The General Assembly,
Recognizing the direct relevance of crime prevention and criminal
justice to sustained development, stability, security and improved
quality of life,
Convinced of the desirability of closer coordination and
cooperation among States in combating crime, including drug-related
crimes such as terrorism, illicit arms trade and money laundering,
and bearing in mind the role that could be played by both the
United Nations and regional organizations in this respect,
Bearing in mind the goals of the United Nations in the
field of crime prevention and criminal justice, specifically the
reduction of criminality, more efficient and effective law enforcement
and administration of justice, respect for human rights and promotion
of the highest standards of fairness, humanity and professional
conduct,
Recognizing the urgent need to increase technical cooperation
activities to assist countries, particularly developing countries
and countries in transition, with their efforts in translating
United Nations policy guidelines into practice, including training
and upgrading of national capacities,
Stressing the urgent need to improve regional, interregional
and international cooperation and coordination of activities aimed
at combating crime in its multifaceted aspects,
Noting the continued increase in the workload of the Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Secretariat, as
well as the considerable obstacles to the full and effective implementation
of its programme activities, resulting from the lack of appropriate
institutional capacity,
Convinced that the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Branch can be effective only if it is provided with resources
commensurate to its requirements and adequate to allow it to implement
its mandates and to respond in a timely and efficient manner to
the increasing requests of Member States for its services,
Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1986/11
of 21 May 1986, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General
to look critically at the existing structure and level of management
of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch, with a view
to strengthening its capacity and status commensurate to its responsibility,
Recalling also its resolution 46/152 of 18 December 1991
on the creation of an effective United Nations crime prevention
and criminal justice programme, in which it approved the statement
of principles and programme of action annexed to the resolution,
in which it was recommended to the Secretary-General that an upgrading
of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch into a division
should be effected as soon as possible,
Recalling further its resolution 48/103 of 20 December
1993, in which it reiterated its request to the Secretary-General
to strengthen the United Nations crime prevention and criminal
justice programme and to upgrade, as a matter of urgency, the
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Brancht to a division,
Recalling its relevant resolutions as well as the decisions
of the Economic and Social Council, which accorded a high level
of priority to the activities of the United Nations crime prevention
and criminal justice programme and requested an appropriate share
of the overall resources of the United Nations for the programme,
Concerned about the fact that despite the repeated calls
by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council to
upgrade the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch to a
division, action has not been taken to give effect to Assembly
resolutions 46/152, 47/91 of 16 December 1992 and 48/103, and
Council resolutions 1992/22 of 30 July 1992, 1993/31 and 1993/34
of 27 July 1993 and 1994/16 of 25 July 1994,
Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the
progress made in the implementation of General Assembly resolutions
46/152, 47/91 and 48/103, A/49/593.
1. Welcomes with appreciation Economic and Social Council
resolution 1994/16 of 25 July 1994, entitled "Strengthening
the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme";
2. Reaffirms the importance of the United Nations crime
prevention and criminal justice programme and the crucial role
it has to play in promoting international cooperation in crime
prevention and criminal justice, in responding to the needs of
the international community in the face of both national and transnational
criminality and in assisting Member States in achieving the goals
of preventing crime within and among States and improving the
response to crime;
3. Also reaffirms the priority of the United Nations crime
prevention and criminal justice programme, in accordance with
its resolutions 46/152, 47/91 and 48/103, and the need for an
appropriate share of the existing resources of the United Nations
for the programme;
4. Requests the Secretary-General, as a matter of urgency,
to give effect to its resolutions 46/152, 47/91 and 48/103 and
to Economic and Social Council resolutions 1992/22, 1993/31, 1993/34
and 1994/16 by providing the United Nations crime prevention and
criminal justice programme with sufficient resources for the full
implementation of its mandates, in conformity with the high priority
attached to the programme;
5. Recognizes that operational activities and technical
assistance should continue to receive priority attention among
United Nations activities in crime prevention and criminal justice;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to provide adequate funds
to build and maintain the institutional capacity of the United
Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme to respond
to requests of Member States for assistance in the field of crime
prevention and criminal justice, if necessary through the reallocation
of resources;
7. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to upgrade
the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Secretariat
into a division, in accordance with resolutions 46/152, 47/91
and 48/103 and taking fully into account paragraphs 2 and 11 of
Economic and Social Council resolution 1994/16;
8. Welcomes the appointment of two interregional advisers
in crime prevention and criminal justice;
9. Calls upon States and funding agencies to make significant
financial contributions for operational activities for crime prevention
and criminal justice, and encourages all States to make voluntary
contributions for that purpose to the United Nations Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice Trust Fund, taking also into account the
activities required for the implementation of the Naples Political
Declaration and Global Action Plan against Organized Transnational
Crime; See A/49/748, sect. I.
10. Requests the Secretary-General to facilitate, as appropriate,
the creation of joint initiatives and the joint formulation and
implementation of technical assistance projects, benefiting developing
countries and countries in transition, involving interested donor
countries and funding agencies, particularly the United Nations
Development Programme and the World Bank, with a view to establishing
and maintaining efficient criminal justice systems as an essential
component of developmental efforts;
11. Also requests the Secretary-General further to strengthen
cooperation between the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Branch and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme;
12. Further requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary
measures to assist the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice, as the principal policy-making body in the field of crime
prevention and criminal justice, in performing its functions and
to ensure the proper coordination of all relevant activities in
the field, in particular with the Commission on Human Rights and
the Commission on Narcotic Drugs;
13. Welcomes the contributions made by the programme in
helping States upon request, including requests channelled through
United Nations peace- keeping operations, in the field of crime
prevention and criminal justice in accordance with Economic and
Social Council resolution 1992/22, and requests the Secretary-General
to continue developing basic courses on United Nations norms and
guidelines in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice,
which can be used, as necessary, for training peace-keeping and
emergency mission personnel and, upon the request of Member States,
their national counterparts, as called for in Council resolution
1993/34;
14. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a progress
report on the implementation of the present resolution to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session.
94th plenary meeting
23 December 1994