommendations for follow-up were made in the collaborative multi-agency
framework of the Rwanda operation, and conveyed to the special meeting on
prison conditions in Rwanda, convened in Geneva on 14 August 1995.
Advisory services are to be further provided in this context. A brief
fact-finding visit to Burundi confirmed the problems facing it and the
urgent need to tackle justicerelated issues, also as a preventive tactic to
avoid the escalation of ethnic conflicts, pursued further at a training
course for law enforcement officials, held in Bujumbura, from 21 to 25
August 1995, in cooperation with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute.
46. The project on re-establishing the criminal justice system in Somalia
made some progress but was handicapped by the breakdown of the rule of law
in the country, which negatively affected the overall situation and
prospects of the mission. The project director was among the last to leave
the country when the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) withdrew.
The events necessitated the cancellation of a planned donors' meeting on
law enforcement and re-establishment of the justice system in the country,
to be convened at the request of the coordinating group of major donors.
In the Middle East, two seminars on police and criminal justice management,
for Palestinian police officers, were conducted (Gaza, 27-30 November and
4-8 December 1994), with the support of the Swedish International
Development Authority (SIDA). They were organized as part of the United
Nations Integrated Assistance Programme for Palestinian Civil Police,
coordinated by the Secretary-General's Special Representative on the Peace
Process in Palestine. The aim was to sensitize the participants to law
enforcement in a democratic society, relations with the public, limitations
on the use of force and other practical problems, such as cross-border
communication. The participants are to serve as future trainers. The
Branch also undertook the training of civil police for peace-keeping
missions, organizing the United Nations Civilian Police/United Nations
Protection Force (UNCIVPOL/UNPROFOR) Station Commanders' workshops, held at
Wiener Neudstadt (4-6 November 1994) and a workshop for the United Nations
Preventive Deployment Force (UNDEPREP) (Skopje, 23-27 January 1995). It
participated in the workshop on civilian training for United Nations field
operations, organized by the Office of Human Resources Management (New
York, 24-26 May 1995) with a special contribution on "Rebuilding criminal
justice systems in post-crisis peace-building".
47. An interregional adviser served as a resource person in an
international conference on peace-keeping, maintenance of order and crime
control, organized by Ramkhamhaeng University (Bangkok, December 1994), and
cooperated in a seminar on the selection and training of civilian personnel
(including civil police) in United Nations peace-keeping operations, held
at the Austrian Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (Stadt Schlaining,
July 1995), highlighting the need for justice and relevant institution-
building for United Nations mission success and lasting peace prospects.
Expertise was also provided for a similar seminar held at the University of
Pisa (18 September-7 October 1995). The United Nations Criminal Justice
Standards for Peace-keeping Police (Blue Book) proved a useful training
guide for this and other such initiatives. The regional adviser on crime
prevention and criminal justice for Asia and the Pacific undertook a
mission to Cambodia, where further work on criminal justice administration
and measures against corruption is planned, including training courses, as
follow-up of the assistance rendered by the programme in the context of the
United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).
E. Support to the Commission
48. In paragraph 12 of resolution 49/158, the General Assembly requested
the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to assist the
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as the principal
policy-making body in that field, in performing its functions, and to
ensure the proper coordination of all relevant activities, in particular
with the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
The Secretariat has sought to facilitate the Commission's task by reporting
regularly on the implementation of its recommendations as approved by the
Economic and Social Council and other relevant bodies. It provides the
Commission with annual reports on coordination of the work with other
United Nations entities and on the activities of the United Nations network
of institutes and affiliated centres, based on their submissions. As
requested, the collaborative initiatives taken with the Centre for Human
Rights and the UNDCP have been highlighted in the reports, as have been the
activities of United Nations entities in areas of special concern (for
example, violence against women and children).
49. The Secretariat prepares a substantial number of reports for the
Commission's annual sessions (12 reports were prepared, as requested, for
the fourth session, and some 30 are mandated for the fifth) A number of
reports are based on government responses, and a series of notes verbales
have been sent out to elicit the required information. in addition to
conference room papers (for example, on the Congress results), submitted to
facilitate the Commission's work further. In connection with the envisaged
activities, the Commission expressed interest in receiving more detailed
information, especially on the programmatic implications of the various
mandates, and urged that the recommendations of the recent meetings be duly
taken into account in the programme budget. In addition to the substantive
support provided to the Commission, the technical servicing functions now
also rest with the United Nations Office at Vienna, in accordance with
Economic and Social Council resolution 1994/16 of 25 July 1994. Regular
briefing sessions were organized with members of permanent missions in
connection with the Ninth Congress and the Commission, and meetings with
its Bureau members held between sessions.
F. Collaborative initiatives
50. As requested by the General Assembly in paragraph 11 of its resolution
49/158, cooperation with UNDCP was strengthened during the past year, as
also urged by the respective commissions, through joint missions, for
example, to Pakistan, to combat organized crime, and joint training courses
for law enforcement personnel dealing with drug offences, as mentioned
earlier. A joint seminar/workshop with UNDCP and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights, on drug trafficking and crime-related
matters, is to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in November 1995, and
another one in Budapest. Joint planning and implementation of some other
activities are also envisaged, particularly on measures against organized
crime, corruption and money-laundering. Ongoing consultations and
information exchange are helping to ensure coordination and complementarity
of the projects undertaken.
51. Joint activities were also undertaken with the United Nations Centre
for Human Rights, including the aforementioned training courses and
seminars on human rights in law enforcement (for example, in Romania, in
November 1994), and other activities. This included participation in
meetings of the Commission on Human Rights, the Subcommission On Prevention
of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and an inter-agency meeting
on support of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. A joint
publication was issued on human rights in pre-trial detention, as a
handbook of international standards in this area. Human Rights and Pre-
trial Detention. A Handbook of International Standards Relating to Pre-
trial Detention, Professional Training Series No. 3 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.94.XIV.6). Cooperation with UNICEF also increased
during this period. A three-way collaborative project (Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice Branch, Centre for Human Rights and UNICEF) was the
United Nations expert group meeting on "Children and juveniles in
detention: application of human rights instruments" (Vienna, 30 October-4
November 1994), organized with the cooperation of the Government of
Austria. A joint publication, Children in Trouble, containing the report
of the meeting, with extensive recommendations as well as the papers
presented, has been issued. Collaboration with the Committee on the Rights
of the Child also involved a three-way partnership, for example, in the
third regional consultation on juvenile justice (Hanoi, 7-12 April 1995),
which adopted a consensus on the practical steps to be taken to meet the
requirements of the Convention, particularly in the implementation of the
relevant United Nations juvenile justice instruments.
52. The ancillary meetings at the Ninth Congress, on the reintegration
of children following armed conflict and on the United Nations Declaration
of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power,
elicited wide interest. Joint initiatives with regard to other children in
difficult circumstances, such as street children, are also envisaged,
especially in view of the priority given to violence against children. A
prospective United Nations publication on trauma victims, with multi-agency
contents, includes a chapter on United Nations work on crime victims, as
well as chapters by other entities on the United Nations system. A meeting
of experts on crime victims, to be held towards the end of 1995, is
designed to take into account all the relevant contributions in order to
further a concerted, system-wide approach to victims.
53. With regard to violence against women, the Commission on the Status of
Women was notified of the decisions of the Commission on Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice and its collaboration invited on the action plan which
is to be developed. Cooperation between the Secretariat offices concerned
also continued, and the relevant parts of the Ninth Congress and Commission
reports have been transmitted to the Division for the Advancement of Women
and the Secretary-General of the Fourth World Conference on Women for its
consideration (Beijing, 4-15 September 1995). Relevant input was also
provided for the Secretary-General's report to the General Assembly on
trafficking in women and children. The Special Rapporteur on the sale of
children, child prostitution and pornography attended the commission
session upon a special invitation.
54. Cooperation with the Office of Legal Affairs was also strengthened,
particularly on issues such as terrorism and the establishment of an
international criminal court. Suggestions were submitted regarding the
statute of the proposed court, as well as the draft international code of
crimes against the peace and security of mankind. There is also room for
enhanced collaboration in the work of international criminal tribunals, for
the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, both with regard to expertise in
criminal prosecutions and evidence collection, and in the treatment of
victims, a matter on which detailed recommendations were conveyed. Some
recent decisions have collaborative implications (for example, the
Commission resolution on the succession of States in respect of
international treaties on combating various manifestations of crime), as
will, if undertaken, the development of further international conventions.
55. Close cooperation has been established with the Department for
Development Support and Management Services, especially in the promotion of
sound governance and accountable public administration. Proposals for
joint seminars on measures against corruption and for the training of
criminal justice personnel, using the draft international code of conduct
for public office holders, have been submitted. One of the interregional
advisers participated in the preparatory meeting for the special session of
the General Assembly on governance, and a role is envisaged for the crime
prevention and criminal justice programme during the special session on
this subject.
56. Collaboration with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements is
being pursued in areas of common concern, such as urban criminality. A
representative of the Centre participated in the Congress deliberations and
workshop on this subject, and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Branch is following the preparatory activities for the United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements Habitat II to be held at Istanbul, from 3
to 14 June 1996, planning a special contribution. This is also an area in
which cooperation with the UNDP Urban Management Programme and other
entities is being pursued and a collaborative proposal on crime in
megacities drafted.
57. Cooperation with the Department for Policy Coordination and
Sustainable Development was pursued in the preparations for and follow-up
of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 5-13 March 1995),
which included the problem of crime and violence among major present-day
concerns. The meeting called for specific policies and programmes to
eliminate all forms of violence in society, particularly domestic violence,
and to protect the victims of violence. It also urged preventive
programmes for children and young persons to avoid their participation in
crime, violence and drug-related activities, including preventive
education, community service and the reintegration of offenders, especially
young offenders, in society. The Programme of Action of the World Summit
also envisages the development of mechanisms for conflict resolution and
reconstructive and reintegrative policies, with emphasis on the re-
establishment of the rule of law and respect for human rights. The crime
prevention and criminal justice programme clearly has a major contribution
to make in the implementation of these recommendations. This is also true
for those urged by the Summit to strengthen international cooperation in
devising strategies, policies, legislation and other measures to combat
national and transnational organized crime, and the use of violence and
terrorism, including effective measures against trafficking in persons and
in drugs, corruption and money-laundering (see also A/50/433 on the follow-
up of the Naples Action Plan).
58. Coordination with the United Nations institutes and other elements of
the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice network has been
further strengthened, through joint planning and programme implementation.
The Congress and Commission sessions provided occasions for consultation,
and the annual coordination meeting is scheduled to be held at Courmayeur,
Italy, with the support of ISPAC, in October 1995. A detailed account of
the activities of members of the network was submitted to the Commission on
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its fourth session. E/CN.15/9
and Add.1. Among the joint publications issued is a volume on the
institutions which form part of the programme network issued for the
Congress, and a publication on the implementation of United Nations
mandates on juvenile justice administration in the ESCAP region, issued in
cooperation with the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation, ESCAP and the
Australian Institute of Criminology.
59. Collaboration with specialized agencies on certain aspects has been
fruitful in the past (for example, with the World Health Organization (WHO)
on the treatment of HIV-positive/AIDS prisoners) with the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (on the
protection of cultural patrimony), etc. In cooperation with the UNESCO
Institute for Education in Hamburg, Germany, a manual on prison education
was prepared, with the assistance of the Maryland, United States, Division
of Corrections. It reflects different approaches to prison education in
various regions and cites country examples of good practices. There is
major scope for the agencies to collaborate in areas such as the prevention
and control of violence (UNESCO and WHO) and of nuclear terrorism (the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)), the computerization of criminal
justice (the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)), economic crime
control (the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)), etc.
60. There are other entities of the United Nations system with which
collaborative relationships exist or could be pursued, including the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Department for Policy
Coordination and Sustainable Development (for example, on penal protection
of the environment), the Department of Peace-keeping Operations (on
training of civil police), and the Departments of Political Affairs and of
Humanitarian Affairs (on preventive deployment and emergency assistance),
the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (for example, on violence
against refugees and displaced persons and the impact of migration
patterns), the Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN)
programme, United Nations Volunteers, and so on. The regional commissions
are involved in the programme via the United Nations regional institutes
and regional adviser (ESCAP), whose services could usefully be continued
or, if possible, expanded to other regions. Progress in the successful
implementation of the results of major recent crime and justice-related
events, and of the Assembly's recommendations, will depend in no small
measure on the cooperation extended by all relevant parts of the United
Nations system.
61. Cooperation with intergovernmental organizations was strengthened
during the period under review, within the existing logistical (for
example, travel) constraints. Contacts were pursued with the Organization
of American States and the Organization of African Unity in order to assist
the respective institutes, and to assure appropriate follow-up of the Cairo
Congress. The programme was represented at some major meetings convened on
priority topics, for example, by the Council of Europe (on criminal justice
management), the European Union (on urban crime and delinquency), and the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (on
corruption). A working paper was submitted to the meeting on cooperation
between the United Nations and the League of Arab States (Vienna, 19-21
July 1995), which also permitted consultation with the Assistant Secretary-
General of the Arab Interior Ministers' Council. Other Arab States events
were also attended, such as the symposium on crime prevention (Abu Dhabi,
26-30 November 1994). Close contacts were maintained with INTERPOL,
especially on action against organized and economic crime, including
traffic in persons for prostitution, offences against minors, terrorism and
international cooperation in law enforcement. Collaboration with the
International Committee of the Red Cross was also pursued as well as with
the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Agence pour la cooperation culturelle
et technique (Delegation Generale a la cooperation juridique et
judiciaire).
62. Cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), especially
through ISPAC and the NGO Alliances in Vienna and New York, was further
enhanced. The contribution made by ISPAC and its resource committees to
training, research and information management, is mentioned above. The
annual meeting of ISPA, to be held at Courmayeur, Italy, in October 1995,
will provide an occasion for celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the
United Nations and for stock-taking, with a view to further developing the
modalities for involving professional organizations and the scientific
community organically in United Nations work in the crime and justice
field. Perhaps because cooperation between NGOs and the programme is of
such long standing, it has an extensive constituency. ISPAC has an
impressive membership: many organizations took part in the Ninth Congress,
a number of them sponsoring ancillary meetings and other Congress
initiatives, and some providing important documentation. Some new links
with major NGOs have been forged, for example, the Interparliamentary
Union. With the increased importance of NGOs in the United Nations system,
this constituency and the scholarly community have a major role to play in
channelling relevant information and research results, developing teaching
materials, engaging in advocacy and sponsoring fruitful technical
assistance activities, as the correctional training initiatives have
recently demonstrated. Their partnership could be enhanced with some seed
money, and those Governments which have provided much-needed support
deserve credit for it. Some United Nations agencies provide NGO funding
and could well entertain the possibility of doing so in this field.
IV. RECENT MANDATES AND THEIR PROGRAMME IMPLICATIONS
63. The recommendations of the Ninth Congress, as further concretized by
the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its fourth
session and approved by the Economic and Social Council, indicate the
parameters of their follow-up and have a number of wider policy and
programme implications. The directives for the prospective work are
contained in several "omnibus" resolutions and in others dealing with
specific aspects.
A. Action by the Commission
1. Congress follow-up
64. In its comprehensive resolution 1995/27 on the implementation of the
resolutions and recommendations of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders adopted on 24 July 1995
on the recommendation of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice, the Economic and Social Council invited Governments, in their
efforts to combat crime and ensure justice, to draw on the resolutions and
recommendations of the Ninth Congress. It also approved their follow-up in
accordance with their work plans and the United Nations programme planning
and budgeting regulations, in the context of the priority themes
established for the crime prevention and criminal justice activities. By
paragraph 13 of General Assembly resolution 49/157, the Congress was
requested to formulate concrete recommendations for improving the
effectiveness of the United Nations activities and mechanisms in the field
of crime prevention and criminal justice, taking into account the
recommendations of the regional preparatory meetings, with particular
attention to the operational programme activities.
65. The different parts of resolution 1995/27 correspond to the four main
topics of the Ninth Congress, and focus mainly on the action to be taken in
pursuance of its recommendations, by the United Nations system,
particularly the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and
other entities concerned.
(a)International cooperation and practical technical assistance for
strengthening the rule of law: promoting the United Nations crime
prevention and criminal justice programme
66. In response to the acknowledged need to strengthen the operational
capacity of the United Nations programme, UNDP, the World Bank and other
international, regional and national funding agencies were called upon to
support technical cooperation activities devoted to strengthening the rule
of law, in cooperation with the United Nations crime prevention and
criminal justice programme, including proper coordination and fund-raising
efforts. The Secretary-General was requested to further strengthen
operational activities in developing countries and countries in transition,
by providing advisory services and training programmes and by carrying out
field studies at the national level. The cooperation of all the entities
concerned was requested in the preparation of manuals and training
curricula, and in the organization of courses in the various areas of crime
prevention and criminal justice.
67. The development and promotion of mechanisms of international
cooperation in criminal matters were called for, including the United
Nations model treaties, and model legislation on extradition and other
forms of cooperation. In that connection, an intergovernmental expert
group meeting was to be convened, with extrabudgetary resources, to explore
ways and means of increasing the efficiency of extradition and related
forms of cooperation in criminal matters, having due regard to the rule of
law and the protection of human rights. That was to include the provision
of technical assistance for the development of bilateral and multilateral
agreements, based on the United Nations model treaties and other sources,
and the drafting of proposed model legislation or agreements on
international cooperation in criminal matters, alternative or complementary
articles for existing model treaties, and articles for possible model
multilateral instruments. A comprehensive report on the subject, with
practical recommendations, was to be submitted to the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice at its fifth session.
68. An intergovernmental working group was also to be convened during the
first two days of the Commission session to study, with the assistance of
the Secretariat and input from other relevant entities, the proposal, made
at the Ninth Congress, for the establishment of a regional centre, based in
Cairo, for training and research in crime prevention and criminal justice
for the Mediterranean States, taking into account Economic and Social
Council resolution 1994/23 on the criteria and procedures for the
affiliation with the United Nations of institutes or centres and the
establishment of United Nations subregional institutes in this field, and
should report to the Commission on the matter.
(b)Action against national and transnational economic and organized crime,
and the role of criminal law in the protection of the environment:
national experiences and international cooperation
69. In this part of resolution 1995/27, the Commission on Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice was requested, in its review of the priority themes,
to continue placing special emphasis on the development of strategies for
the effective prevention and control of organized transnational crime. The
Secretary-General was asked to continue studying the actual situation with
regard to such crime, and effective measures for its control, and to assist
interested Member States in adjusting their national legislation so as to
make the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of organized
transnational crime more effective.
70. The Secretary-General and the United Nations institutes for the
prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders were requested to
continue research, exchange of information, training and technical
cooperation facilitating the development of preventive, regulatory and
other strategies on the role of criminal law in the protection of the
environment, with emphasis on needs assessments and advisory services,
assistance in the review or redrafting of legislation, development of
effective infrastructure, and training of criminal justice and regulatory
agency personnel.
71. Measures for the prevention and control of illicit trafficking in
motor vehicles were also to be considered, and the views of Governments and
relevant organizations sought in the matter. The feasibility of
establishing an integrated system for the periodic gathering and
dissemination of information on national crime prevention and criminal
justice legislation and its implementation was to be determined, with a
view to encouraging appropriate alignment in international cooperation
through such means as extradition and other modalities of mutual assistance
in criminal matters. Close coordination between the crime prevention and
criminal justice programme and other relevant United Nations programmes and
entities was to be assured, including joint activities and projects.
72. Special concern was expressed about the links between transnational
organized crime and terrorist crimes, including their effects and
appropriate means for countering them. Information-gathering and ready
access to it were called for, as well as the establishment of an open-ended
intergovernmental working group, at the fifth session of the Commission, to
consider the issue, including envisaged countermeasures such as the
drafting of a code of conduct or other legal instrument, and possible
placement of the matter on the agenda of the Tenth Congress.
(c)Criminal justice and police systems: management and improvement of
police and other law enforcement agencies, prosecution, courts and
corrections; and the role of lawyers
73. The Secretary-General was requested to promote technical cooperation
projects on penal law reform and the modernization of criminal justice
administration, particularly with regard to data collection and
computerization, the training of law enforcement officials, non-custodial
measures and prisoners' welfare, taking into account the relevant United
Nations standards and norms, which were to be disseminated more widely.
The Commission was invited to keep the matter of prison conditions under
regular review, with the development of efficient information-gathering
mechanisms and attention by the sessional working group on United Nations
standards and norms.
74. One of the draft action plans that the Secretary-General was requested
to prepare, in cooperation with the network of institutes and taking into
account other relevant developments and expertise in that field, for
submission to the Commission, dealt with international cooperation and
assistance with regard to statistical and computerized applications in the
management of the criminal justice system. That would require
strengthening of the United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network
(UNCJIN), as well as the development of the large number of databases that
the programme had been requested to establish, expanding its clearinghouse
facilities.
(d)Crime prevention strategies, in particular as related to crime in urban
areas and juvenile and violent criminality, including the question of
victims: assessment and new perspectives
75. As recommended by the Congress and the Commission, the Economic and
Social Council approved the guidelines for cooperation and technical
assistance in the field of urban crime prevention, formulated by the
Commission. At the same time, continued study of the effects of
criminality in urban areas was recommended, including the possible impact
of migratory flows, and preventive measures, using a multidisciplinary
approach, and considering recent developments, inter alia, in sociology,
psychology, health, criminology and technology, including environmentally
sound planning, city planning and housing design. Seminars and training
programmes were to be organized on the prevention of crime in urban and
other areas, and sound crime prevention strategies developed, capable of
being adapted to local conditions, with particular reference to the
approaches suggested at the relevant workshops held during the Ninth
Congress. Information dissemination for crime prevention was to be
fostered, and a manual for public awareness campaigns prepared.
76. Special attention in the resolution was focused on firearms regulation
for purposes of crime prevention and public safety, in view of the
correlation between easy access to firearms and the high incidence of
crimes, suicides and accidents. The Commission, at its next session, was
to consider measures to regulate firearms commonly applicable in Member
States, such as the prevention of transnational illicit trafficking in
firearms, to suppress their use in criminal activities, and to ensure the
proper regulation of firearms at both the national and transnational
levels. Regular data and information exchange on specific aspects was to
be undertaken and a study conducted as a basis for the Commission's
consideration of the matter. A phased work plan, submitted by the
Commission, was endorsed by the Council. Input from Governments, relevant
entities of the United Nations system and other relevant organizations was
to be sought, as a basis of recommendations for concerted action, as called
for by the Ninth Congress, with the possible formulation of a declaration
on the subject. During the second half of 1995, the Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice Branch, in cooperation with the United Nations institutes,
are to collect data and information on firearms regulations in selected
countries, utilizing a team of national coordinators and a small expert
group which is to meet in late 1995 or early 1996 to prepare
recommendations for the Commission's fifth session. These would include
analysis of the data collected, publication of a periodic report on
firearms regulation, and establishment of a database on the subject. Four
interregional workshops on firearms regulation are planned for 1996.
77. The Congress, Commission and the Council placed major emphasis on the
improvement of juvenile justice systems, in line with the United Nations
standards in this field, which were to be integrated into the
informationgathering process. The situation of children as both victims
and perpetrators of crime was highlighted under the crime prevention item,
and the elimination of violence against children was to be considered
within that priority theme. Enhanced inter-agency cooperation in that
respect was to be pursued, including possible joint activities. Relevant
technical cooperation projects were to be developed, with appropriate
evaluation and follow-up procedures involving entities of the United
Nations system, including advisory services for legal and justice reforms
and alternative measures for the treatment of juveniles to curtail their
detention.
78. The Secretary-General was requested to ascertain the views of Member
States on the elaboration of an international convention on the illicit
trafficking of children as a particularly reprehensible form of
transnational organized crime, and to convene an expert group on the
prevention of "sex tourism", if extrabudgetary resources permitted. A
programme of action was to be elaborated to promote the application of
United Nations standards on juvenile justice and relevant United Nations
human rights norms. A report on the implementation of that and other
recommendations was to be submitted to the Commission at its fifth session.
The in-sessional working group of the Commission on standards and norms was
to seek ways of promoting practical activities, including training,
research and advisory services, with a view to preventing and eradicating
violence against children.
79. The elimination of violence against women was also deemed to be a
priority issue. A draft plan of action on the matter was to be prepared,
for submission to the Commission at its fifth session and consideration by
the in-sessional working group. For that purpose, also, the views of
Governments and relevant United Nations entities were to be sought,
including the Fourth World Conference on Women, to which the Ninth Congress
resolution on that subject was to be submitted. The draft plan of action
was intended to provide practical, action-oriented suggestions on how the
problem of violence against women was to be addressed, including
legislative action, research and evaluation, technical cooperation, and
other possible crime prevention and criminal justice measures. (Strategies
for Confronting Domestic Violence: A Resource Manual now available only in
English, is to be issued also in the other official languages, if
extrabudgetary resources permit.) The United Nations institutes were
invited to undertake and promote practical activities designed to reduce
violence against women, such as training and advisory services, and to
submit a report on that subject to the Commission.
80. The Ninth Congress, under this agenda item, also dealt with the
overall question of crime victims. It expressed its concern about their
plight and urged the full use and application of the United Nations
Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse
of Power, and intensified action for the protection of and assistance to
victims at the national and international levels, including training,
action-oriented research, ongoing information exchange and other means of
cooperation in this field. The Council, on the Commission's
recommendation, requested the Secretary-General, in resolution 1995/29, to
seek the view of Member States and relevant organizations on the possible
preparation of a manual on the use and application of the Declaration.
2. Other resolutions on priority themes
81. The Economic and Social Council, on the Commission's recommendation,
also adopted seven other resolutions related to the priority themes for the
period 1992-1996: (1) national and transnational crime, organized crime,
economic crime (including corruption and money-laundering), and the role of
criminal law in the protection of the environment; (2) urban crime,
juvenile crime and violent criminality, and (3) efficiency, fairness and
improvement in the management and administration of criminal justice.
82. With regard to the first priority theme, and in pursuance of the
decisions of the World Ministerial Conference held in November 1994, the
Council, on the recommendation of the Commission, adopted resolution
1995/11 of 24 July 1995 on the Implementation of the Naples Political
Declaration and Global Action Plan against Organized Transnational Crime.
It emphasized the need for strengthened and improved international
cooperation at all levels, and for more effective technical cooperation to
assist States in their fight against transnational organized crime,
including the review and reform of their legislation and other measures, in
accordance with practical models and guidelines, expert advisory services
and needs assessment; collation of relevant provisions and experience; and
training and capacity-building, especially for the development of the
requisite criminal justice infrastructure and human resources. The
separate report requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 49/159
on the followup to the Naples Conference and submitted to the Assembly at
the current session in document A/50/433 contains further information on
this subject.
83. Joint efforts were also urged, drawing on the contributions of
relevant organizations and mechanisms, to reinforce common regulatory and
enforcement strategies against money-laundering, including appropriate
technical assistance, needs assessment in treaty formulation, and
development of criminal justice infrastructure and human resources. The
possible formulation of an international convention against organized
transnational crime and a training facility to upgrade the skills of law
enforcement and judicial personnel in fighting it, was also being explored.
84. In order to combat a serious organized crime problem, the Council
adopted resolution 1995/10 of 24 July 1995 on Criminal justice action to
combat the organized smuggling of illegal migrants across national
boundaries, in violation of international standards and national laws and
without regard to the safety, well-being and human rights of the migrants.
It requested States and relevant international organizations to coordinate
their law enforcement activities and otherwise cooperate to pursue those
engaged in the smuggling and transport of such human cargo; to provide
technical assistance to countries in developing and implementing policies
to prevent and criminalize clandestine traffic in illegal migrants, and to
punish its organizers, enhancing the professional skills of the personnel
concerned. The matter was to remain under the continuing scrutiny of the
Commission and the international community.
85. In its resolution 1995/14 of 24 July 1995 on action against
corruption the Council welcomed the results of the special plenary meeting
held during the Ninth Congress on experiences in and practical measures
aimed at combating corruption involving public officials, and outlined a
number of further steps to be taken. States were urged to develop and
implement specific and comprehensive anti-corruption strategies to enhance
accountability, by adopting and enforcing civil, administrative, fiscal and
criminal law measures, emphasizing, inter alia, transparency and fairness,
including legislation to regulate and sanction corrupt forms of corporate
behaviour; to provide for the forfeiture and/or confiscation of proceeds
derived from corrupt practices; and to increase their capacity for the
prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of such practices by
promoting public awareness, strengthening their criminal justice systems
and establishing independent bodies for the prevention and control of
corruption. Increased and improved international cooperation was urged for
the prevention and control of corruption, including arrangements for
extradition, mutual legal assistance, the sharing of information and the
collection of evidence. The Secretary-General was requested to cooperate
and coordinate action with other entities of the United Nations system and
other relevant organizations in undertaking, and maximizing the effect of,
joint activities for the prevention and control of corruption. The
Secretary-General was also asked to review and expand the manual on
practical measures against corruption, with a view to increasing its use in
advisory services, training and other technical assistance activities. The
draft international code of conduct for public office holders was to be
finalized in the light of the comments received from Governments, and
submitted to the Commission at its fifth session for consideration and
action. The Secretary-General, in cooperation with the United Nations
institutes, was to study the effects on anti-corruption strategies, as a
basis for a comparative review of the most effective practices, and the
development of appropriate training and awareness curricula. States,
international organizations and financing institutions were called upon to
extend their full support and assistance in the implementation of the
resolution.
86. In its resolution 1995/9 of 24 July 1995, the Council formally adopted
the Guidelines for Cooperation and Technical Assistance in the Field of
Urban Crime Prevention, and requested the Commission to ensure their
publication and consider practical ways of ensuring follow-up for their use
and application. The Secretary-General was requested to transmit the
Guidelines to the United Nations Conference for Human Settlements (Habitat
II). UNDP and other relevant United Nations entities and international
financial institutions were urged to include projects dealing with urban
crime prevention in their technical assistance projects. Governments, and
the United Nations institutes, were invited to take them into account and
to report to the Secretary-General on their experiences.
87. With regard to the United Nations standards and norms in crime
prevention and criminal justice, and technical cooperation in this field,
on the Commission's recommendation reflecting the work of the in-sessional
working group on the subject, the Council adopted resolution 1995/13 of 24
July 1995, in which it underlined the importance of United Nations
standards, norms and guidelines developed in that field; stressed the need
for coordination of the relevant activities with other United Nations
entities concerned; and requested the Secretary-General to continue to
promote the use and application of the United Nations standards and norms,
inter alia, by providing assistance to Member States in criminal justice
and law reform, and organizing seminars to train law enforcement and
criminal justice personnel. The progress made in the implementation of the
next group of norms, on juvenile delinquency prevention and juvenile
justice, was to be gauged, followed by a review of those on non-custodial
measures, the role of prosecutors and the role of lawyers.
88. Under technical cooperation, there are two major sets of
recommendations. In resolution 1995/15 of 24 July 1995 on technical
cooperation and interregional advisory services in crime prevention and
criminal justice, the Council welcomed the call of the Ninth Congress for
intensified efforts to strengthen the rule of law through international
cooperation and practical technical assistance, and reaffirmed the high
priority attached to them as a means for responding to the needs related to
both national and transnational crime and the goal of preventing crime and
improving the response to it. The Council stressed the importance of
continuing to improve the operational activities of the United Nations
crime prevention and criminal justice programme, particularly in developing
countries and countries in transition, through advisory services and
training programmes, field studies and action-oriented research at the
international, regional, subregional, national and local levels. UNDP, the
World Bank and other international, regional and national funding agencies
were urged to support technical cooperation projects in crime prevention
and criminal justice, and all relevant entities, to cooperate with the
United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme in such
activities. The SecretaryGeneral was asked to facilitate joint activities
and the joint formulation and implementation of technical cooperation
projects, and to recommend the inclusion of the re-establishment and reform
of criminal justice systems in peace-keeping operations. The Council
called for strengthening both the regular and extrabudgetary resource base
for activities in that field.
89. To help rationalize the provision and utilization of international and
bilateral aid, and to improve the clearing-house capacity of the United
Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme in that regard, the
Council adopted resolution 1995/12 of 24 July 1995 on the establishment of
a clearing-house for international projects in the field of crime
prevention and criminal justice, including a regional database on
collaborative training and technical assistance projects in Central and
Eastern Europe, ongoing, planned or concluded, as a pilot project for the
establishment of such databases for other regions and/or internationally.
90. The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice adopted three
further resolutions. The first on succession of States in respect of
international treaties on combating various manifestations of crime,
affirming that they would be bound by the obligations previously assumed in
that respect, and requesting the Secretary-General to prepare a report on
the subject for the consideration of the Commission. On the development of
Minimum rules for the administration of criminal justice, the Secretary-
General was requested to seek further comments from Member States.
Finally, to further enhance the efficiency of its work, and in pursuance of
a similar earlier initiative, the Commission adopted a resolution on the
Provision of information in accordance with the plan for the strategic
management of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice
programme by the Commission, to include specification of the tasks involved
in proposed activities, their phasing, the available resources, commitments
and expected outcome.
B. Programme implications
91. The recent mandates entrusted to the crime prevention and criminal
justice programme expand the scope of United Nations responsibilities in
this field significantly. They call for the development of an empirical
base of knowledge on the nature, dynamics and operations of new
sophisticated and diversified forms of transnational organized, economic
and environmental crime that pose a particular threat, and on their
linkages with terrorist violence, corruption and money-laundering. Better
knowledge of these interrelationships and constellations, and of their
trends, as reflected in the now biennial world crime surveys that include
these aspects and criminal justice responses, should guide future efforts
at prevention and control in a more rational and costeffective way. The
resolutions and recommendations addressed to Governments have not been
highlighted in the present document: if implemented, however, they will
enhance not only national capabilities but also the overall response of the
international community to a world scourge and prevent it from making
further inroads.
92. But additional steps are needed to ensure that concerted action would
match or, preferably, exceed the collaborative potential of transnational
crime. For that purpose, more effective international mechanisms are
called for to assist States and to facilitate such action. The updating
and alignment of national legislation, use of modern investigative
techniques, drawing on scientific advances, upgrading justice systems and
personnel skills, are all part of this effort, but it requires more -formal
agreements (including possible conventions) and practical arrangements for
cooperation by the services concerned, with the United Nations as the
facilitator.
93. In addition to strengthening and expanding certain areas of activity,
new ones have been identified for intensive follow-up such as the problem
of firearms control, traffic in women and children, including sex tourism,
automobile theft and a number of others. In certain instances, a set of
guidelines has to be finalized, drawing on governmental and other input,
widely diffused and used as a training aid (for example, draft
international code of conduct for public office holders and the manual on
practical measures against corruption). Monitoring of the application of
the United Nations standards has to be improved, including field studies
and development of model implementing legislation.
94. In the latter case and some others, the convening of in-sessional
working groups will pose additional organizational and servicing demands.
The transfer to Vienna of the responsibility for the technical as well as
substantive servicing of the Commission and the Congress will add to the
workload and require a special unit. It is hoped that its creation will
further enhance the assistance rendered to the Commission.
95. At the same time, operational activities are to be expanded
significantly and a solid base for technical cooperation and assistance
established, to strengthen the programme's role as a service provider, as
well as an honest broker in putting prospective donors and clients in
touch, promoting international exchanges, coordinating regional and
interregional action, etc. This will necessitate a reliable, comprehensive
database, in addition to that previously requested to match training needs
with available facilities, and for expert referrals. The savings likely to
accrue from diminished overlap and improved coordination warrant the
initial outlay. Like the other databases to be established, access to
relevant information of this kind is in itself a major form of technical
assistance. The recent transfer of UNCJIN to Vienna should, on the one
hand, facilitate its provision but, on the other, imposes an additional
onus on the small programme staff.
C. Further tasks
96. The spectrum of tasks to be fulfilled in the near and longer term has
been traced in the previous sections. It is clear that, even with careful
prioritizing, they represent a major undertaking, involving more frequent
worldwide crime surveys and studies of complex issues, such as the factors
contributing to and impact of urban crime. More effective strategies must
be devised against recalcitrant problems, such as rapidly escalating
organized, economic and environmental crime, and action efforts pursued at
multiple levels - international, regional, national and, with the trend
towards decentralization, local as well. There are several action plans to
be developed and/or implemented, in addition to giving effect to the Naples
Global Action Plan. UNCJIN and clearing-house facilities have to be
expanded and various databases established to meet the necessities of the
information age and permit all countries to profit from its technological
advances. United Nations standards have to be concretely applied, using
some prototypes, and international agreements and arrangements against
crime effectuated, including possible conventions. Technical assistance of
all kinds must be provided on the whole range of problems related to crime
and justice, helping not only to assess the needs but also to formulate
concrete programmes and projects for implementation. Some envisaged
directions of this work are outlined below, taking account also of other
possible actors and stakeholders, and the acknowledged desirability of
innovative approaches and new partnerships.
V. STRENGTHENING PROGRAMME CAPACITY
97. In its resolution 49/158 of 23 December 1994, the General Assembly
reaffirmed the high priority of the United Nations crime prevention and
criminal justice programme, and the need for an appropriate share of the
existing United Nations resources for the programme. It requested the
Secretary-General, as a matter of urgency, to give effect to the relevant
resolutions of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council by
providing the programme with sufficient resources for the full
implementation of its mandates, and to build and maintain the institutional
capacity of the programme to respond to requests of Member States for
assistance in that field, if necessary through the reallocation of
resources. Accordingly, and upon the Assembly's renewed request to upgrade
the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Secretariat to a
division, the Secretary-General, in his programme budget proposals for the
biennium 1996-1997, included such an upgrading and a very modest increase
in the staffing of the programme (two P-3 posts). Considering that under
section 13 of the programme budget, outlining its activities, the
Secretariat unit disposed of only 0.1 per cent of the overall United
Nations resources, this is considered a bare minimum that still does not
redress the acute imbalance in the amount of work to be done vis-a-vis the
means for doing it. In a recent editorial article entitled "Ways to
improve the United Nations", the Secretary-General stated that: "In order
to strengthen key fields of growing responsibility, 66 posts are to be
created [while 201 others will be eliminated] to increase the
Organization's effectiveness in areas such as drug control, crime
prevention, human rights and peace-keeping". Washington Post, 13 August
1995.
98. Indeed, that significant efforts could be made in assisting States, in
addition to carrying out the regular programme functions and organizing
special events, such as the Naples Conference and the Cairo Congress and
their preparatory activities, was due largely to the generosity of some
Governments, which have provided the services of associate experts and some
modest funding. Nevertheless, taking into account the additional mandates
deriving from the World Ministerial Conference and the Ninth Congress, as
articulated by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and
the Economic and Social Council, and the calls from the General Assembly
itself, as well as the extensive crime and justice-related needs facing
countries throughout the world, a careful assessment of the steps to be
taken is necessary in order to optimize and supplement programme
capabilities in this critical but often neglected field whose relevance is
often most apparent when matters have got out of hand. At that stage,
effective assistance can usually not be rendered, and institutionbuilding,
social peace, economic investment prospects and sustained developmental
progress are jeopardized.
99. If, indeed, a more propitious context for human development and global
stability is to be created, then the relative marginalization of these
aspects must end. For even the best efforts to achieve synergy require
basic elements that can be combined for maximum impact, and coordination is
largely futile if it is mainly a one-way street. This has all too often
been the experience with activities in this area, in spite of repeated
calls to all entities of the United Nations system to cooperate in them,
and to the funding agencies to provide the requisite support. Thus, the
United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme has tried to
make do with its limited means and sought to explore various possibilities.
But the process of fund-raising itself is labour-intensive and time-
consuming; the sheer pressure of work and paucity of staff have prevented a
systematic resource mobilization effort, with model project formulation and
potential donor sensitization. The programme is still insufficiently
known: its visibility and potential must be enhanced. This requires a
joint effort. It is hoped that more Member States will take the necessary
action to give practical effect to statements declaring their political
will, and that the international community as a whole will rise to the
challenge of creating a more peaceful and secure world.
A. A proper place in development assistance
100. That technical assistance activities could be expanded during the
past year is due mainly to the operational opportunities afforded by the
interregional adviser posts and related funds. These have been
strategically deployed to meet priority requests and respond to training
needs expected to produce a multiplier effect. Some inputs have been
provided for collaborative initiatives which could profit from crime
prevention and criminal justice expertise. The fact that this expertise
was repeatedly sought attests to its usefulness. Among its major
advantages are the technical, non-politicized and flexible nature of the
assistance provided. In some cases, it represented a beginning; in others,
an essential complement to ongoing initiatives. In all areas, it fulfilled
a pressing need. However, even at best, resource constraints and the very
nature of international adviser functions precluded more than start-up
activities, which usually tackle only the tip of the iceberg and soon
reveal the extensive needs below. If the programme is to engage in more
ambitious service delivery to meet the expectations and aspirations of
Member States, as called for in General Assembly resolution 46/152 of 18
December 1991 on the creation of an effective United Nations crime
prevention and criminal justice programme, then it must have greater
leverage and the capacity not only for one-time "pre-investment" missions
(for which investments may never come), but also for larger ones requiring
substantial resources and continuing support. This is particularly the
case since activities, and requirements, in this area, are interrelated,
necessitating a systemic approach.
101. This approach could well be followed in national development
endeavours and in UNDP country programming exercises. Specific needs could
then be tackled in this context, taking account of the kinds of assistance
available and further help to be provided, including both multilateral and
bilateral initiatives. The crime prevention and criminal justice programme
can render a major service by promoting such an integrated approach,
developing specific assistance packages that could be financed by
international funding agencies or interested donor countries, and by
coordinating such aid.
102. But to render effective aid requires a recognized place in the
mainstream of United Nations development assistance. In his recent report
to the Governing Council, the Administrator of UNDP noted new areas for
UNDP aid, such as assistance in the reform of criminal codes and access to
due process. As indicated above, UNDP country programmes, for example for
the Baltic States, approved by the Governing Council, include crime
prevention and criminal justice reform and judicial training, DP/1995/16,
pp. 16-17. reflecting the priority attached by countries in transition to
this aspect, as indeed by many developing ones, judging from the
proliferation of requests. However, since the UNDP basic needs
questionnaire does not include this problem area, and countries or other
entities are often unaware that this United Nations programme exists,
including national planning offices charged with formalizing technical
cooperation projects, its potential contribution is apt to be ignored and
its inclusion in country programmes, with their competing priorities,
unlikely or chancy at best. A clearer identity and higher profile of this
sector, and information on the United Nations assistance possibilities in
this field, should help to correct this lacuna, as would its integration
into national and international technical cooperation planning. But it
also requires recognition of the relevance of this area not merely as a
recurrent overhead but as a field for development to investment, and
adequate means to provide meaningful aid.
103. The Secretary-General and some heads of State have recently
emphasized the high priority they attach to crime prevention and criminal
justice, As the President of the United States of America has recently
stated, "Today the threat to our security is not an enemy silo but in the
briefcase or the car bomb of a terrorist. Our enemies are also the
international criminals and drug traffickers who threaten the stability of
new democracies and the future of our children ... we must support, through
the United Nations, the fight against man-made and natural forces of
disintegration, from crime syndicates and drug cartels to new diseases and
disappearing forests. These enemies are elusive. They cross borders at
will. Nations can and must oppose them alone, but we know, and the Cairo
conference reaffirmed, that the most effective opposition requires strong
international cooperation and mutual support" (remarks at the United
Nations 50th Anniversary Ceremony, San Francisco, 26 June 1995, Federal
News Service (Reuters), Washington, D.C.). as indeed did the General
Assembly, in paragraph 10 of resolution 49/158, in requesting the
Secretary-General "to facilitate, as appropriate, the creation of joint
initiatives and the joint formulation and implementation of technical
assistance projects, benefiting developing countries and countries in
transition, involving interested donor countries and funding agencies,
particularly the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank,
with a view to establishing and maintaining efficient [crime prevention
and] criminal justice systems as an essential component of developmental
efforts".
104. The new UNDP programming procedures and country execution
arrangements are intended to permit more flexibility in resource allocation
than the previous, fixed indicative planning figure (IPF) system. UNDP.
Matters relating to the programming cycles. Successor programming
arrangements. Report of the Administrator. DP/1995/32. New initiatives
to make assistance more dynamic and more relevant are being pursued. In
this context and in the thematic approach to programming, this area,
directly relevant to stability and sustained growth, merits greater
attention, especially since it is closely related to the UNDP principal
goal of promoting sustainable human development. The importance of
security, as an enabling environment for development, and of personal
safety as an essential element of human well-being, has been highlighted in
the World Summit for Social Development and in the Human Development
Report. "Perhaps no other aspect of security is so vital for people as
their security from physical violence. In poor nations and rich, human
life is increasingly threatened by sudden, unpredictable violence. The
threats take several forms: threats from the State (physical torture);
threats from other States (war); threats from other groups of people
(ethnic tension); threats against women (rape, domestic violence); threats
directed at children based on their vulnerability and dependence (child
abuse); threats to self (suicide, drug use)" United Nations Development
Programme, Human Development Report 1994 (New York, Oxford University
Press, 1994) p. 30. In the pursuit of a people-centred approach to
development that is in large measure oriented to the creation of
institutional capacities, a participatory civil society and human resources
development, technical cooperation in this key area assumes a crucial role.
105. In the "creative phase of dynamic programming", which UNDP is to
pursue, adjusting it to changing situations and avoiding disruptions, crime
prevention and criminal justice requirements could profitably be included
at all stages, starting with the country strategy notes, This has been
initiated in some cases, for example, for Gabon. through country profiles,
the cooperation frameworks and programme support documents, to the mid-term
reviews and final evaluations. This would help to advance institution-
building and good governance, as well as "preventive and curative
development". See, for example, DP/1995/39, para. 155. Support in the
implementation of the recommendations of major United Nations conferences
held since 1992 is to be provided, building on the consensus achieved, and
some task forces and working groups have already been established to
coordinate follow-up and assist countries in meeting the commitments they
made in the programmes of action adopted by these conferences. Such a task
force or working group could usefully be established and appropriate
follow-up provided to the Global Action Plan adopted by the Naples
Ministerial Conference and the decisions of the Cairo Congress. This would
also be in line with the UNDP proposed shift to strategic interventions
focusing on major development issues or themes, especially since this one
is pertinent in two major ways: by its very content as a priority area for
assistance, In addition to the area of crime prevention and criminal
justice as a whole, there are specific aspects of the United Nations
programme that mesh with UNDP priorities, e.g. on environmental protection
and regeneration (e.g. penal, protection of the environment), and gender-
sensitive issues (e.g. violence against women). A prospectus of the
programme's capacity-building capabilities in environmental protection is
available, as are recommendations and a manual on violence against women;
plans of action in these and other areas have been formulated. and as a
means of ensuring the integrity of technical aid, including both personnel
security and quality control (for example, prevention of aid diversion
through corruption and fraud).
106. It is also hoped that the special UNDP fund, to be set up in
accordance with the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), to
help Governments identify their countries' real needs, select priority
sectors, formulate framework programmes and coordinate external assistance,
Joint Inspection Unit, "Operational activities for development: national
execution of projects" (A/50/113, annex). will be available for crime
prevention and criminal justice activities, and that the projected training
activities and multi-disciplinary, multisectoral teams will include this
area of concern and relevant expertise. In view also of the UNDP intent to
reduce and mitigate emerging development crises deriving from the rapidly
changing socio-economic environment, which would include reconstruction and
rehabilitation efforts, the provision of an appropriate legal framework and
development of crime prevention and criminal justice capacities should rank
high on the list. Crime-related exigencies could usefully be taken into
account in resource mobilization targets (RMT) and strategies, as a
critical component in the target for resource assistance from the core
(TRAC) exercises. This is also true in the exchange of operational
experience, technological innovation and action-research, including pilot
and demonstration schemes, as well as information exchange.
107. TCDC, particularly with its new directions, as traced by the High-
Level Committee in its review, "New directions for technical cooperation
among developing countries", report submitted to the High-level Committee
on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries
(TCDC/9/3). offers viable prospects for the crossfertilization of expertise
and experience in an area in which few countries are really "developed",
and where indigenous approaches have a major contribution to make. The
crime prevention and criminal justice programme, including its network of
institutes, could usefully be included in the new combined promotional and
operational TCDC activities, and priority undertakings such as the
replication of successful innovative projects, development of
subjectspecific TCDC products, promotion of joint strategies to deal with
the problems faced by groups of countries, and mobilization of support,
including triangular cooperative arrangements. Relevant input could also
be included in the Information Referral System for Technical Cooperation
among Developing Countries (INRES).
108. Other international funding agencies, such as the World Bank and the
International Development Association (IDA), have been called upon
repeatedly to provide support for efforts related to crime prevention and
criminal justice, but so far to little avail. Yet, the Bank has some
relevant activities, especially in the Urban Management Programme (both its
own and the UNDP one it supports), and has given prominent attention in its
publication Urban Age to violence and crime problems. It has long been
concerned about corruption. The pernicious effect of transnational
organized and economic crime, including money-laundering, on the world's
financial health and investment climate makes a concerted response long
overdue. The Bank and other Bretton Woods institutions, along with all
relevant United Nations entities, have the possibility and, indeed, the
mandated task of supporting this effort. Since a specific United Nations
programme in this field already exists, rather than starting anew they can
profitably join forces to strengthen international capabilities in this
respect. This is true also of the regional development banks Some,
notably the International Development Bank, have undertaken some relevant
activities, which could be expanded, including possible collaborative
initiatives with the United Nations Latin American Institute for the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD), and the
African Development Bank's with the United Nations African Institute for
the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI). and
financing institutions, as well as other regional and international
organizations.
B. Role in peace-building and emergency assistance
109. The pivotal importance of crime prevention and criminal justice in
peace-keeping and post-conflict nation-building has been mentioned above,
and some initiatives taken were cited in this context. The increased
challenges facing United Nations peace-keepers in the "new breed of intra-
State conflicts", that have largely replaced inter-State wars, are noted in
An Agenda for Peace 1995, which points out that they are also fought by
militia and armed civilians with little discipline, and that civilians are
the main victims and often the main targets: "Another feature of such
conflicts is the collapse of State institutions, especially the police and
judiciary, with resulting paralysis of governance, a breakdown of law and
order, and general banditry and chaos. Not only are the functions of
government suspended, its assets are destroyed or looted and experienced
officials are killed or flee the country. ... social peace is as important
as strategic or political peace... There is an obvious connection between
democratic practices -such as the rule of law and transparency in decision-
making - and the achievement of true peace and security in any new and
stable political order". As a leading statesman has noted: "The building
of a functioning criminal justice system is a particularly crucial priority
if the gains of a peace-keeping operation are to be consolidated and a
relapse into conflict avoided. We support the idea ... that United Nations
'justice packages' be a part of any peacekeeping and post-conflict peace-
building exercises in countries where the rule of law, and the institutions
needed to support it, have manifestly broken down. Elements of such a
package would include provision, as appropriate, of a body of criminal law
and procedures, drawing on universal principles; civil police, with
training as well as law enforcement responsibilities; a panel of judges,
prosecutors and defenders able to work with available local professionals
during the transitional period, again with an obligation to train their
local successors; and adequate correctional facilities, and personnel to
staff them while developing local replacements. Basic as all these
requirements may be, no viable government or social order can be built
without them, and there will be situations where only the authority of the
United Nations is capable of delivering them." (Gareth Evans, op. cit.)
110. The United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme
can render an invaluable service by helping to restore the rule of law and
the required public institutions, among which a functioning justice system
is essential. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Peace 1995, (United
Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.I.15), pp. 9 and 62. It can also be
drawn upon more widely in training civilian police, using the United
Nations criminal justice standards, especially if it is translated into
local languages (a Serbo-Croat version of the "Blue Book" already exists).
These needs are often communicated to local agency personnel (for example,
UNHCR, human rights monitors), who may be unaware that they fall within the
competence of a specific United Nations office whose services could be
enlisted. Mission chiefs and other key personnel could be informed of the
availability of this resource and its systematic collaboration enlisted
from the start.
111. This holds true for other United Nations operations, designed to
render humanitarian assistance, where a propitious environment is essential
and the safe delivery of goods and services to target populations the very
purpose - too often threatened by disruptions and the illegal diversion of
aid. This is often the case after natural or man-made disasters when order
breaks down. A crime prevention, criminal justice and victim assistance
component in these operations, especially in "complex emergencies", and
ongoing cooperation could enhance such aid appreciably.
112. This is also true for emergency preparedness, including early warning
systems and, increasingly, "preventive diplomacy" to forestal conflict
escalation likely to erupt and create human disasters. In some places (for
example, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), assistance in
"preventive development" is being rendered. In acute situations, crisis
intervention teams can be dispatched and help provided in defusing
tensions. A meeting of experts, organized by ISPAC in cooperation with
the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch, and Basque authorities,
recommended the establishment of monitoring networks and regional centres,
as well as "victim care squads". ISPAC, Victim Issues. Prevention of
Victimization, Protection and Assistance for Victims and Conflict
Resolution (Milan, 1994). See also "Justice as a pillar of society" in
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Development 1995 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.95.I.16), pp. 37-44. Longer-term conflict
resolution, actively promoting the culture of peace, requires recognition
of possible wrongs inflicted and some measure of redress, since the quest
for justice is an imperative of peace-building and sustainable development.
As the Secretary-General notes, "Peace-building is a matter for countries
at all stages of development. For countries emerging from conflict, peace-
building offers the chance to establish new institutions, social, political
and judicial, that can give impetus to development." Boutros BoutrosGhali,
ibid., p. 21.
C. Information management and transfer of knowledge
113. In order to consolidate available information on technical
cooperation provision and needs, as a guide to informed decision-making and
aid coordination, the Economic and Social Council, in resolution 1994/22 of
25 July 1994, called for the establishment of a technical assistance
database (as part of the crime prevention and criminal justice programme's
clearing-house facilities). A questionnaire on the assistance provided
bilaterally or multilaterally has been prepared. E/CN.15/1995/6, pp. 27-
30. Relevant information is being collected from the United Nations
institutes, some of which already have regional or subregional databases of
this kind (for example, the United Nations Latin American Institute for the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD)) or are
developing them (for example, the European Institute for Crime Prevention
and Control (HEUNI). HEUNI has been requested by the Commission to develop
such a database as a pilot project for countries of Eastern and Central
Europe, which, it is hoped, to be expanded to other regions for a worldwide
service.
114. Elements of a global programme clearinghouse already exist, including
UNCJIN, which is accessible to all of the estimated 35 million users of the
Internet. With its two complementary components, UNCJIN provides a forum
for the exchange of information on crime prevention and criminal justice.
The first is an electronic discussion list of over 750 members from over 40
countries. The second is a World Wide Web database site containing
thousands of pages of information and providing connections to all major
criminal justice reference sources. With the assistance of the United
States National Institute of Justice, a United Nations On-line Crime and
Justice Clearinghouse (UNOJUST) prototype has been developed which will
expand the capabilities of UNCJIN to incorporate material from the
affiliated and associated institutes. A computerized roster of experts is
operational and continuously being updated. A database containing the
results of the global crime surveys, which now also include information on
transnational crime, is being expanded with information on current and
projected trends, Such projections are essential for proactive policy
planning, since the likely developments may change the realities of crime
and the related requirements. See, for instance, Larry E. Coutorie, "The
future of hightechnology crime: a parallel Delphi Study." Journal of
Criminal Justice, vol. 23, No. 1, 1995, pp. 13-27. Information from the
Surveys is available electronically via the UNCJIN World-Wide Web. and
material from victimization surveys. In connection with the work requested
in priority areas, data collection and dissemination on a number of
subjects are under way. Some 15 databases are also envisaged: some
already exist; others need to be established. The Ninth Congress gave
major attention to computerized data collection and the exchange of
information, with impressive demonstrations and discussions that aroused
lively interest. Further to the concerns addressed at the Congress, a
meeting of the World Criminal Justice Library Network (Villingen-
Schwenningen, Germany, 12-15 April 1995) was held, under the auspices of
ISPAC, to promote the integration and availability of relevant library
resources with a view to addressing the needs of police research and
training institutes.
115. Advances in computerized translations should offset existing
linguistic constraints and further increase the usability of the available
information. A universal digital code known as Unicode has been developed
by a consortium to allow computers to represent virtually all the world's
languages, software with different fonts is becoming more readily
available, and automatic translations are becoming more refined (Andrew
Pollack, "Cultural war of words looms on", International Herald Tribune,
August 1995). A major problem continues to be the lack of computer
equipment and Internet access in developing countries and some of those in
transition. Through the good offices of the UNDP European regional
programme and the United States National Institute of Justice, some
assistance in this regard has been rendered to Eastern European States, but
elsewhere the needs are still acute, especially in the least developed
countries, whose overall requirements in this field have been gauged
through a special questionnaire. UNDP and other funding agencies can render
a precious service by providing the necessary equipment and linkages,
especially for UNAFRI, which is trying to meet the needs of countries of
the region in this and other respects under tight constraints. PADIS (The
Pan African Development Information System) and the UNDP Sustainable
Development Network can help to expand the information base and linkages of
crime-related operations, involving also the NGO community.
D. From coordination to partnerships
116. The collaborative activities undertaken during the year were noted
earlier. Though coordination has been enhanced and joint initiatives have
multiplied, much still needs to be done to develop a comprehensive network
of systematic relationships that will exploit the potential of this United
Nations programme and its professional contributions in key areas. This
evidently requires some outreach efforts to sensitize other United Nations
entities to what the programme has to offer. Efforts are being made, for
example, to enhance cooperation with UNDP as coordinator in the development
and implementation of Capacity 21 (capacity-building initiatives arising
from chapter 37 of Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development). A draft monograph on capacity-building in
criminal enforcement of environmental law has been prepared jointly by the
Branch and UNICRI, with the assistance of national experts. Other United
Nations entities also have to be reached. But this requires concrete
possibilities, and the means and time to pursue them, as coordination is a
major task in itself.
117. This is so even more since the aim, increasingly, more than mere
coordination, is to establish effective partnerships that would help to
realize common aims. However, true partnerships require, if not equality,
then at least some measure of parity in leverage. The United Nations crime
prevention and criminal justice programme is suffering from a lack of
visibility, which is due largely to its inadequate status. It is hoped
that in the future its expertise and experience will be enlisted more
widely to advance common aims. The programme stands ready to pursue joint
initiatives in order to create a network of strategic partnerships and
coalitions in key problem areas, which will be of mutual benefit and
enhance the work of the Organization as a whole.
E. Harnessing the means
118. The gulf between the scope of the work to be done to make a
measurable difference in the problems related to crime and the
administration of justice afflicting most countries and the world at large,
and the paucity of means for this purpose, has been a recurrent theme.
That some reinforcement of the capacity to render much-needed aid has been
effected, and the priority of these concerns recognized, is a welcome
development. It comes at a strategic time when United Nations achievements
and priorities are being re-examined, and ways of enhancing its
contributions to global peace and progress systematically explored. Yet,
through the confirmations of the Organization's unique contributions and
crucial role runs the leitmotif of inadequate funds for its various
operations. They have been signalled in the Secretary-General's annual
reports. Political and financial constraints have curtailed the payment of
assessed national contributions, and donor fatigue, competing priorities
and reliance on bilateral aid have reduced funds earmarked for technical
assistance. A number of proposals have been put forward by concerned States
and international forums Among them are the 20 x 20 compact; a proposed
tax on pollution and a fee on speculative international financial
transactions; using forfeited or seized funds from drug traffickers for the
rehabilitation of addicts and preventive education; waiving a part of
foreign debt if used for environmental protection or for redress to
victims, etc. Seized proceeds from the activities of organized crime could
be used for action against it. An international conference on the
financing of development has been proposed by the SecretaryGeneral for the
General Assembly's consideration. See, also, Dragoljub Najman and Hans
d'Orville, Towards a New Multilateralism: funding Global Priorities,
Innovative financing mechanisms for internationally agreed programmes
(Paris/New York, Independent Commission on Population and Quality of Life,
May 1995). to redress this imbalance, which could well be pursued.
119. All this, admittedly, necessitates careful cost-benefit analysis of
the value obtained from investments in the different sectors and United
Nations programme areas. It also requires critical reassessment of the
hierarchy of commitments for which support is pledged, with a view to
mobilizing enough "venture capital" to create global conditions of security
and a climate of confidence without which other investments may founder.
In this context, support of crime and justice-related efforts and of this
United Nations programme acquires special relevance. It may fulfil a
larger purpose, increasing the pay-off from a whole range of other
investments that might otherwise be diverted or dissipated. In this sense,
crime prevention and criminal justice expenditures can have a developmental
significance and a multiplier effect far beyond the modest sums expended.
120. That this fact is not yet fully appreciated is clear from the
precarious situation of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice Fund. A few countries have been its mainstay, especially Italy,
which has contributed most generously in cash and in kind, and some of the
other host countries of the United Nations institutes. The associate
experts offered by some States have been an invaluable resource. The
generous support in hosting major United Nations meetings, such as the
Naples Ministerial Conference and Cairo Congress, contributed to their
success. But, if their impetus is to be sustained, adequate follow-up must
be assured and the means for it provided. The eloquent statements and
consensus of the recent United Nations global crime conferences deserve to
be translated into practical reality as a demonstration of the political
will of States to reverse an ominous trend. The very emphasis placed on
practical aspects of the work, especially on technical assistance, deserves
no less.
121. The next Pledging Conference for Development provides an opportunity
for a concrete demonstration of the commitments made. The Director-General
of the United Nations Office at Vienna, on 8 August 1995, addressed an
appeal to Member States urging them to make contributions to the Fund. The
response will affect the level of services which can be provided. The
General Assembly's own actions at this historical junction will also
determine the outcome. As the United Nations system considers its own
restructuring and revitalization, and as it engages in strategic planning
for the rest of the century and for the years to come, it should give
proper attention to those factors which most impinge on human well-being
and the prospects of sustainable human development - its declared aim.
Since crime and violence top the list of public and governmental concerns
in many of the world's countries, some international parallels cannot be
avoided, especially with the continuing expansion of both transnational and
national crime.
122. In addition to serious consideration of this aspect in proposed
resource allocations, some specific initiatives might be envisaged to
expand the resource base, especially for technical cooperation activities
in this field. This includes the donor "round-tables" convened for certain
countries and problems, where crime and justice aspects could well be
included, as they were in the round-table on the mid-point review of the
Rwanda operation. Donor conferences to consider specific project proposals
in crime prevention and criminal justice for targeted countries or groups
of countries are also planned, as well as those with a regional and
interregional scope. A meeting of possible donors was convened on 19
January 1995 to enlist support for the Ninth Congress workshops and their
follow-up, as called for in Economic and Social Council resolution 1994/19
of 25 July 1994. However, the results were modest, although some
assistance in kind was received in the preparations for the workshops,
mainly through intergovernmental (e.g. Mediterranean States) and expert
group meetings (e.g. International Centre for Crime Prevention, in
Montreal) for the workshops on urban crime and violence prevention and
control, and some Governments (e.g. Canada, which sponsored the workshop on
the mass media and crime). Some support was also offered for activities
approved by the congress (e.g. seed money for the project on firearms
control, from the Government of Japan) or related to it (e.g. for Congress
posters, booklet and T-shirts, from the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation).
Some Member States contributed funds for Congress participation from
developing countries (e.g. France for francophone African participants).
As indicated, ISPAC and individual NGOs sponsored ancillary meetings and
some publications.
123. Further efforts are envisaged to mobilize additional funds,
especially for operational activities, to meet the mounting needs and
expectations of Member States, but it is no easy task, especially in the
prevailing financial climate. In so doing, it is intended to build on the
advisory services and new fellowship programme, and to strengthen outreach
activities, including those of the United Nations institutes. The alumni
networks built up by some of them, especially the United Nations Asia and
Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders (UNAFEI), with many of them in policy-making positions, are a
valuable resource, especially if adequately supported, as the UNAFEI alumni
network is by the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation. The Foundation will
hold its fourth world conference on strengthening international cooperation
for crime prevention, in pursuance of the Ninth Congress recommendations,
in Bangkok from 15 to 17 November 1995.
----- It is hoped that, with comparable support, functioning networks can
also be developed in the other regions serviced by the United Nations
institutes (HEUNI already has a fellowship programme, ILANUD, a network of
"associated experts" and UNAFRI, a growing number of former trainees).
Combined with the system of "national correspondents", UNCJIN users,
collaborating centres and organizations, and individual experts, this
represents an extensive network, but it has to be fully activated, and that
requires at least some funding. It is proposed to explore private sector
financing for this purpose and for others, but this again requires a
systematic effort that cannot readily be fielded by the meagre programme
staff.
VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS
124. The past year was a significant one in the history of the United
Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, which is almost as
old as the Organization itself, but which is called upon to meet the
unprecedented challenges that crime in its new forms and dimensions poses
to the world. The major events celebrated during this period, the Naples
Ministerial Conference, the Ninth Congress, the Commission, revealed a
remarkable unanimity about the seriousness of the situation and the
increased expectations of effective international cooperation and
assistance in remedying it.
125. The provision of some means for operational activities has permitted
their expansion to the extent possible in response to the multiplying
requests from countries and needs of the international community as a
whole. Although much has been done, much more remains to be done for
improved crime prevention, greater justice and effective international
cooperation against the mounting threat of transnational crime. The rising
toll of violence linked to civil strife, terrorism and ordinary street
crime, and the price exacted by organized, economic and environmental
criminality, have jeopardized some of the gains of development and
undermined future prospects. It has become clear that security and justice
are indispensable conditions for sustained development and human well-
being, and for both national and world progress. The quest for their
attainment necessitates the inclusion of these aspects as essential
elements of the United Nations agenda for peace and development.
126. It also requires a concerted effort by the United Nations system and
by Governments to give practical effect to the pronouncements of the major
meetings held during the past year. The United Nations crime prevention
and criminal justice programme has the responsibility of providing
leadership and services in this field. It is committed to so doing. The
Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations is not only a historical
milestone but also a springboard for new insights and opportunities. As
the Organization redefines and reinvigorates its role to meet the
challenges ahead, a strengthened presence and repertory to assure the rule
of law and democratic governance may ultimately determine its moral
authority and efficacy as a guardian of global viability and basic human
rights.