ABOUT
The United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is the world's largest
and most diverse gathering of policy-makers, practitioners, academia, intergovernmental organizations and civil society in
the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. The Congresses have been held every five years since 1955 in different
parts of the world, dealing with a vast array of topics. They have made considerable impact in the field of crime prevention
and criminal justice and influenced national and international policies and professional practices. The Congresses provide
a forum for (a) the exchange of views between States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and individual
experts representing various professions and disciplines; (b) the exchange of experiences in research, law and policy development;
and (c) the identification of emerging trends and issues in crime prevention and criminal justice.
The 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will be held from 7 to 12 March
2021 in Kyoto, Japan. The UN General Assembly has formally decided on these dates (
A/DEC/74/550
B), which had been recommended by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as the preparatory body of
the Crime Congress. There will be pre-Congress consultations on 6 March 2021. The 14th Congress was originally scheduled to
take place in Kyoto, Japan, on 20-27 April 2020, and postponed, due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
The overall theme, agenda items and the topics for the workshops of the Fourteenth Congress
were determined by the United Nations General Assembly in its
resolution 72/192. The
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice also advanced preparations for the Fourteenth Congress through its resolutions
submitted for adoption by the Assembly in 2018 and 2019.
Preparations
In its
resolution
70/174, the General Assembly accepted with gratitude the offer of the Government of Japan to act as host to the Fourteenth
Congress. The
Kyoto International Conference Center will be the venue of the Fourteenth
Congress, to be held from 7 to 12 March 2021, with pre-Congress consultations scheduled for 6 March 2021.
The
discussion
guide for the regional preparatory meetings for the Fourteenth Congress and for the Congress itself was reviewed and finalized
by the Secretariat following the 27th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, taking into account
the recommendations of the Commission, as well as additional comments and feedback from Member States. The Secretariat also
prepared working papers for the substantive agenda items and background papers for workshops in January 2020. These documents
can be found
here.
The
regional preparatory
meetings were held in 2019 in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Asia, Africa and Europe.
Participants examined the issues to be discussed at the Fourteenth Congress and made action-oriented recommendations for consideration
by the Congress.
Pursuant to the General Assembly resolution
73/184,
the Fourteenth Congress shall adopt a single declaration, to be submitted to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice for its consideration.
