Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the twenty-sixth session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
This session of the CCPCJ is faced with the very important task of setting the stage for the Fourteenth Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Japan in 2020.
It is an opportunity to further advance work towards the commitments set out in the Doha Declaration agreed at the Thirteenth Congress.
This action-oriented declaration to strengthen crime prevention and criminal justice, promote the rule of law and contribute to sustainable development has provided a clear roadmap for integrating responses to interlinked challenges.
The broad spectrum of topics addressed this week, along with the nearly one hundred side events scheduled, show the richness and relevance of the CCPCJ.
Your deliberations can help to reaffirm and reinforce agreed standards and norms, and build institutions of criminal justice; address the many challenges posed by organized crime; and strengthen our work to prevent and counter violent extremism and terrorism.
Alongside the draft resolution on preparations for the Fourteenth Crime Congress, there is a draft resolution on implementation of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, ahead of the GA high-level appraisal of the Plan in September.
I am proud that Nadia Murad, UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking, will be joining us at a special event today on how the international community can better assist and protect trafficking survivors in the context of armed conflict, refugees and mixed migration flows.
Nadia is the first trafficking survivor to serve as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, and she has been a powerful voice, calling on governments to honour their obligations and open their hearts.
She reminds us that we must always listen to the people who have been most affected and harmed by the crimes we seek to stop, and that their experiences and testimonies can inform and strengthen our efforts to promote justice.
Excellencies,
We look forward to the guidance you will provide through your decisions this week.
I once again urge all Member States to provide the necessary resources so that UNODC can effectively support you to address the priorities you identify.
Draft resolutions address critical issues including: counterterrorism; alternatives to imprisonment; application of the Nelson Mandela Rules on the treatment of prisoners; and mainstreaming a gender perspective into crime prevention and criminal justice policies and programmes.
Another draft resolution before you concerns strengthening international cooperation to combat cybercrime.
The ransomware attacks this month make clear the danger and scale of this threat.
These are not victimless crimes. Ordinary people, businesses, even our healthcare systems are being harmed.
The attacks show that anyone, anywhere, can turn technology to criminal purposes, exploit vulnerabilities and potentially lay global systems low.
The international community urgently needs to develop more robust transnational responses to this transnational crime.
UNODC's Global Programme on Cybercrime is helping to train law enforcement and prosecutors to detect, and go after cybercriminals.
We are also seeking to reinforce cross-border law enforcement cooperation, including through INTERPOL and other partners.
We welcome the support of this Commission to further strengthen our work in this critical area of crime prevention.
Ambassador Kitano, distinguished delegates,
I wish you every success during this demanding week.
