Welcome to the United Nations
I. Introduction
This contribution is submitted by H.E. Ambassador Lotfi Bouchaara (Morocco), the Chair of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) at its 27th session, and has been prepared in close coordination with the Extended Bureau of the Commission, in response to a letter from the President of the Economic and Social Council inviting the Commission to provide substantive inputs to the 2018 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which will convene under the auspices of ECOSOC at UN headquarters in New York from 9 to 18 July 2018, on the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”.
II. Responses to Questions from the Economic and Social Council
(a) an assessment of the situation regarding the principle of “ensuring that no one is left behind” at the global level:
In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Member States committed to take steps to “shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path”, pledging that “no one will be left behind”1.
As the principal policymaking body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, the Commission supports the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, touching upon several specific goals and targets. The work of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) is intertwined with a vast array of social and economic issues as
1 A/RES/70/1. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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increasingly being recognized by the international community. The CCPCJ works to strengthen the capacity of Member States and their legal systems to detect, prevent, prosecute and combat all types of transnational organized crime, to provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. It also plays a major role in strengthening international cooperation in addressing global challenges and threats.
The outcome document of the Thirteenth Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice of April 2015, the Doha Declaration2, which was prepared by the CCPCJ, highlights these important linkages and acknowledges that sustainable development and the rule of law are strongly interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The Commission draws on the Declaration in its work to address crime in a broader development context, ensuring that no one is left behind.
For the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, to be held in Japan in 2020, to which the Commission acts as a preparatory body, the overall theme of “Advancing crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda” has been adopted, which underlines the important role that the mandates of the Commission play in successfully achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
The Fourteenth Congress presents the international community with a unique opportunity to undertake a comprehensive stocktaking exercise regarding the role that the criminal justice system and the institutions comprising it can play to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.3
The Commission has in numerous resolutions and guidelines highlighted the need for Member States to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, in particular for those affected by crime and those who may be in contact with the criminal justice system.
The work of the Commission supports the achievement of all targets under Sustainable Development Goal 16 on the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. The CCPCJ works in support of Member States strengthening their public institutions (target 16.6) to make them more resilient and to mitigate vulnerabilities. Upon recommendation of the Commission, the agenda of the 14th Crime Congress features an item on the promotion of the rule of law and access to justice for all4.
