UN CRIME COMMISSION MEETING TO FOCUS ON RULE OF LAW AND DEVELOPMENT

Background Release                                         

UN Crime Commission Meeting to Focus on Rule of Law and Development

Forty-Member Body to Hold Thirteenth Session in Vienna from 11 to 20 May

(Reissued as received.)

VIENNA, 10 May (UN Information Service) -- The rule of law and development:  what governments can do in crime prevention and criminal justice will be the focus of the thirteenth session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice beginning tomorrow, 11 May, in Vienna.

Crime renders development unsustainable in many ways.  To begin with, organized crime impedes economic growth.  Data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that a high level of crime correlates with a low level of human development.  On the other hand, under-development and institutional weaknesses provide an environment where organized crime and corruption thrive.  For example, 10 times more murders take place in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa than in North America and the European Union countries, and most of these crimes are not prosecuted.

“We need to break the vicious circle between poor governance and slow development.  Without the rule of law, countries cannot prosper and under-development persists”, said Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, UNODC.

Discussions at the session will include:  international cooperation to strengthen the rule of law, including combating corruption; and the reform of criminal justice institutions with an emphasis on technical assistance, including post-conflict reconstruction.

Terrorism will also be discussed at the senior level on 14 May.  Particular attention will be paid to the UNODC’s efforts to provide technical assistance, in combating terrorism through the implementation of the related conventions and protocols.

The Commission will also address urban crime, kidnapping and United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice.  Moreover, the session will offer an opportunity to reiterate the importance of the existing normative instruments against crime:  the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols (against human trafficking, smuggling of migrants and firearms) and the Convention against Corruption.

Status of Signature/Ratification

Transnational Organized Crime Convention: signatories, 147, ratifications, 67; Trafficking in Persons Protocol: signatories, 117, ratifications, 52; Smuggling of Migrants Protocol: signatories, 112, ratifications, 46; Firearms Protocol: signatories, 52, ratifications, 16.

Corruption Convention: signatories, 107, ratifications, 2.

Members of Commission

The 40 members of the Commission are Algeria, Austria, Botswana, Burundi, Brazil, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Croatia, Cuba, CzechRepublic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mauritania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Zambia.

Bureau of Commission

The Bureau consists of Chairperson Pavel Vacek (CzechRepublic); Vice-Chairpersons Oscar Cabello Sarubbi (Paraguay), Thomas Stelzer (Austria) and T.P. Sreenivasan (India); and Rapporteur Ajebe Ligaba Wolde (Ethiopia).

For more information:  United Nations Information Service Vienna (UNIS), P.O. Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, tel.: (+43-1) 26060 4666, fax: (+43-1) 26060 5899, e-mail: unis@unvienna.org; or visit the home page: www.unis.unvienna.org.

* *** *