Director-General/Executive Director
Ambassador Csaba Kőrösi,
President of the General Assembly of the United Nations,
Ambassador Mary Mugwanja,
Chair of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to be here with you at this high-level debate on equal access to justice for all.
Last month, in Vienna, we were privileged to welcome the GA President at the 32nd session of the UN Crime Commission, the CCPCJ.
Access to justice was a prevailing theme of the discussions, and the topic of a landmark resolution adopted by the Commission, sponsored by 46 countries, and proposed for approval by the GA.
It is fitting that we are now here at this Assembly, to take this debate forward and to discuss how to guarantee justice for all, on the road to the SDG Summit and the Summit of the Future.
Excellencies,
Ensuring access to justice for all is key to unlocking a society’s potential for inclusive and sustainable development.
As we pursue the Sustainable Development Goals in this decade of action, we have consistently recognized that SDG 16 on peaceful, just, and inclusive societies is an enabler for Agenda 2030 as a whole.
As a target and cornerstone of SDG 16, equal access to justice represents many things.
A basic metric for the rule of law, and an enabler of good governance and public trust.
A powerful deterrent and necessary recourse against corruption, organized crime, violence, and exploitation.
A bedrock of human rights and a pathway to protecting the dignity of all.
Most of all, equal access to justice is a necessity to deal with difficult realities, as we struggle to make progress towards the targets of SDG 16 and reduce violence globally.
The year 2021 saw the highest number of recorded victims of intentional homicide in the last two decades, almost half a million people.
We have also seen the number of detected victims of human trafficking decline globally for the first time on record, suggesting compromised capacities to detect and counter this crime.
Meanwhile, up to 1 billion children experience physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect every year according to WHO, and one in three women worldwide have experienced sexual or other violence.
To help victims, ensure accountability, and reduce future violence, every member of society must be granted the same unhindered right to justice.
Selective justice is no justice at all.
Millions around the world are denied criminal justice remedies, while millions more suffer injustice unheard, silenced by fear or stigma.
And it is often those who need justice most who find it unavailable to them.
The poor and the marginalized, women, children, persons with disabilities, and migrants, as well as racial, ethnic and other minorities all face institutional and cultural barriers to justice, both as victims and as offenders or suspects.
It is time to acknowledge and eliminate the discrimination that pervades many laws, regulations and attitudes.
Slow justice is no justice at all.
Globally, the number of people incarcerated without a final sentence is an important measure of access to justice.
The world’s prison population is estimated to be comprised of around 11.2 million people.
At the end of 2020, approximately one in three of them was unsentenced.
No unsentenced person should be deprived of their liberty for any time longer than is absolutely necessary.
Justice out of reach is no justice at all.
Whether suspected, accused of, or charged with a crime, whether a victim or a witness, every person should have the knowledge and assistance they need to exercise their rights in the criminal justice system.
Yet people who are marginalized or in vulnerable situations often lack the resources and awareness to access those rights.
That is why legal aid is an essential element of fair, humane, and efficient criminal justice systems, and must be available for all.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As we look to turbo-charge our progress towards the SDGs, the President of the General Assembly has emphasized – and I fully agree – that we need game-changing ‘accelerators’.
Today’s debate can help identify transformative accelerators in the area of access to justice.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has extensive experience on the ground, with a presence in over 130 countries.
Our work includes supporting Member States in improving access to justice, by enhancing the efficiency, accountability, and integrity of criminal justice institutions, promoting access to legal aid, and protecting, assisting, and supporting victims of crime and exploitation, and we reach thousands of practitioners and beneficiaries.
Drawing on this broad experience, I would like to highlight some ideas with the potential for transformative impact.
First, we should explore the many possible applications of new technologies across the spectrum of justice.
Digitizing court systems can expedite and facilitate proceedings, making justice swift and efficient while saving resources.
New systems can improve access to crucial legal information and services, reaching even the most remote and economically disadvantaged communities.
Communications applications and the internet can connect people with the legal help they need with much greater ease.
They can also facilitate the training of justice actors, and foster networks of professionals sharing information across borders.
Tools such as body-worn cameras and recorded statements can improve accountability and mitigate risks.
And the advent of artificial intelligence can multiply the effectiveness of justice systems by processing unprecedented amounts of data, if we can establish guardrails to ensure that it is safe and in line with human rights.
It is time to mirror our remarkable advances in technology with comparable advances towards justice for all.
UNODC recently launched a research project to analyze the impact of several e-justice initiatives on access to justice.
This will improve our understanding of the risks and opportunities from using technology in crime prevention and criminal justice.
Once we have a clearer picture, Member States should aspire to develop national projects to enable criminal justice actors, essential service providers, and beneficiaries to use the technology that is available to them in the most efficient ways possible.
Second, we can enhance access to legal aid by establishing more sustainable delivery systems and supporting more diverse providers, including private, public and civil society providers.
UNODC’s efforts in this regard have shown significant impact, in particular for women, persons in police and pre-trial detention, and others in vulnerable situations.
In West Africa, for example, UNODC worked with UN Women to enhance access to legal aid for women, training over 1,200 women through community-based legal education, as well as 1,100 judges, prosecutors and lawyers.
In Liberia, over 700 women were released from prison and reintegrated into their communities, after human rights violations were identified by legal aid providers.
Investing in robust, sustainably funded legal aid systems has proven to result in better justice outcomes, while also being more cost-efficient than building larger prisons and detention facilities.
Third and finally, we can take serious steps to ensure that the justice sector becomes more diverse in terms of gender and minority representation.
An inclusive workforce allows any justice system to better understand every one of the people it deals with, to better ensure access to justice for everyone.
Experience has shown, for instance, that better representation of women in the justice sector ensures better justice outcomes for everyone, yet it remains a male-dominated domain.
UNODC’s initiative “Women in justice/for justice” was launched precisely to address this, and we need to pursue such efforts on a wider scale.
We need to change attitudes and break down systemic barriers, while educating and equipping people from all segments of society to become effective criminal justice actors.
Diverse and inclusive justice systems will accelerate progress towards SDG 16, and will have a ripple effect across many other SDGs.
These are just a few ideas, and I am confident that bold thinking today can produce more.
Distinguished participants,
Ensuring access to justice for all, regardless of their background, actions, or circumstances, preserves our collective humanity.
It also boosts our odds of achieving our global goals, by laying the foundations for less inequalities, more fairness and integrity, protection of human rights, preservation of our environment, and so much more.
I hope that today’s debate will spark new thinking and renewed commitment to building a world where justice is available and guaranteed to all, a world better positioned to achieve the SDGs and ensure peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive societies for all.
Thank you.