United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice


The United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is a United Nations sponsored congress on the topics of crime, crime prevention and criminal justice, held every five years. It is organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Participants of the Congress include UN Member States and Observers, international organizations, non-governmental organization and individual experts.
The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice acts as preparatory and implementing body to the Crime Congress. Regional preparatory meetings are held to examine the substantive agenda items of the upcoming Crime Congress and to make action-oriented recommendations to serve as a basis for the draft recommendations and conclusions for consideration by the Congress.
The event was initially held in 1955, following the dissolution of the International Penal and Penitentiary Commission by the United Nations General Assembly in 1950. Initially called the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the current name was adopted in 2005.
The antecedents of the Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice include the First International Congress on the Prevention and Repression of Crime, held at London in 1872.

List of Congresses

CongressYearHost CityFociNotes
1st Congress1955Geneva, Switzerland
  • "Open" penal and correctional facilities
  • The selection and training of prison personnel
  • The proper use of prison labor
  • The impact of mass media on juvenile deviance
Adopted the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
2nd Congress1960London, United Kingdom
  • Short-term imprisonment
  • The integration of prison labor with national economies
  • The renumeration of prisoners
  • Pre-release treatment and assistance to dependents of prisoners
  • Parole and released prisoners' transition to community life
  • After care, including vocational guidance, training and placement
  • The role of national planning in preventing crime
    • 3rd Congress1965Stockholm, Sweden
  • Social change and criminality
  • Social forces and the prevention of criminality
  • Community action for preventing crime
  • Special preventative and treatment measures for juveniles and young adults
  • Measures to reduce recidivism
    • 4th Congress1970Kyoto, Japan
  • Social defense policies in relation to development planning
  • Public participation in crime prevention and control of crime and delinquency
  • The organization of research for policy development in social defense
  • Developments in the correctional field
    • 5th Congress1975Geneva, Switzerland
  • Offenses involving works of art and other cultural property
  • Criminality associated with alcoholism and drug use
  • Interpersonal violence
  • Criminality associated with migration and flight from natural disasters and hostilities
  • Female criminality
  • Terrorism
    		• Adopted the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
    6th Congress1980Caracas, Venezuela
  • Crime trends and crime prevention strategies
  • Improvement of crime statistics
  • Development of minimum standards of juvenile justice
  • Measures to put an end to torture and extra-legal executions
  • De-institutionalization of corrections and community measures
  • Specific needs of women prisoners
    • 7th Congress1985Milan, ItalyAdopted:
  • United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice
  • Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power
  • Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary
  • Model Agreement on the Transfer of Foreign Prisoners
  • Milan Plan of Action
    • 8th Congress1990Havana, CubaAdopted:
  • Model treaties on: extradition, mutual legal assistance, transfer of proceedings in criminal matters and transfer of supervision of offenders conditionally sentenced or conditionally released
  • Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
  • United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency
  • United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty
  • Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
  • United Nations Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors
  • Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers
  • United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures
    • 9th Congress1995Cairo, Egypt
  • Action against transnational and organized crime
  • The role of criminal law in the protection of the environment
  • Criminal justice and police systems
  • Crime prevention strategies in urban areas
  • Youth crime
    • 10th Congress2000Vienna, Austria
  • The rule of law and the strengthening of the criminal justice system
  • International cooperation in combating transnational organized crime
  • Effective crime prevention
  • Combating corruption
  • Crimes relating to the computer network
  • Community involvement in crime prevention
  • Women in the criminal justice system
    		• Adopted the Vienna Declaration on Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century
    11th Congress2005Bangkok, Thailand
  • Effective measures to combat transnational organized crime
  • Economic and financial crime: challenges to sustainable development
  • Corruptions: threats and trends in the twenty-first century
  • International cooperation against terrorism and links between terrorism and other criminal activities
  • Standard-setting in crime prevention and criminal justice
    		• Adopted the Bangkok Declaration on Synergies and Responses: Strategic Alliances in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
    12th Congress2010Salvador, Brazil
  • Education for Justice
  • Judicial Integrity
  • Prisoner Rehabilitation
  • Crime Prevention through Sports
    • 13th Congress2015Doha, Qatar
  • Children, youth and crime
  • Migrant smuggling
  • Human trafficking
  • Money-laundering
  • Cybercrime
    		• Adopted the Doha Declaration on 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
    14th CongressPostponedKyoto, JapanOverall theme: "Advancing crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda"
    • Evidence-based crime prevention: statistics, indicators and evaluation in support of successful practices
    • Reducing reoffending: identifying risks and developing solutions
    • Education and youth engagement as key to making societies resilient to crime
    • Current crime trends, recent developments and emerging solutions, in particular new technologies as means for and tools against crime
    		Postponed by the General Assembly due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.