TIJ Workshop on the 13th UN Crime Congress for the Qatari delegation

The Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) organized a seminar on the Preparations for the 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice with the aim of reviewing what the Thai Government had accomplished on the occasion of the 11th Crime Congress and sharing our experience and lessons learned with the Government of Qatar, which will host the next Crime Congress in 2015. The Seminar took place in Phuket from January 17th to 21st, 2014.

This seminar came within the scope of the Thailand-Qatar bilateral cooperation for preparations of the 13th UN Crime Congress that has been established under the exemplary leadership role of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol since Thailand’s first country visit in Qatar (October 2012). The strong commitment of Thailand, and in particular of the TIJ, in all UN Criminal Justice forums and in fostering the theme of the rule of law through the Bangkok Dialogue was widely recognized by all participants.

Panelists included delegates of the Thailand Office of the Attorney-General and of the Office of Justice Affairs, the Qatari National Preparatory Committee for the 13th Crime Congress, UNODC high-level representatives and TIJ officers.

During the seminar, it was stressed the crucial political role that the 13th UN Crime Congress will play in shaping the UN post 2015 development agenda.  The Congress should place at center stage the role of the criminal justice system in the promotion of the rule of law, with a view to strengthening development, peace and security, human rights and democratic governance.

The Thai Delegation illustrated in detail its experience in preparing the 11th Congress both from a substantive and logistic point of view. The Qatari delegation provided an overview of the progresses made in preparation of the Congress. Substantive presentations included reviews of recent crime trends in South-East Asia, considerations of the draft recommendations for the Regional Preparatory Meeting as well as the negotiating process of the Doha Declaration.

Finally, it was discussed and finalized the draft resolution on the preparations for the 13th Crime Congress to be presented jointly by Thailand and Qatar at the next session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in May 2014.

The Qatari delegation expressed high appreciation for the work done by the TIJ and for the cooperation with Thailand in view of the Crime Congress and beyond.  Additionally, UNODC expressed its willingness to value the Bangkok Dialogue in the context of the New York-based diplomatic process for the reexamination of the United Nations post-2015 development agenda.



Updated: 10 March 2014