Eleventh United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to be held in Bangkok
Date: March 25, 2005Source: Computer Crime Research Center
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The Eleventh Congress will take place in Bangkok from 18 to 25 April 2005. The Crime Congresses are unique world events in that they provide a forum for discussion of priority concerns by policy makers, administrators, academicians and other professionals in the crime prevention and criminal justice field. Those intergovernmental forums have served as a stimulus for work in the field of criminal justice and the interest generated by them over the years has increased considerably. The First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in 1955, was attended by 61 countries and territories, and over 500 participants, while the Tenth Congress, held in 2000, was attended by 137 governments and approximately 2,000 participants. A similar, if not higher, attendance is expected at the Eleventh Congress.
There will also be numerous ancillary meetings organized by NGOs, covering a broad range of issues pertaining to crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law. Crime Congresses provide a global forum for exchange of views and experience, bringing together government delegations, representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, specialized agencies and other United Nations entities, as well as individual experts, academicians and other professionals in the crime prevention and criminal justice field. The First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in 1955, was attended by 61 countries and territories, and had over 500 participants, while the Tenth Congress, held in 2000, was attended by 137 Governments and had approximately 2,000 participants. A similar, if not higher attendance is expected at the Eleventh Congress.
The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the preparatory body for the Congress, has been tasked by the General Assembly to prepare the text of a draft declaration for submission to the Eleventh Congress, taking into account the recommendations of the regional preparatory meetings, held in early 2004 in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, San José and Beirut. The Congress will adopt this single declaration, which will contain recommendations that will have originated from discussions at the various segments of the Congress. After its adoption, the Declaration will be submitted to the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice for appropriate consideration at its next session in May.
The Congress will also provide the impetus for formulating comprehensive national responses to crime prevention, and a platform to facilitate increased cooperation between governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in the area of criminal justice reform, thus promoting more effective international action.
Main Theme
The General Assembly, in its resolution 57/171 of 18 December 2002, decided that the main theme of the Eleventh Congress shall be “Synergies and responses: strategic alliances in crime prevention and criminal justice”.
Provisional agenda
The provisional agenda for the Eleventh Congress, approved by the Assembly in its resolution 58/138, is as follows:
1. Opening of the Congress.
2. Organizational matters.
3. Effective measures to combat transnational organized crime.
4.
International cooperation against terrorism and links between terrorism and other criminal activities in the context of the work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
5. Corruption: threats and trends in the twenty-first century.
6. Economic and financial crimes: challenges to sustainable development.
7. Making standards work: fifty years of standard-setting in crime prevention and criminal justice.
8. Adoption of the report of the Congress.
In the same resolution, the Assembly decided that the following topics would be considered by workshops within the framework of the Eleventh Congress:
(a) Enhancing international law enforcement cooperation, including extradition measures.
(b) Enhancing criminal justice reform, including restorative justice.
(c) Strategies and best practices for crime prevention, in particular in relation to urban crime and youth at risk.
(d) Measures to combat terrorism, with reference to the relevant international conventions and protocols.
(e) Measures to combat economic crime, including money-laundering.
(f) Measures to combat computer-related crime.
A discussion guide on the substantive items on the agenda and workshop topics of the Eleventh Congress has been issued as document A/CONF.203/PM.1. This discussion guide may also be accessed Here
Programme of work
The programme of work of the Eleventh Congress will start with pre-congress consultations (17 April 2005). The propose of pre-congress consultations is to reach agreement on the recommendations to be made on all procedural and organizational matters to be dealt with by the Eleventh Congress on the opening day, such as the election of officers, the appointment of the Credentials Committee and the arrangements for the preparation of the report of the Congress.
The morning of the first day of the Eleventh Congress (18 April 2005) will be devoted to the opening ceremony, followed by organizational matters. From the afternoon of the first day, the work of the Eleventh Congress will be undertaken in concurrent sessions of plenary and two committees. The plenary sessions will consist of the general discussion on agenda items 3 and 4 and the meetings of the high-level segment during the last three days (23 to 25 April 2005), as well as consideration of the conclusions and recommendations of the Congress. Committee I will consider agenda items 6 and 7 and workshops topics 1-3. Committee II will consider agenda item 5 and workshops topics 4-6.
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