Activities of Secretary-General in Qatar, 11-13 April

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew on Saturday, 11 April, from Panama City, Panama, to Doha, Qatar, to attend the thirteenth UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

On Sunday, 12 April, the Secretary-General delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Congress, stressing that crime threatens peace and security, hinders development and violates human rights.  He said that success against crime requires that the new agenda and sustainable development goals reflect the centrality of the rule of law.  (See Press Release SG/SM/16655.)

The Secretary-General also held bilateral meetings with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar.

He then visited the Gulf Criminal Information Centre for Combating Drugs, before meeting with Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for the Interior of the State of Qatar, with whom he then held a joint press conference.

In his remarks to the press, the Secretary-General welcomed the adoption of the Doha Declaration that he described as implementable, concise and achievable, and urged the United Nations Congress to be action-driven.

On his way to the airport, the Secretary-General visited the Katara Art Centre, before heading back to New York, where he arrived on the morning of 13 April.