WORLDWIDE EFFORTS TO PROTECT AND COMPENSATE CRIME VICTIMS UNDER REVIEW BY INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS

Press Release
SOC/CP/177

WORLDWIDE EFFORTS TO PROTECT AND COMPENSATE CRIME VICTIMS UNDER REVIEW BY INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS

VIENNA, 18 December (UN Information Service) -- Ten years after the General Assembly called on Member States to take the necessary steps to secure justice and assistance for crime victims, some 20 specialists in various aspects of victims' rights and criminal justice began a meeting this morning in Vienna to forge a concerted follow-up programme.

The "Expert Group Meeting on Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power in the International Setting", will continue through 22 December and examine ways to put into force the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, which was adopted by the Assembly in 1985. That Declaration was approved by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, which met in Milan earlier that year.

The Declaration itself, and the Assembly resolution endorsing it, call for a number of steps to be taken at national, regional and international levels to improve the situation of victims and reduce victimization. The Declaration of principles is among the first four sets of United Nations standards in the criminal justice field to be reviewed by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which is appraising progress in the implementation of such norms. The results of a worldwide survey based on responses of governments to a detailed questionnaire on their efforts to protect and compensate crime victims will be submitted to the Commission when it meets here in May 1996.

The Declaration outlines a number of principles for the treatment of victims of crime and abuse of power at all stages in criminal justice proceedings and recommends that governments take measures to ensure their safety, dignified treatment, access to health and social services and provision for restitution from the criminal offender.

Participants in the Vienna meeting will review the Declaration's application and consider the preparation of a manual on its use. They will draw up proposals for international technical cooperation in assistance to victims, including a prototype for victims' services, a pilot scheme for emergency victim assistance and a framework for relevant databases, including legislation and training curricula.

- 2 - Press Release SOC/CP/177 20 December 1995

Taking part in the meeting are experts from Austria, Botswana, Canada, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom and United States. Also participating are representatives of the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and the United Nations Protection Force.

* *** *