UN discusses social, cconomic challenges of crime prevention

A Press Club lecture held in Yaounde on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

The Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Cameroon, Najat Rochdi, on Wednesday, July 8, 2015, in Yaounde, chaired a UN Press Club lecture on international crime.

The topic was “Integrating crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider UN agenda to address social and economic challenges and to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and public participation.” The event, attended by media men and women, held at the UN Information Centre at Tsinga.

According to Najat Rochdi, the lecture was to inform the public of the recommendations of the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which held in Doha, the United Arab Emirates from April 12-19, 2015. Other issues discussed at the congress included the New Development Agenda for 2015, cyber crime, biodiversity, poaching, human trafficking and corruption, she pointed out.

Speakers at the event were from the Judicial Police, the National Agency for Information and Communication Technology, ANTIC and the National Anti-corruption Commission, CONAC.

They noted that as part of the global village, Cameroon was not spared from the threat and reality of such criminal activities. With each in their domain, they presented what is being done to counter the threat, the challenges involved and what the future holds for effectively combating cross-border crime by successfully prosecuting suspects.

According to participants at last April’s Doha Congress, cross-border crimes demand better international collaboration and cooperation as national legislation alone cannot tackle the threat. Corruption, the involvement of terrorists, drug trafficking, etc, mean that greater synergy is needed in order to recover looted wealth and seize suspected assets. Consequently, UN conventions and regional agreements are needed to stem the tide, they noted.