1st Online Meeting of the Alliance

The meeting focused on participation of NGOs in the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Kyoto, Japan, 20 – 27 April 2020).

Agenda

1. Welcome
2. Adoption of the Agenda
3. Brief Introduction of the Alliance
4. Wrap up of COSP 8th
5. Invited speaker: Mirella Dummar Frahi (Head of CST) update information on preparations and participation for the upcoming Crime Congress
6. Discussion of the structure of the statement at the high-level segment during the Congress
7. Working group of drafting the statement
8. Date of next meeting
9. AOB

Minutes

The meeting was opened by the Chair of the Alliance, Anna Alvazzi del Frate, who welcomed the participants and provided a short introduction about the Alliance, its role and mandate.

COSP8

Ms Livia Krings of UNODC–CEB was invited to provide a summary of the deliberations at COSP8 recently concluded in Abu Dhabi. More than 15 resolutions were adopted, which will be accessible from the UNODC website. Ms Krings talked about plans for the Special Session of the General Assembly (UNGASS) against corruption, scheduled in New York, from 26 to 28 April 2021. The UNGASS will be preceded by 3 intersessional meetings, at which NGOs who received a formal invitation for the COSP 8 will also be invited. The next briefing for NGOs on UNGASS will take place during the week of 8th of June 2020.

There will be informal consultations in Vienna. Contributions by the civil society for the UNGASS are welcomed and can be channeled through umbrella organizations such as the UNCAC Coalition or the Alliance. All members of the Alliance are welcomed to participate through the Alliance.

Crime Congress

The 14th UN Crime Congress will take place in Kyoto, Japan, from 20 to 27 April 2020. Ms Mirella Dummar Frahi of the UNODC-CST informed that a record of 248 ancillary meetings have been registered by the deadline of 31 December 2019, in comparison to 195 held at the 13th Congress in Doha. The Kyoto Congress Youth Forum will take place from 13 to 15 April. The schedule for all the meetings is currently being organized by Gary Hill, who has been coordinating the congress side events for many years. Updates on the schedule and content of side events are accessible from the website un-congress.org. In addition to the ancillary meetings, there will also be 4 workshops, one of which is co-organized by CST and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime on 17-18 April. Mr Anders Frantzen of CST explained that this workshop will contribute to a project relating to civil society and the UNTOC review mechanisms, which started in October 2019 (when a first workshop took place in Vienna).

The official Congress website crimecongress.org already provides very useful information materials for the participants, including the advanced unedited version of the participants guide, as well as (in due time) background and working papers for the Congress which are currently been worked on.

As regards registration, organizations without an ECOSOC status will have to apply by 10.02.2020. Applications will go through the CST, there are no forms for NON-ECOSOC organizations on the website. Individuals should possibly register under the delegation of an NGO. The Secretariat will decide on applications of individual experts, relevant information can also be found on the website. Organizations who will be accepted will immediately receive an automated registration link, including information on the type of photograph, deadlines, badges, and visa applications.

The Secretariat responded to several questions regarding Congress matters as follows:

• NGO statements at the high-level segment are limited. The Alliance has already secured one slot, so member NGOs are invited to coordinate with the Alliance to contribute to a joint statement.
• The conference service in Kyoto will put speakers on a list, up to 24 hours before there intended slot. A short summary of the speech is needed for the conference service.
• The Secretariat will try to organize a briefing with the Executive Director and the Alliance, as an opportunity for NGOs to meet her.
• The third round of the consultations for the Kyoto Declaration will be held in Vienna from the 21st to 23rd of January. The zero draft of the political declaration has just been shared with the member states.

Alliance statement at the high-level segment of the Congress

A template for the joint statement will be circulated among members of the Alliance shortly. It will be drafted according to the same headings included in the Kyoto Declaration, for consistency. A group of participants volunteered to me members of a working group for drafting the statement, including Olivia Rope (PRI), Ian Tennant (GI), Phil Reichel (ACJS), and Yael Danieli. The Chair will circulate the template as soon as available.

Dates of next meetings

The next meeting of the Vienna-represented NGOs members of the Alliance will be held during the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), tentatively on Wednesday 3 March, at 12:00 Room E1053 (no webex).

The 2nd Online Meeting of the Alliance, possibly on the 2nd of April at 15:30 Central European Time (webex also), in preparation for the Congress.

The General Assembly will take place during the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) on the 20th of May at 16:00.

Over the next few days members will receive a call for candidates for 3 members for the nominations committee and 2 members for the election committee.

The NY Alliance informed that they will meet on Valentine’s Day, 14 February.

The meeting ended 16:57