Director-General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to welcome you to this discussion on people-centered justice.
As we heard in this morning’s high-level debate, equal access to justice is a key driver of the 2030 Agenda.
Yet, 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, too many people around the globe still lack meaningful access to justice.
The Secretary-General has called for a New Vision for the Rule of Law that puts people at the center of justice.
A people-centered approach to justice requires policies, laws and institutions that are better able to protect and uphold the rights of all individuals.
In practice, this means that justice institutions are accessible to everyone, equally and without discrimination; that they are easy to navigate; that they are fair; and that they are focused on remedies that address people’s needs.
UNODC is committed to helping Member States increase the efficiency, accountability and integrity of criminal justice systems, and we put people at the center of all our work.
We support Member States in redefining justice systems to broaden the focus beyond resolution to include prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration.
Our new Global Programme on People-Centered Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Reform for 2022-2025 provides targeted technical assistance to build the capacity of criminal justice practitioners, legal aid providers, communities and victim support services.
It leverages UNODC’s network of experts in its Vienna headquarters and over 130 offices around the world.
To break the cycle of crime and violence, we need to invest more in prevention, which evidence shows is more cost-effective than responding to crime, and has the greatest impact on children and youth.
This is important because children and young people are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
We need to strengthen protective factors like education and engage children and youth in the life of their communities to build their resilience.
Excellencies,
We cannot achieve real progress toward the 2030 Agenda so long as women continue to suffer disproportionately from crime and violence and face significant impediments to justice.
Since 2010, UNODC has supported over 50 Member States in Africa, Asia and Latin America to strengthen their crime prevention and criminal justice responses to gender-based violence.
This includes advocating for gender equality within police and criminal justice systems to overcome structural inequalities and prevent discrimination in the application of the law.
People-centered justice also means protecting the rights of prisoners.
Between 2019 and 2020, the global prison population increased by a quarter, with one in three prisoners being held without trial.
Many come from vulnerable and disadvantaged communities without the resources to defend themselves in court.
A 2016 UNODC-UNDP study found that 125 countries had incorporated legal aid into their national legislation, but many lacked the resources or capacity to provide it.
We must do more to enable countries to provide nationwide access to quality legal aid services for victims, accused and offenders.
Digital technologies can help, and we must harness their potential for transformative change, while ensuring that their use complies with human rights standards and takes the digital divide into account.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Putting people at the center of justice can help guarantee equal access to justice for all.
This in turn will help us put the 2030 Agenda back on track and bring us closer to our vision of a peaceful and prosperous world where no one is left behind.
Thank you.