On the side-lines of this week's Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) a series of events were held to highlight the Doha Declaration Global Programme and provide attendees with a look at the areas undertaken by UNODC since the initiation of this ambitious work last year. On the first day of the Commission, a side event on the implementation of the Global Programme was held, illustrating progress made in the four areas of sports against youth crime; prisoner rehabilitation; judicial integrity; and the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative. This followed the opening of a youth football exhibition earlier in the day in the UN plaza showcasing UNODC's life skills training which is presently being piloted in Brazil ahead of a global rollout.
This month marked a period of promising engagement with Judicial Associations from over ten African countries and mutual agreement around the priority needs of Mozambique to strengthen its judicial integrity framework.
As part of ongoing work under the Doha Declaration Global Programme, UNODC attended the annual meeting of the Africa group of the International Association of Judges (IAJ) in Maputo where the theme of judicial independence was discussed, as well met key Mozambican judicial figures to discuss strengthening the country's integrity framework.
Developing a global brand of prison products moved a step closer to being realized this week with the bringing together of key prison administrators from across Latin America. Part of the Doha Declaration Global Programme, the event was organized to explore new and innovative approaches within the Latin American region which are being used to mitigate the social, economic and personal challenges faced by prisoners and reduce the risk of recidivism through rehabilitation. By identifying programmes which support prisoner's ability to lead self-sustained lives, the aim is to support the wider ideal of promoting a culture of lawfulness.
As part of its Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, UNODC is seeking to promote values among primary-level school children and in this context held a workshop in May at the Carmen Sole Bosch school on the outskirts of Panama City. Over 230 children from pre-kindergarten to second grade took part in the one-day workshop during which integrity, honesty and ethics was taught at this early - and highly formative - age.
Run by UNODC Panama, and supported by E4J, the workshop revolved around the character duo Dogui (a dog) and Dengoso (a mosquito), two characters that were created by UNODC's Panama Office. The former represents the positive: Dogui goes to school, cares about others and advocates the values which are key to a safer and more just world; Dengoso, on the other hand, is an antagonist and a negative influence: constantly trying to persuade Dogui to follow the less honest path by lying and cheating.
With the aim of developing innovative solutions to address corruption, youth representatives and students from some 13 Pacific Island countries and territories gathered this past week for the Pacific Youth Anti-Corruption Innovation Lab held in Nadi, Fiji. Held over three days, the event also considered how education can best be used as a tool to foster the culture of integrity and lawfulness and ultimately counter corruption.
"The idea of the Anti-Corruption Innovation Lab is to provide a platform for young leaders from the region to get together and brainstorm creative approaches to increase youth involvement in the area of anti-corruption, thereby contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16 targets in the Pacific", noted UNODC's Regional Anti-Corruption Adviser, Maria Adomeit.
