A delegation of Turkmenistan headed by Prosecutor-General Batyr Atdayev took part in the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
The congress was held in a hybrid format both offline and online from 7 to 12 March, and its central venue was in the city of Kyoto, Japan.
More than 150 UN Member States were represented at the Congress. Qatar, the host of the 13th UN Crime Congress in Doha, handed over the presidency of the 14th Congress to Ms.Yoko Kamikawa, Minister of Justice of Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told the opening session of the Congress that the international community need to work together to strengthen efforts in crime prevention and ensure a criminal justice system amidst the coronavirus global pandemic.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, delivered his remarks online.Mr.Guterres stressed that the disruption caused by ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was presenting criminals with new opportunities to exploit the marginalized and at risk.
The UN chief expressed hope that countries will the meeting to revitalize international cooperation to prevent and address all forms of crime.
In turn, the head of the delegation, Batyr Atdayev, briefed participants on the state policy on the rights and freedoms of citizens, criminal legislation, and criminal proceedings in Turkmenistan.
He noted that the activities of criminal justice bodies are based not only on the implementation of supervision, but also represents a system of preventive measures aimed at direct work with the population.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Turkmenistan plays active role in the elaboration of national bills, the preparation of agreements and treaties concluded by the country with various international organizations and states on cooperation and legal assistance in criminal matters.
In this context, Atdayev said the fruitful cooperation is established with UN agencies in such areas as protection the rights and freedoms of citizens, improvement and reformation the national legislation of Turkmenistan, prevention and combating organized crime, terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking and cybercrime.
Congress Member States adopted the Kyoto Declaration, under which governments agreed concrete actions to advance responses addressing crime prevention, criminal justice, rule of law and international cooperation. Member States will take those commitments forward at the 30th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna in May.
The UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is the world’s largest and most diverse gathering of policy-makers, practitioners, academia, intergovernmental organizations and civil society in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice.
The Congresses have been held every five years since 1955 in different parts of the world, dealing with a vast array of topics.
The 14th Congress was originally scheduled to take place in Kyoto, on 20-27 April 2020, and postponed, due to the worldwide situation related to COVID-19 pandemic.