Welcome to the United Nations
Introduction
This contribution is submitted by H.E. Ambassador Alena Kupchyna (Belarus) the Chair of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) at its 28th session, in response to a letter from the President of the Economic and Social Council of 26 November 2018, inviting the Commission to provide an input to the 2019 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which will meet under the auspices of ECOSOC at the UN headquarters in New York from 9 to 18 July 2019, on the theme “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”. The Forum will also review the following sustainable development goals (SDGs): SDG 4 (Quality education), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 10 (Reduced inequalities), 13 (Climate change), and 16 (Peaceful societies, justice and strong institutions) along with SDG 17 on Global Partnerships.
Sustainable Development Goal 16 on “Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels” is of particular relevance to the work of the CCPCJ. Most targets of the Goal are directly linked to topics under the purview of the Commission, from addressing violence against women and children, to the rule of law and justice for all, the reduction of illicit financial and arms flows, derived from criminal activity, fighting corruption and terrorism as well as supporting good governance.
The CCPCJ has in 2018 adopted a resolution on “Enhancing the role of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (adopted by the General Assembly (GA) as A/RES/73/183) referencing the importance of SDG 16 to the work of the CCPCJ and outlining efforts to support its implementation by Member States. It also prepared for the adoption of the General Assembly the resolution on “The rule of law, crime prevention and criminal justice in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals”, which the Assembly adopted as A/RES/73/185. Both resolutions contain elements of relevance to this year’s theme and the Goals under review. The GA also adopted a third resolutions negotiated by the CCPCJ, A/RES/73/184 on the “Follow-up to the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and preparations for the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice”, with the next Congress having as the main theme “Advancing crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda”. Regional preparatory meetings, taking place between January and April 2019, examine the topics of the 14th Congress, from a regional perspective and make action-oriented recommendations on them for consideration by the Congress to be held in 2020.
The importance of strengthened international cooperation, based on the principles of shared responsibility and in accordance with international law, has been repeatedly highlighted in the context of the work of the Commission.
The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 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 2019 theme and the SDGs under review.
