Thirteenth UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

[Update] The 24th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will be held 18-22 May 2015 In Vienna. This meeting will hold thematic discussion on the follow-up to the Thirteenth UN Congress on Crime 
[Update] UNODC reported that cybercrime now affects more than 431 million adult victims globally.

The 'Doha Declaration' was unanimously adopted by delegates at the opening of the Congress on Sunday 12 April. 

The Doha Declaration outlines UN crime policies for the next five years and highlights the importance of measures 

• to prevent and counter criminal activities carried out over the Internet (in particular identity theft, recruitment for the purpose of trafficking in persons and protecting children from online exploitation and abuse); 
• to strengthen law enforcement cooperation at the national and international levels (including with the aim of identifying and protecting victims by, inter alia, removing child pornography, in particular child sexual abuse imagery, from the Internet); and
• to enhance the security of computer networks and protect the integrity of relevant infrastructure.

The Doha declaration endevours 'to provide long-term technical assistance and capacity-building'.  It contains recommendations which will be submitted to the next session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, to be held in Vienna from 18 to 22 May.

The work of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Expert Group on Cybercrime is to continue (to exchange information on national legislation, best practices, technical assistance and international cooperation, with a view to examining options to strengthen existing responses and to propose new national and international legal or other responses to cybercrime)

Event announcement

Join the Geneva Internet Platform for the second Cybersecurity Day on Fighting Cybercrime through closer International Cooperation. The event, which takes place on 30 March in Geneva, will discuss international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime in the context of preparations for the forthcoming Doha Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Cybercrime has come in the focus of the criminal justice system since the 12th Congress in Brazil in 2010 and the Salvador Declaration. The Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will address issues such as capacity development and normative framework in the field of cybercrime. The theme is 'Integrating crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider United Nations agenda to address social and economic challenges and to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and public participation.'

The Thirteenth Congress will be held in Doha, Qatar, on 12-19 April 2015. The overall theme, agenda items and the topics for the workshops of the Thirteenth Congress were determined by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 67/184. The General Assembly also advanced preparations for the Thirteenth Congress through its resolutions 65/230 and 66/179. Further information is contained in the most recent report of the Secretary-General on preparations for the Thirteenth Congress.

The discussion guide for the regional preparatory meetings for the Thirteenth Congress and for the Congress was reviewed by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and is being finalized taking into account the recommendations of the Commission, as well as additional comments and feedback from Member States.

The provisional agenda of the Thirteenth Congress will contain the following substantive agenda items:

• Successes and challenges in implementing comprehensive crime prevention and criminal justice policies and strategies to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and to support sustainable development;
• International cooperation, including at the regional level, to combat transnational organized crime;
• Comprehensive and balanced approaches to prevent and adequately respond to new and emerging forms of transnational crime;
• National approaches to public participation in strengthening crime prevention and criminal justice.

In 2014, four regional preparatory meetings have been held in Latin America and the Caribbean, West Asia, Asia and the Pacific, and Africa. Participants in the regional preparatory meetings were expected to examine the issues to be discussed at the Thirteenth Congress and to make action-oriented recommendations for consideration by the Congress.

More details about the Congress are available on the host country website and the UNODC webpage.