Justice for all, backbone of rule of law

The key role of the judiciary in strengthening the rule of law in a world in transformation was the central theme of the 12th United Nations Conference on Crime and Criminal Justice, mirrored in the Salvador Declaration, released at the end of meeting held in Salvador, Brazil, the 19th of April. The declaration echoes the concerns of delegates from over 100 countries who met in the northeastern city of Brazil, along with members of over 47 civil society organizations who led their own discussions in ancillary meetings.

The Salvador Declaration maintained the tone of the discussions. It stresses the need for strong justice systems, without which it is impossible to have to peace, security and development. The Declaration also stresses that there must be no gaps in legal jurisdictions, countries must cooperate and create the necessary legal tools to make justice across borders and in new arenas such as the internet. It reinforces the importance of upholding UN conventions such as the Palermo Convention against transnational crime and the Merida Convention against corruption in the effort to stop transnational crime. Delegates also concurred on the importance of creating instruments to monitor respect to the international treaties.

"There can be no security and development without justice" 

Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria da Costa (photo) said during launch of the Salvador declaration that “humanity expects better, quicker, more honest justice, and not endlessly draft declarations.” Costa criticized the entertainment industry for glamorizing crime, and the media for not supporting investigative journalism, the financial markets for failing to question the origins of the money they invest.

Costa noted the ills of social exclusion. "Cities, even states, are not able to provide public order. Income inequalities within and across nations have turned into mal-distribution of justice and security; private guards around gated communities protect the rich, while ghettos are ruled by gangs. Police are under fire from well-equipped and well-connected criminals. Most often salaries are low and the temptation for bribery high; prosecutors lack the skills and the equipment to collect evidence, while criminals hire the world's best lawyers to stay out of jail."

The Salvador Declaration also cites a concern with the role of the justice system in providing guarantees for the population. “There can be no security or development without justice”, said Costa. “Crime prevention and criminal justice don’t have an end in themselves: they can generate richer, safer societies”, said Costa.

Giancarlo Summa, head of the United Nations Information Center in Rio de Janeiro, said that this is a response to globalization that has acted as a catalyst for criminal activities. “Our legal system, originating in traditional law, has been honed over the ages, along hundreds of years. But the last 20 years changed everything in this sense. Technological acceleration has opened a fertile path for drug trafficking, piracy and cybercrime, said Summa.

Legal tools necessary to fight crime across borders

The Salvador declaration also notes the challenge that organized crime poses for the rule of law, citing that UN member states are “very concerned with the negative impact of organized crime on human rights, the rule of law, security, development, as well as the sophistication, diversity and transnational aspects of organized crime with other criminal activities, including, in a few cases, terrorists.”

Summa (photo) said that with the flow of capital across international borders, it has become more important to harmonize national laws on certain crimes such as money laundry. “It is vital that we share common legal instruments for true and efficient information exchange among different countries and across different jurisdictions. If not, legal proceedings can take years for lack of a translation, or a requirement that is rejected. Without harmonized legal procedures and legislation you end up being unable to fight certain crimes effectively.

The Salvador Declaration still requires that States try to harmonize their domestic legal systems and stresses the need to uphold human rights. Brazil took an important step announcing a measure (awaiting ratification at Congress) to reduce its notoriously overcrowded prison population by about a fifth, by adopting electronic monitoring of detainees.

Despite its negative effects on global delinquency, Globalization has also been credited with aiding the flow of good ideas and best practices in civil societies. The Salvador Declaration stated that civil society has a role in strengthening the justice system, and Costa said that “the law will not prevail unless we carry out massive efforts to engage ordinary citizens and society at large in promoting a culture of justice.”  The Salvador meeting was noteworthy for the record participation of members of the public, who came as members of civil society organizations of various countries, articulating good practices, key concepts in crime prevention and offering training to security professionals.

Civil society in record attendance

“Civil society has incorporated the relevant issues, along with governments and parliaments. Naturally the latter are sovereign, but a strong involvement of civil society is key,” said Summa pointing out that the internet and digital media can have a role in improving democracies.

Gary Hill (photo) of the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, ISPAC, coordinated the work of non-governmental organizations at the meeting. There were over 47 different entities from civil society, some in colligations, participating in over 90 ancillary meetings held in parallel to the plenary sessions.

“There was an unprecedented level of participation from civil society at the 2010 Crime Congress,” said Hill, speaking from his experience of 35 years with the ancillary meetings, taking part for the sixth time at a UN Crime Congress meeting. The ancillary meetings are traditional in UN meetings, but they are not part of the formal process. “Any deliberation that changes the wording of a resolution must necessarily be introduced by governments of UN member states, “said Hill.

The fact is that the contributions from civil society have surged over the years that the crime congress has been held. Hill had to design a special math program to ensure that there would be not two meetings covering similar topics being held at the same time.

Doctors by proxy

Civil society organizations present at the meeting issued reports and joint declarations for the guidance of governments. Among them the Friends World Committee for Consultation, Quakers, issued a declaration on the treatment of children of prison detainees, introducing good practices and suggesting guidelines on the topic. The Terre des Hommes International Federation issued a declaration on the use of restorative justice in juvenile justice systems. The International Catholic Pastoral  Commission for Prisoner Care issued, along with the International Prison Association and Penal Prison Reform International, a joint declaration on the right to religious assistance in corrections institutions.

Hill notes that civil society organizations have changed their way of working with the UN. “In the past, civil society was active in pointing out wrongdoings, in criticizing and in making denouncements. They have changed and become much more sophisticated. Today they are less about the bad news, they bring in best practices, theoretical knowledge they themselves generated and experiences in the field. They are less philosophical and more professional,” said Hill.

NGOs, a call for victim's rights

Hill also stressed the growing role of specialists from private enterprises brought in as guest speakers to provide consultancy to governments. An elite team from Microsoft went to Salvador to train police officers in closed sessions on cybercrime and terrorism. “Sometimes a talk of this sort is worth a thousand specialized articles. Doctor John May, for example, gave us a memorable talk about telemedicine, an important solution for the lack of doctors in corrections systems around the world. It allows doctors to perform procedures through the internet with the aid of people with minimal medical training inside prisons,” said Hill.

May, president of the Health through Walls organization, made a live consultation during his talk, bringing together a team of doctors in Oklahoma City and another in Jamaica. “It shows how simple and practical solutions are possible in places where there are not a lot of resources,” said Hill. He noted that the main topics covered by the ancillary meetings included victim’s rights, prisons, cybercrime and human trafficking.

The NGOs launched a joint declaration at the end of the Crime Congress 2010 in which they stressed as common goals, the provision of legal tools to defend the rights of victims of crime, abuse of power and terrorism. They called for attention to the needs of children and youths that include allying justice and education, and establishing a minimum age for penal responsibility at age 12 and the concerns with the children of prisoners.

The NGOs note the need for equal access to justice, that alternative sentencing and restorative justice are adopted by the judiciary, extensive to illicit drug users. They called for a monitoring mechanism of the prison systems that respect the minimum standards of care for the prison population.

The NGOs recommend that actions against human trafficking respect the rights of trafficking victims and monitor the implementation of crime fighting strategies from the point of view of victims. They also ask that the justice system consider the combat of organized crime allied to corruption “that, in our view, are two sides of the same coin,” according to the joint statement.
Finally, international civil society asks for more effective criminal justice practices especially in terms of crime prevention, and suggests the need for a Declaration on Education in Criminal Justice.

The Salvador Declaration

Statement by the Civil Society Organizations

Photos, cover and Antonio Maria da Costa, UNISIS

Photos Giancarlo Summa and Gary Hill, Comunidad Segura.