At UNHQ in NY, UNODC supports efforts to harness sport as a force for crime prevention

"Fair play, tolerance and team spirit - sports have a unique potential to help develop and reinforce positive life skills and values, and expand prospects," noted Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director at a high-level event on the topic 'Crime Prevention and Sustainable Development through Sport' held in New York this past week. Pointing to UNODC's 'Line Up Live Up' initiative that is being piloted in a number of countries around the world, the Executive Director also highlighted how the organization is helping to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular  SDG 16 which looks to  peaceful, just and inclusive societies and those targets related to good health and well-being, education and reducing inequalities.

Chief Justices and senior judges launch UNODC's Global Judicial Integrity Network

After two years of planning, seven regional preparatory meetings, and consultations with approximately 4,000 judges, UNODC launched its Global Judicial Integrity Network this week, in the presence of Chief Justices, senior judges and judicial professionals from around the world. 

The Network is a platform for judges to share good practices and lessons learned, to support each other, and to join forces in developing new tools and guidelines for strengthening integrity and preventing corruption in the judicial system. As such, it will also provide access to a large online database featuring thousands of resources, good practices, and other judicial documents for immediate reference.

To help spread and protect the rule of law, we need the Global Judicial Integrity Network

When judges in every country are able to access pertinent legal and judicial resources, to study good practices and to review a multitude of other materials put at their disposition by UNODC, within a network affording them the opportunity to directly liaise and confer with their peers in other jurisdictions, their individual efforts in fighting corruption and in protecting judicial integrity are immediately reinforced by the power of consensus and sustained by the strength of its universality.

Ultimately, and more importantly, these steps will protect people's right to justice. As inspirational and idealistic as it may seem, this is the goal of every honourable  member of the judicial system.