The United Nations Congresses on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders have been held every five years since 1955, following the dissolution of the International Penal and Penitentiary Commission (IPPC) by the General Assembly in 1950. Since 2005, they have been held under the name United Nations Congresses on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
14th Congress: 2021, Japan
The Fourteenth Congress, held in Kyoto, focused on “Advancing crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda”.
13th Congress: 2015, Qatar
The Thirteenth Congress, held in Doha, was convened at a unique moment when the rule of law and the post-2015 development agenda held the world's centre stage.
12th Congress: 2010, Brazil
The agenda of the Twelfth Congress focused on children, youth and crime; smuggling of migrants; trafficking in persons; money-laundering; and cybercrime.
11th Congress: 2005, Thailand
The Eleventh Congress, held in Bangkok, focused on effective measures to combat transnational organized crime; international cooperation against terrorism and links between terrorism and other criminal activities.
10th Congress: 2000, Austria
The Tenth United Nations Congress, held at Vienna, delivered the Declaration on Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty first Century to the Millennium General Assembly.
9th Congress: 1995, Egypt
The Ninth United Nations Congress, held in Cairo, focused on international cooperation and practical technical assistance for strengthening the rule of law, action against transnational and organized crime, and the role of criminal law in the protection of the environment, criminal justice and police systems, and crime prevention strategies as related to crime in urban areas and juvenile and violent criminality.
8th Congress: 1990, Cuba
The Eighth United Nations Congress, held in Havana, approved model treaties on extraditio, mutual assistance in criminal matters, transfer of proceedings in criminal matters, transfer of supervision of offenders conditionally sentenced or conditionally released, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors; and the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
7th Congress: 1985, Italy
The Seventh United Nations Congress, held in Milan, approved the Milan Plan of Action; the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice; the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power; the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary; recommendations on the treatment of foreign prisoners and the first model bilateral treaty - the Model Agreement on the Transfer of Foreign Prisoners.
6th Congress: 1980, Venezuela
The Sixth United Nations Congress, held in Caracas, adopted a Declaration which recognized that crime prevention programmes must be based on the social, cultural, political and economic circumstances of countries and form part of the developmental planning process.
5th Congress: 1975, Switzerland
The Fifth United Nations Congress, held in Geneva, discusses the concept of crime as a business (including organized crime). Approves the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which was subsequently developed by the Commission on Human Rights into a Convention.
4th Congress: 1970, Japan
The Fourth United Nations Congress, held in Kyoto, discusses social defence policies in relation to development planning, public participation in crime prevention and the organization of research for policy development in social defence.
3rd Congress: 1965, Sweden
The Third United Nations Congress, held in Stockholm, focuses on technical assistance in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice and criminological research for the prevention of crime and for vocational training, and recommended the employment of United Nations regional advisers.
2nd Congress: 1960, UK
The Second United Nations Congress, held in London, focuses on the prevention of juvenile delinquency, prison labour, parole and after-care, and criminality resulting from social change and economic development.
1st Congress: 1955, Switzerland
The First United Nations Congress, held in Geneva, adopts the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
