NCJ Number
190166
Date Published
July 2000
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the proceedings of the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in Vienna, Austria, April 10-17, 2000, whose theme was “Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century.”
Abstract
A report of the Secretary-General on the state of crime and criminal justice worldwide described the current trends in conventional crime and organized crime as well as the response of countries around the world. According to the report, the available data supported a linkage between poverty and a lack of opportunities and crime. The data also indicated that organized crime was particularly prevalent where there was a so-called “culture of lawlessness.” A Declaration deals with a variety of issues, such as taking action against specific forms of crime, such as trafficking in persons, the smuggling of migrants, trafficking in firearms, corruption, money-laundering, computer-related crime, and violence and terrorism. A discussion on international cooperation was structured around four topics: international organized crime; the current work on the draft convention against transnational organized crime; transnational organized crime and organized criminal groups; and the links between transnational organized crime and economic and financial crime. Other Congress discussions pertained to promotion of the rule of law and strengthening the criminal justice system, keeping pace with new developments in crime prevention, accountability and fairness for offenders and victims in the criminal justice system, combating corruption, community involvement in crime prevention, women in the criminal justice system, and computer-related crime.