Kyoto Crime Congress Can Unlock Progress on Sustainable Development Goals

The 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly opened this September with a sharp warning: the world is falling behind on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Four years ago, governments united around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an ambitious blueprint with 17 goals to end poverty, achieving prosperity for all while protecting the planet. Four years on, the world is not on track to meet the SDGs on time.

Another 2.4 trillion US dollars are needed to live up to commitments. The President of the General Assembly proposed how countries could work together to find this money – by curbing illicit financial flows, which are estimated to siphon off 2.6 trillion dollars every year from the global economy: “We must also accord good governance high priority. This is to ensure that corruption does not continue to derail progress and fuel conflict as we approach the year 2030.”

Heads of state will be meeting in Kyoto in just a few months’ time to take action on precisely these challenges. This is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.

As the world’s largest intergovernmental meeting on crime prevention and criminal justice, the 14th UN Crime Congress in Kyoto in April 2020 will bring together ministers from across the globe with international organizations, NGOs and independent experts. They will join forces to make headway on the topic of “Advancing crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda”.

There is no silver bullet but improving governance and strengthening the rule of law can unlock progress towards all of the Goals. That means preventing violence and crime, protecting victims and making sure justice is served, as part of effective and accountable criminal justice systems. Corruption, drug trafficking, human trafficking, sexual exploitation online, terrorism: these crimes affect all countries, thwarting development and destroying people’s lives.

More than ever before, criminal activity transcends national boundaries. That is why we need to work together to address these threats.

Crime Congresses have taken place every five years since 1955 and Kyoto has played host once before, 50 years ago in 1970, when the 4th Crime Congress was the first-ever to be held outside of Europe.

This Kyoto Congress was very much ahead of its time. Its forward-looking theme was “Crime and development”.

Now we have the opportunity once again to make history.

The Government of Japan’s “Justice Affairs Diplomacy” initiative, aiming to promote the rule of law as a universal value make Kyoto an auspicious setting for the 14th Crime Congress.

In Kyoto we will focus global attention on the crucial relationship between progress towards the SDGs and the rule of law, underpinned by fair, humane, inclusive criminal justice policies and institutions that leave no-one behind. Discussions at the Crime Congress will span the three pillars of the UN, as this agenda has strong linkages not just with development, but also peace and security, as well as human rights.

This Congress will explore common approaches to the many challenges which criminal justice systems face, as well as paths to preventing and addressing crime. There will be a strong emphasis on evidence-based strategies, youth inclusion, the importance of education and of harnessing new technologies. In the run-up to the Crime Congress, a series of regional meetings helped source the key topics that will form the agenda, making sure that priorities and concerns of every country and region are taken into account.

A city renowned for its beauty and harmony, Kyoto will bring the world together at a time when we need it most. As we have seen in recent years, multilateralism and international cooperation have come under threat. Our meeting can provide a much-needed chance to seek shared solutions to problems we collectively face and restore the balance.

2020 will mark the UN’s 75th anniversary year, which will be dedicated to determining the future we want for the world, and the UN we need to make it happen.

This is a time to show the world’s citizens that multilateralism is the best way to tackle shared challenges. Kyoto is a key milestone on this road. The commitments made there will shape the global crime prevention and criminal justice agenda for years to come – and by advancing justice and the rule of law, bring the world steps closer to achieving the SDGs by 2030.