Dubai, 14 December 2023 – As future leaders and current changemakers, youth play an indispensable role in strengthening crime prevention and criminal justice efforts around the globe.
“Youth provide new ideas, creativity and passion for sustainable solutions to broaden the range of thoughts while developing policies,” stresses Selma Bichbich.
Selma is a Political Science Student from Algeria and Co-Founder of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Coalition for Peace, Youth and Security. She spoke at a side event at the 28th session of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in preparation for the Fifteenth Crime Congress, organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on 3 December 2023 in Dubai, which focused on protecting people and planet through a crime prevention and criminal justice lens.
Selma shares that participation in the side event allowed her to “advocate for the meaningful inclusion of young people in decision-making processes, emphasizing the urgent need for collaborative and innovative strategies to address the intersectionality of climate change, crime prevention, and criminal justice.”
The unique perspectives brought by youth not only contribute to the progress made towards a cohesive society, but also elevate their sense of ownership for the decisions taken and strategies adopted.
Selma emphasizes that Member States must engage youth by developing policies and implementing strategies, with dedicated financial resources, that enable the younger generation to share their voices in a meaningful way.
It is also essential that governments “communicate with youth through the use of digital platforms, social media and dialogue at the grassroot level to identify challenges and proposals by youth,” she says.
Another way to stimulate active youth engagement and leadership is to ensure public recognition of youth-led initiatives. Equally important is for crime prevention and criminal justice experts to “provide mentoring to young advocates and share their knowledge and experience,” highlights Selma.
UNODC views involving youth in the preparatory process for the Fifteenth Crime Congress – and their meaningful participation in the Congress itself – as a priority. Including youth in decision-making processes empowers them to become active agents of positive change in their communities and to support crime prevention and criminal justice efforts.
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The Fifteenth Crime Congress will be held in the United Arab Emirates in 2026 under the overall theme “Accelerating crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: protecting people and planet and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the digital age”.
At its 32nd session in May 2023, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice – as the preparatory and follow-up body for the UN crime congresses - negotiated a resolution that covers the procedural matters related to the organization and conduct of the Fifteenth Crime Congress as well as contains the overall theme, agenda items and workshop topics. The Third Committee of the General Assembly recommended in November the resolution for final adoption by its Plenary.
