The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

The Commission, which arose from a ministerial meeting held in Versailles in 1991, is a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council. It was preceded by a more technically focussed Committee on Crime Prevention and Control, formed in 1971 to replace an earlier expert advisory committee and tackle a broadened scope of UN interest in criminal justice policy. The Council established the Commission the Council in 1992. Its mandate priority areas are:

  • international action to combat national and transnational crime, including organized crime, economic crime and money laundering;
  • promoting the role of criminal law in protecting the environment;
  • crime prevention in urban areas, including juvenile crime and violence; and
  • improving the efficiency and fairness of criminal justice administration systems.

Aspects of these principal themes are selected for discussion at each annual session of the Vienna-based Commission.

The Commission develops, monitors and reviews the implementation of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice programme and facilitates the coordination of its activities. The Commission provides substantive and organizational direction for the quinquennial United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network supports the implementation of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice programme and contributes to the work of the Commission. The Commission acts as the governing body of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Fund, the United Nations fund that provides resources for promoting technical assistance in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

  Most recent meeting of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice: