24 May 1989

15th plenary meeting

Implementation of United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice

The Economic and Social Council,

Calling attention to the Milan Plan of Action and the Guiding Principles for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in the Context of Development and a New International Economic Order, adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,

Recalling the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, the Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty, the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules) and the Model Agreement on the Transfer of Foreign Prisoners,

Recognizing the important role the United Nations has played in the development of those standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice through its quinquennial congresses on the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders and the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control,

Acknowledging the valuable contribution the United Nations has made to those endeavours through its activities in the field of human rights, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other instruments,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 40/146 of 13 December 1985, 41/149 of 4 December 1986 and 42/143 of 7 December 1987 on human rights in the administration of justice,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/53 of 28 May 1987 on the review of the functioning and programme of work of the United Nations in crime prevention and criminal justice,

Commending the steps initiated by the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations Office at Vienna and the Centre for Human Rights to ensure even closer co-operation, including preparations for the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, as noted with appreciation by the General Assembly in its resolution 42/143,

Welcoming in particular the fact that focal points have been created within the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs and the Centre for Human Rights to monitor the human rights aspects of the administration of justice within various programmes and to provide, as appropriate, advice on co-ordination and other relevant issues,

Convinced of the need for further co-ordinated and concerted action by the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs and the Centre for Human Rights, as called for, inter alia, by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolutions 1988/33 of 8 March 1988 on human rights in the administration of justice, 1988/40 of 8 March 1988 on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors and the independence of lawyers, 1988/45 of 8 March 1988 on administrative detention without charge or trial, and 1988/68 of 10 March 1988 on summary or arbitrary executions,

Noting with appreciation the report of the Interregional Preparatory Meeting for the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders on topic 5: United Nations norms and guidelines in crime prevention and criminal justice: implementation and priorities for further standard setting,

1. Invites Governments:

(a) To adopt in national legislation and practice and to implement fully United Nations standards and guidelines on crime prevention and criminal justice, making them available to all persons concerned;

(b) To design realistic and effective mechanisms for implementing the standards and guidelines;

(c) To increase, as far as possible, the level of support provided to technical co-operation and advisory services at all levels for the more effective implementation of standards and norms, either directly or through such international funding agencies as the United Nations Development Programme, particularly when developing countries include specific projects in their country programmes;

(d) To devise measures to promote the observance of the principles embodied in United Nations instruments, including educational and promotional activities, the support of the mass media and increased community involvement;

2. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To prepare a compilation of all existing United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice and publish them in a form similar to that of the United Nations publication entitled Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments;

(b) To formulate practical proposals for the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders on procedures and actions at national, regional and international levels to implement United Nations norms and standards in crime prevention and criminal justice;

3. Encourages the continuing development of strategies for the practical implementation of United Nations standards and guidelines in crime prevention and criminal justice and of measures to assist Member States, at their request, in their implementation, as well as in evaluating their impact and effectiveness, in particular through the advisory services of the Department of Technical Co-operation for Development, the Centre for Human Rights and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs;

4. Also encourages intensified co-operation between the United Nations and its regional and interregional institutes in crime prevention and criminal justice, special attention being paid, inter alia, to:

(a) The strengthening, as far as possible, of substantive support to the institutes;

(b) The application of United Nations instruments in their research and training programmes, including the development of appropriate curricula and training materials based on those instruments;

(c) The provision of technical assistance to Member States upon request;

5. Emphasizes the need to strengthen the role of the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control in overseeing, evaluating and following up the implementation process, including:

(a) Keeping under review the application of existing standards;

(b) Assisting the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and other United Nations bodies and related entities, as appropriate, with reports and recommendations relating to their work;

(c) Fostering more active intersessional involvement of Committee members, inter alia, by designating them as resource persons on priority topics;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to take appropriate action to establish pre-sessional working groups of the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control which would:

(a) Prepare certain items for discussion by the Committee;

(b) Oversee the elaboration of questionnaires to be used for the reporting system;

(c) Examine in-depth replies, data and reports received from Governments and other relevant sources, including non-governmental organizations;

(d) Identify general problems that may impinge on the effective implementation of standards and norms and recommend viable solutions with action-oriented proposals based on the principles of international co-operation and solidarity;

7. Notes with appreciation that the United Nations continues to give special attention to standard-setting work in priority areas, in pursuance of the mandates of the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders;

8. Recognizes the importance of developing diversified funding strategies, including recourse to voluntary and mixed multilateral and bilateral contributions for specific projects, and of strengthening the involvement of United Nations development agencies, including the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme;

9. Acknowledges the significant role of the United Nations regional and interregional institutes and the regional commissions, the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including professional associations concerned with promoting United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice;

10. Decides to draw the attention of the regional preparatory meetings for the Eighth United Nations Congress and of the Congress itself to the issues raised in the present resolution;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to implement the provisions of the present resolution and to report thereon to the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.