Director-General/Executive Director
Mr. Chair, Ambassador Šrámek,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Congratulations on concluding another successful session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
Throughout the past week, you’ve had important discussions that have shed light on urgent challenges facing justice and the rule of law today.
And I am greatly encouraged by the high level of engagement that this Commission continues to generate every year.
This week, we had 1,500 participants join us from around the world, including representatives from 128 countries, all united in advancing our collective efforts for more just and resilient societies.
We had 97 side-events, covering a wide spectrum of criminal justice and rule of law priorities.
I was privileged to speak at many of these events myself, which gave me the opportunity to hear directly from you, to learn about best practices, to celebrate our partnerships, and to find new ways of strengthening our collaboration.
I greatly value these interactions and the role of this Commission in providing a platform for dialogue and a shared space for shared solutions.
We also continued to engage with civil society, with 75 NGOs providing their perspectives and advocating for the rights of the most vulnerable in society.
I was also happy to see there were 10 events dedicated to women in justice, from empowering women in policing and cybersecurity, to ensuring equal access to justice for women and girls, and harnessing gender-sensitive data to combat violence against women.
And we heard the voices of young people, including through our new Generation Justice Initiative, ensuring their active involvement in the CCPCJ.
Young people’s passionate calls for action remind us that our decisions today will shape the world they inherit tomorrow.
And speaking of the future, the discussions and outcomes of this session will serve as an important springboard for the Summit of the Future in September, where we must ensure that justice and the rule of law remain high on the multilateral agenda.
This week, you’ve proven that the spirit of multilateralism – and the spirit of Vienna – is very much still alive, as you reached consensus on five important resolutions, showing that we can still come together and find common ground.
You agreed on the need for effective rehabilitation and reintegration strategies to reduce reoffending, at a time when prisons in many places risk turning into revolving doors of injustice.
You recognized the plight of children who face horrific violence both online and offline, as well as at the hands of terrorist groups.
You highlighted the risks of trafficking in persons in the context of rapid technological change. And earlier this week, I was pleased to meet with the new board members of the UN Trust Fund on Victims of Trafficking, including an inspiring survivor whose story, and many others like hers, can help lead the way in the fight against human trafficking.
And you continued to lay a strong foundation for the 15th UN Crime Congress in 2026, which aims at placing the protection of people and planet at the heart of criminal justice responses.
On that note, I’m proud that we launched the third edition of our World Wildlife Crime Report this week, providing an overview of wildlife trafficking trends, and earlier today we just launched the first chapter of a new global analysis on crimes that affect the environment, which reviews and identifies gaps in environmental legislation, with more chapters to follow throughout 2024.
We’ve also had 9 side-events on tackling crimes that affect the environment, showing the growing interest on this issue at this Commission.
On all these topics and more, we will continue to deliver leading research, data, and analysis, to help inform policies and build more robust responses.
And we will continue to support Member States and the work of this Commission in strengthening the rule of law and building effective, accessible, and inclusive criminal justice systems.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As we draw the curtains on the 33rd session of the CCPCJ, I would like to extend my gratitude to you Ambassador Šrámek for leading this session with grace and dedication.
I would also like to thank Ambassador Trejo for steering the intricate negotiations of the Committee of the Whole.
And I would like to thank the entire UNODC Secretariat and conference management staff, as well as our able interpreters, and all those working behind the scenes for making this session a success.
Thank you all very much, and I wish you a safe journey home.