Welcome to the United Nations
I. Introduction
This contribution is submitted by H.E. Mr. Takeshi HIKIHARA (Japan), the Chair of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) at its thirty-first session, in response to a letter from the President of the Economic and Social Council of 23 November 2021, inviting the Commission to provide an input to the 2022 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The 2022 HLPF will be organized under the auspices of ECOSOC at the UN headquarters in New York from 5 to 15 July 2022, on the theme “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The input aims to highlight the guidance and key measures put forth by the CCPCJ which contribute from a crime prevention and criminal justice perspective to building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic, all while striving to meet the commitments contained in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) is the principal policymaking body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, acts as the preparatory and implementing body for the United Nations congresses on crime prevention and criminal justice and, together with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), acts as the governing body of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). While the work of the CCPCJ contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as laid out in this contribution, it goes beyond – and is not to be considered solely from the angle of the 2030 Agenda.
The CCPCJ works on a large portfolio of issues; the ones addressed in this contribution do not reflect the work of the Commission in a comprehensive manner, but represent examples related to the 2022 HLPF theme and the selected SDGs, namely SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 14 (Life below Water), 15 (Life on Land) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The contribution covers the period March 2021-February 20221. The work of the Commission, as has been the case with other intergovernmental entities, has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. As described below, the Commission took a frontrunner role in the United Nations system, with an almost immediate transition from in-person to online and hybrid meetings, to ensure full business continuity.
The Fourteenth United Nations Crime Congress, for which the CCPCJ has undertaken the preparatory work, which was foreseen to take place in Kyoto in 2020, was postponed and held on 7-12 March 2021 in a hybrid format - most of the participants took part in the Congress in an online format, via a special event platform, while a limited number of participants attended in person in the Kyoto International Conference Centre. A record number of more than 5,000 participants participated in the Congress, representing 152 Member States, 114 NGOs, 37 IGOs, 600 individual experts and several UN entities and institutes. At the opening of the Fourteenth Crime Congress on 7 March 2021, Member States adopted the “Kyoto Declaration on Advancing Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law: Towards the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” by consensus, which represented in the years to come the key political commitment on crime prevention and criminal justice and was endorsed by the Commission at its 30th regular session (GA Resolution 76/181).
The 30th session of the CCPCJ, chaired by H.E. Ambassador Alessandro CORTESE (Italy), held its main session from 17 to 21 May 2021, gathering over 1,115 participants representing 125 Member States, 7 UN bodies and agencies, 15 intergovernmental organizations and 49 non-governmental organizations. At the margins of the May meeting, 84 side events were organized, co-sponsored by Member States, UN entities, international and regional organizations and civil society - covering a wide range of topics related to crime prevention, criminal justice and rule of law.
The Commission acts not only as the preparatory body for the Fourteenth United Nations Crime Congress but also as its follow-up body. In this capacity, and following the request contained in the Kyoto Declaration, the Commission adopted (as decided in GA resolution 76/181), in consultation with Member States a multiyear workplan of thematic discussions to effectively follow up on the Kyoto Declaration, which follows the four pillars of the declaration, namely Pillar 1 on Advancing crime prevention; Pillar II on Advancing the criminal justice system; Pillar III on Promoting the rule of law; and Pillar IV on Promoting international cooperation and technical assistance to prevent and address all forms of crime.
In this context, the Commission held the first set of thematic discussions on the implementation of the Kyoto Declaration from 10 to 12 November 2021. The discussions focused on “Advancing crime prevention”, including the following sub-topics: (i) Addressing the root causes of and preventing crime in an evidence-based manner; (ii) addressing the economic dimension of crime; and (iii) mainstreaming a gender perspective into crime prevention as well as addressing the needs and protecting the rights of children and youth in crime prevention, and empowering youth in crime prevention. The procedural report can be found on the following website: https://adobe.ly/3AJEzKG and a Chair’s Summary containing the Salient Points made during the Thematic Discussions has been submitted for consideration by the CCPCJ at its regular 31st session in May 2022 (E/CN.15/2022/CRP.1).
At its reconvened 30th session in December 2021, the Commission held a thematic discussion on “Effective measures to prevent and counter the smuggling of migrants, while protecting the rights of smuggled migrants, particularly women and children, and those of unaccompanied migrant children”. A Chair’s summary containing the salient points is contained in the report of the reconvened 30th session (https://undocs.org/E/2021/30/Add.1). At the reconvened 30th session, the Commission also agreed on the themes for the thematic discussions for the period 2022-2025. In the decision (E/CN.15/2021/L.13), submitted for subsequent adoption by the ECOSOC, the Commission was encouraged to conduct those thematic discussions within the framework of the implementation of the Kyoto Declaration, thereby contributing to the consideration of the annual themes of the Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development.
In line with this decision, the theme for the 31st session of the Commission, scheduled to be held from 16 to 20 May 2022, will be as follows: “Strengthening the use of digital evidence in criminal justice and countering cybercrime, including the abuse and exploitation of minors in illegal activities with the use of the Internet”.
