Meeting the challenges of transnational crime  Agenda  Major outcome Information

Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime  and the Treatment of Offenders Crime and Justice:  Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century Vienna, Austria, 10-17 April 2000

Meeting the challenges of transnational crime     "Organized crime weakens the very basis of government. There can be no good governance without the rule of law." Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director, United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention

As countries throughout the world prepare to enter the new millennium, they face an unprecedented challenge. Transnational organized crime, taking full advantage of the globalization of the world economy and the profound technological advances in transportation and telecommunication, has expanded the scope of its activities to reap ever-increasing illegal profits. Never before has there been so much economic opportunity for so many people, but never before has there been so much opportunity for criminal organizations to exploit the system.

Criminal groups traffic in human beings, particularly in women and children, for economic slavery and prostitution. They smuggle arms and ammunitions, launder huge sums of money, commit fraud on a global scale, and traffic in illegal drugs and nuclear material. They corrupt and bribe public officials, politicians and business leaders. They murder people.

Governments acting individually or through traditional forms of international cooperation can no longer meet this challenge, now the greatest non-military threat to national security. The Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, to be held in Vienna, Austria, from 10 to 17 April 2000, will bring together representatives of Governments, United Nations agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, scholars, experts, practitioners and the media in a unique crime prevention and criminal justice global forum. It will provide an urgently needed opportunity for nations to build a multilateral framework to combat transnational organized crime.

Agenda

 
Substantive preparations for the Tenth Congress are carried out under the guidance of Mr. Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director, Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention.

The high-level segment of the Tenth Congress will be held on 14 and 15 April 2000, and attended by heads of State or Government, ministers and attorneys-general.

The high-level segment will serve as a platform for political leaders to commit themselves to the fight against crime, especially transnational crime, as an integral component of fostering human security. Special attention will be devoted to establishing ways and means of putting the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime-currently being drawn up by Member States-into practice.

The Congress will close on 17 April with the adoption of the Vienna Declaration on Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century and the report of the Congress.

The Congress will include the following topics and workshops:

Agenda topics

Major outcome
 

At the request of the General Assembly, the Tenth Congress will elaborate a single Declaration. The Vienna Declaration is designed to emphasize the responsibility of each State to establish and maintain a fair, responsible, ethical and efficient criminal justice system. It places a high priority on the expeditious adoption and entering into force of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. It will also attempt to commit the UN to develop effective ways of eradicating trafficking in human beings and illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, and help enhance international action against corruption and bribery. The Vienna Declaration will be submitted to the Millennium General Assembly for consideration and action.

Information
 

For more information, consult the UN Centre for International Crime Prevention Web site: http://www.uncjin.org

Information for participants

Mr. Jonathan Lucas
Secretary
Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime
and the Treatment of Offenders
United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention
Telephone: + (43) (1) 26060-4280
Facsimile: + (43) (1) 26060-5917

and

Ms. Maureen McGregor
United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention
E-mail: maureen.mcgregor@cicp.un.or.at
Telephone: + (43) (1) 26060-4229/4269
Facsimile: + (43) (1) 26060-5898
 

Media

There will be daily briefings for the media, including press releases, as well as facilities for radio, photo and television coverage.

For additional information, you may contact:

In Vienna:

Mr. Sandro Tucci
Spokesman for the Executive Director
United Nations Office for Drug
Control and Crime Prevention
P.O. Box 500
A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Telephone: + (43) (1) 26060-5629
Facsimile: + (43) (1) 26060-5875
E-mail: sandro.tucci@undcp.org

In New York:

Mr. Bill Hass
Public Information Officer
Development and Human Rights Section
Department of Public Information
Room S-1040
United Nations
New York, NY 10017, USA
Telephone: + (1) (212) 963-0353
Facsimile: + (1) (212) 963-1186
E-mail: hass@un.org

For press accreditation:

Ms. Veronika Mayerhofer
United Nations Information Service, Vienna
P.O. Box 500
A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Telephone: + (43) (1) 26060-3342
Facsimile: + (43) (1) 21346-3342
E-mail: veronika.mayerhofer@unis.un.or.at

Published by the United NationsDepartment of Public Information - DPI/2095-January 2000