Director-General/Executive Director
Madam Chair,
Excellencies,
Distinguished colleagues,
I am honoured to address you at the thirty-second session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
This session of the CCPCJ represented an important milestone along more than one path.
It is the last session before the SDG Summit in September. The outcomes of your discussions will inform efforts to identify accelerators for the SDGs at the Summit, especially for SDG 16, which is foundational to the 2030 Agenda as a whole.
The presence of the General Assembly President with us, for the very first time, was testament to the importance of the CCPCJ’s contribution, and the centrality of justice and the rule of law.
At this session, you also agreed on the agenda and modalities for the 15th Crime Congress, to be held in the United Arab Emirates in 2026.
Between now and then, we will have concluded the SDG Summit and 2024’s Summit of the Future.
The Congress may also be convening after the finalization of a new international instrument on cybercrime.
The 15th Congress could represent a significant juncture to adopt more people-centred approaches to crime prevention and criminal justice, with the aim of protecting people and planet, and to adapt to emerging challenges in a changing world.
You took the first steps along that road this week.
This thirty-second session also holds personal significance for me.
It is the fourth CCPCJ that I have been part of since becoming Executive Director, it the largest so far, and the first after lifting all COVID-related restrictions.
Over 1,800 participants from 136 Member States and 69 NGOs came together here in the formal sessions, in 107 side events, and in the hallways and coffee corners of our UN home in Vienna, united in their desire to see societies resilient to crime.
Best practices have been disseminated and solutions have been discussed.
Despite heated debates and strong differences of opinion, the Commission once again managed to reach consensus on a number of important resolutions covering terrorism, human trafficking, access to legal aid, reducing reoffending, and contributing to the SDGs.
This achievement is a testament to multilateralism.
In a divided geopolitical landscape and a world lurching from crisis to crisis, Member States of the United Nations are still able to agree on multilateral solutions to shared problems.
We must also remember that the CCPCJ is not limited to the negotiations of text.
Practitioners, experts, and people affected by crime come to this Commission to connect and share perspectives and good practices, often moving the discourse forward.
The many events I attended this week and my conversations with officials, colleagues, and participants reaffirmed my belief that what we do here at the CCPCJ is worth doing.
I have been educated and inspired by these interactions, interactions that can only take place in a global platform like this one.
I would like to share with you some of my takeaways from this session.
Firstly, it is becoming clearer than ever that investing in prevention should be prioritized.
Upholding justice depends greatly on the conditions that help the rule of law take hold, including equipping people with education, opportunities, and access to their rights.
Secondly, I am more and more convinced of the important role that technology can play in enhancing access to justice.
To unlock that potential, we must look to breach the digital divide, which often affects those in vulnerable situations, and to leverage technologies while meeting human rights standards such as fair trial guarantees and the protection of privacy
Thirdly, we need to centre our efforts on people, and place victims at the heart of responses.
During this session I have seen victims of horrific crimes show the courage to tell their stories, for the good of others.
They deserve to be heard, and we must learn from what they have to say.
And lastly, we should not allow difficult times to shake our belief in justice and in the SDGs.
The obstacles may seem daunting, and the setbacks may be severe, but in this Commission and in other multilateral bodies we still see empathy, innovation, and small victories that can add up to big impact.
Dear colleagues,
Allow me to take this opportunity to thank our distinguished Chair for leading this important and challenging CCPCJ session with wisdom, patience, and determination.
Allow me also to thank Ambassador De Jorgensen (De-Yorgen-Sen) of the Dominican Republic, and Ambassador Schmidt-Bremme for their good efforts in chairing the Committee of the Whole.
And lastly, I want to thank my own UNODC team, who continue to embody our absolute commitment to supporting our Vienna-based bodies.
I am grateful to all of you for your participation and engagement in the CCPCJ, and I hope that this platform will continue to bring us together in the pursuit of justice for all.
Thank you.