The Rule of Law, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in the United Nations Development Agenda Beyond 2015

A/RES/68/188View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 108 Crime prevention and criminal justice, published in 2014.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Cities Crime Prevention Criminal Justice Development Development Assistance Guidelines Rule of Law Transitional Justice

What’s in this document?

15 operative paragraphs

Recognizes the cross-cutting nature of the rule of law, crime prevention and criminal justice and development, and recommends that such linkages and interrelationships be properly addressed and further elaborated;

Notes with appreciation the decision to hold a special event at the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly to follow up on efforts made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and to deliberate on the post-2015 development agenda;

Underscores that the post-2015 development agenda should be guided by respect for and promotion of the rule of law, and that crime prevention and criminal justice have an important role in that regard;

Stresses the need for a comprehensive approach and further involvement of the States members of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in the discussion leading to the formation of the post-2015 United Nations development agenda, in close coordination with the Economic and Social Council and other United Nations bodies and entities, fully taking into account the focus areas of the Millennium Development Goals;

Emphasizes that special attention should be placed on channelling the work of the Commission, where appropriate, into the discussions on the post-2015 United Nations development agenda, in close consultation with other stakeholders;

Notes that the main theme of the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, to be held in Qatar in 2015, is “Integrating crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider United Nations agenda to address social and economic challenges and to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and public participation”, and looks forward to fruitful discussions at the regional preparatory meetings on that subject;

Welcomes the efforts of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to assist Member States in improving systems for collecting and analysing data on crime prevention and criminal justice at all levels, where necessary, including gender-specific data, in order to promote the rule of law, crime prevention and criminal justice in the post-2015 development agenda;

Also welcomes the efforts of the Secretary-General towards stronger coordination and integration of rule of law assistance, through the specialized and relevant international organizations, in order to enhance predictability, coherence, accountability and effectiveness in delivery of the rule of law at the national and international levels, and encourages further participation by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in such arrangements, in particular, with regard to police, justice and corrections;

Urges Member States providing development assistance, in particular to countries emerging from conflict, to increase their assistance in the areas of crime prevention and criminal justice, and recommends that such assistance could, upon request, include elements relating to strengthening the rule of law;

Stresses the importance of a comprehensive approach to transitional justice, incorporating the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures to ensure accountability and promote reconciliation while protecting the rights of victims of crime and of abuse of power, highlighting in particular the work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in supporting criminal justice reforms and strengthening the rule of law at the national and international levels in that context;

Also stresses that institutions of governance and the judicial system should be gender-sensitive and that the full participation of women needs to be promoted;

Requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to provide substantive contributions to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) with regard to efforts to complement the development of United Nations guidelines on safer cities, taking into consideration the Guidelines for Cooperation and Technical Assistance in the Field of Urban Crime Prevention⁷ and the Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime,⁸ and to regularly inform Member States of the progress made in that regard, with a view to receiving comments;

⁷Economic and Social Council resolution 1995/9, annex.

⁸Economic and Social Council resolution 2002/13, annex.

Invites the institutes of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme network to continue to include in their work programmes the issue of the rule of law, as well as to consider exploring the challenges posed to the rule of law and development and to develop appropriate training material;

Invites Member States and other donors to provide extrabudgetary resources for the purposes described above, in accordance with the rules and procedures of the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents