Qatar : Doha Declaration on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice "Historic Document"

Vienna, May 15 (QNA) - The State of Qatar has underlined that the Doha Declaration adopted by the Thirteenth Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is a "historic document and an integrated international road map" that has integrated crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider United Nations agenda and led the international community's efforts to address organized crime and the establishment of effective, fair, humane and accountable criminal justice systems, the consolidation of the rule of law and the achievement of sustainable development. This came in a speech delivered by HE Major General Dr. Abdullah Yousif Al-Mal, Advisor to HE the Minister of Interior and representative of the State of Qatar to the 27th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, currently in session in Vienna, Austria. In implementation of the recommendations of the Doha Declaration, the State of Qatar, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has adopted a unique initiative in the history of the United Nations congresses on crime prevention, (The World Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration) aimed at assisting States, particularly developing States, in implementing these recommendations in four main areas: judicial integrity, youth crime prevention through sport, rehabilitation of prisoners and education for justice, Dr. Al-Mal noted . He added that "with the launch of this program in November 2015, we have seen a great international welcome and the desire of States to benefit from its activities, as the latest statistics of the United Nations showed that the number of countries benefiting from the projects of the global program reached (121). The program has reached more than 13,000 stakeholders in more than 180 countries, most of them judges, sports coaches, academics, teachers and prison practitioners, as well as awareness campaigns that have reached more than 180 countries. He noted that the most recent activities of the International Program were the Conference of Senior Judges and Chiefs of Supreme Courts held in Vienna on 9 and 10 April, 2018, the largest gathering of judges organized by the United Nations in its history. The conference witnessed the launch of the Global Integrity Network, in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a unique educational program that strengthens the relationship between education and crime prevention. It includes educational courses and textbooks for various stages of education on global citizenship, prevention of violent extremism and achievement of sustainable development goals through education, he added. The State of Qatar appreciated the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in praising the global program for the implementation of the Doha Declaration and presenting its continuing and growing achievements, he said. He called upon all Member States and concerned United Nations bodies to participate in the activities of this program, which will be implemented until 2020, and to draw lessons from the World Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration as a unique experience in the United Nations Register and to model future projects in the operational, legislative and policy areas that meet the needs of States. In particular developing countries, in order to achieve the objectives of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Convention against Corruption and the conventions against terrorism and to achieve the goals of sustainable development for 2030, noting that the State of Qatar seeks to sustain some Active program beyond 2020. He also welcomed the attention of the international community to the dangers of cybercrime, its increasing links to transnational organized crime and its efforts to curb the use of cyberspace for terrorist or political aims that are intended to destabilize states, intervene in their internal affairs and trigger crises. The State of Qatar supports the efforts of the Expert Group on Cybercrime, Panel for the years 2018-2021, he underlined. He stressed the importance of international cooperation and capacity building in the development and strengthening of the efforts of States to address cybercrime, calling for the criminalization of all forms of illegal use of cyberspace. He pointed to the increasing links between terrorism on the one hand and organized crime, corruption and money laundering on the other, calling for strengthening regional and international cooperation to combat terrorism, and expressed satisfaction with the persistent international, regional and national efforts that have allowed the wave of violent extremism and terrorism in the last decades to ebb. Concluding, HE Dr. Abdullah Al-Mal stressed the importance of providing technical assistance to countries to ratify international conventions and protocols related to the fight against terrorism and to focus on preventing and addressing the root causes of terrorism by creating an international environment that respects the rule of law at the international and national levels and consolidates the culture of peace, tolerance and dialogue among civilizations, cultures and religions, warning against the fabrication of crises and conflicts and the use of coercive means against peoples as a flagrant violation of international law, weakening and aborting international efforts to combat terrorism and a major obstacle to sustainable development. (QNA)