UNITED NATIONS HOSTING WESTERN ASIA REGIONAL MEETING ON CRIME, BEIRUT, 11-13 NOVEMBER
Press Release
SOC/CP/208
UNITED NATIONS HOSTING WESTERN ASIA REGIONAL MEETING ON CRIME, BEIRUT, 11-13 NOVEMBER
19981111 (Reissued as received.)VIENNA, 10 November (UN Information Service) -- Experts and top government officials from up to 12 western Asian nations will be gathering in Beirut from 11 to 13 November to discuss how crime can be better controlled and prevented at the national and transnational levels.
Delegates at the meeting, organized by the United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention and hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), will focus on ways of promoting the rule of law, combating international crime, keeping pace with crime prevention techniques and ensuring that justice is fair for all.
The meeting is the second in a series of four regional meetings to collect inputs for the tenth Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, to be held in Vienna in April, 2000. Delegates include leading government crime officials as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and the relevant United Nations agencies.
Many developing nations are currently suffering an upsurge of crime in the wake of major political and economic changes. Delegates will discuss special approaches that could help promote the rule of law and how the United Nations could best provide technical aid needed in post-conflict reconstruction.
As the world becomes more of a global village, new forms of transnational crime are arising, which pose fresh challenges to criminal justice systems. Delegates will also discuss the fight against transnational crime, focusing on problems such as extradition and mutual legal assistance, economic and financial crimes, money-laundering, corruption, trafficking in human beings, terrorism and giving technical assistance to countries in need.
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A major priority of many nations is to keep pace with new ways to prevent crime, based on traditional measures such as the family's role and formal education, as well as innovative technology. The Beirut meeting will study prevention in light of the changing patterns of crime, especially in an age when information technology is rapidly changing.
Another major item delegates will broach is the treatment of offenders and victims, with key issues of concern centring on investigation, prosecution and penalties. The meeting hopes to provide a forum for the exchange of information and experiences, as well as foster international cooperation and technical assistance in these fields.
The delegates in Beirut will also prepare for four workshops to be conducted at the tenth Congress, on combating corruption, computer crime, community crime prevention and women in the criminal justice system. The workshops should serve as a springboard for expanding the technical assistance capabilities of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme.
Countries invited to attend the Beirut meeting include Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The first regional crime meeting was held in Bangkok from 2 to 4 November for the Asian and Pacific region. Two other meetings will be held before the end of February -- in Kampala for Africa and San Jose for Latin America.
To date, the United Nations has held nine international crime Congresses, which have served to boost international cooperation in crime control and have recommended vital guidelines and standards on crime prevention and criminal justice.
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