27 May 2016 – As the week-long annual session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) came to a close in Vienna today, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted that bonds had been strengthened between efforts in crime prevention and criminal justice and work undertaken to promote sustainable development.
“Our mission has never been clearer, or better articulated,” UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov told participants at the CCPCJ’s closing ceremony.
Mr. Fedotov noted that UNODC’s activities on terrorism, wildlife crime, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, building partnerships with organizations such as INTERPOL, and tackling trafficking in cultural property were linked, through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 and other goals, to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
He stressed that “the Crime Commission’s bold work provides a solid platform for UNODC’s own activities in the areas of crime prevention and criminal justice.”
“Thanks to the Crime Commission, UNODC has the necessary tools to play a key role in the UN’s much wider work of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he added.
The Crime Commission regularly brings together around 1,000 delegates drawn from Member States, civil society and academia.
At this year’s session, six resolutions were passed, including on restorative justice, legal aid and mainstreaming youth crime prevention.
Almost 50 side events were held during the five days of the session, as well as numerous exhibitions on crime prevention and criminal justice matters.
via UN News Centre