19May 2010

STATEMENT by DIRECTOR of UNAFEI
in 19th COMMISSION
on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice～Agenda Item4. Integration and coordination of efforts by the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and by Member
States in the field of crime prevention and criminal
justice:(e) Other activities in support of the work of the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, in particular activities of the United
Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme
network, non-governmental organizations and other bodies.

M. le Président, je vous remercie.
C'est un grand honneur et le privilège pour moi d'avoir telle occasion
de prendre la parole ici en tant que le Directeur de l'Institut d'Asie etl'Extrême-Orient des Nations Unies pour la Prévention des Crimes et duTraitement des Criminels (UNAFEI).
D'autant plus que c'est la première fois pour moi d'assister à laCommission, je suis vraiment heureux d'avoir vos connaissances.
J'ose espérer que vous voudrez bien recevoir mes sincère voeux dedévelopper les relations excellentes parmi nous pour faire avancer lacoopération mutuelle et internationale dans le domaine de la prévention descrimes et la justice pénale.
Des maintenant, permettez-moi de parler en anglais devant vous surles activités de l’UNAFEI s’accordées, s’harmonisées avec l’UNODC.

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Major recent activities of UNAFEI relevant to the agenda items of
the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice and its workshops themes1(1) Annual activities of UNAFEI
Mr. Chairman,
Every year, UNAFEI, United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for
the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, holds twointernational training courses and one seminar, inviting practitioners incrime prevention and criminal justice. Apart from these courses andseminars, UNAFEI holds many other training courses and seminars which
focus on either specific themes or countries.
To date, more than 4,200 participants from 130 countries in the AsiaPacific region, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and East Europe, havetaken part in our courses and seminars. Some of these alumni, representing
their home countries, delivered National Statements at the 12th Congress.
This alumni network, I believe, is a great asset not just to UNAFEI but also
to the participating countries.
UNAFEI also holds Regional Seminars outside Japan, in co-operation
with the host countries and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs andCrime), to improve Good Governance in Southeast Asian countries. Inaddition, UNAFEI holds third country seminars in Latin America in cooperation with ILANUD (the United Nations Latin American Institute for
Crime Prevention and the Treatment of Offenders) in Costa Rica.
In selecting the themes of these courses and seminars, UNAFEI pays
due attention to the priority areas of the UNCPCJP (United Nations CrimePrevention and Criminal Justice Programme) identified by the General
Assembly, the ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) and the CCPCJ(Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice), as well as theneeds of countries participating in its courses and seminars.
In consequence, major recent activities of UNAFEI have covered
almost all the agenda items of the 12th Congress and its workshops themes.

(2) Major recent activities of UNAFEI relevant to the agenda items ofthe 12th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention andCriminal Justice and its workshops themes2

Major recent activities of UNAFEI relevant to the agenda items of the
12th Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and its workshops
themes are as follows.
(Children, Youth and Crime)
UNAFEI held international training courses on the subject of crimes
by or against juveniles in 2005, 2007 and 2008. It has also continued its
technical co-operation project with the Kenyan government, aimed at
improving institution-based and community-based treatment of juvenile
offenders in Kenya.
(Terrorism and Cybercrime)
UNAFEI held training courses on strengthening legal systems tocombat terrorism as well as the criminal justice response to cybercrime in2006 and 2008 respectively, and examined effective measures against suchcrimes.
(Crime Prevention and the Treatment of Prisoners in the Criminal
Justice System)
UNAFEI held seminars on prevention of crimes associated withurbanization and effective intervention models for prevention and decreaseof recidivism by offenders including prisoners in 2005 and 2007.
(Promotion of International Co-operation to Address Transnational
Organized Crimes)
In accordance with international agreements, such as theUNTOC(United Nations Convention against Transnational OrganizedCrime) and the UNCAC(United Nations Convention against Corruption),
UNAFEI held training courses and seminars on the subject of investigation,prosecution and adjudication of transnational organized crimes and effective
legal and practical measures against corruption in 2006 and 2008
respectively.
In addition, in 2009, UNAFEI co-hosted the Third Regional Seminaron Good Governance for Southeast Asian countries in Manila, the Republicof the Philippines, with the Department of Justice of the Philippines and theUNODC Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific. The Seminar
focused on international co-operation with respect to recovery of theproceeds of crime and anti-money laundering measures.
(International Criminal Justice Education for the Rule of Law)3

In 2009, UNAFEI held an international training course on ethics andcodes of conduct for judges, public prosecutors and law enforcement
officials, wherein issues of education and training for criminal justicepractitioners were explored.
(Overcrowding in Correctional Facilities)
Overcrowding in correctional facilities is one of the most serious andmost pressing issues faced in many parts of the world. It leads todeterioration in the living conditions of inmates and infringes upon theirrights, which are set out in various international instruments. It undermines
the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice system by,inter alia, hampering the provision of appropriate correctional treatments
aimed at the rehabilitation and social re-integration of offenders, as well as
reducing recidivism.
In 2009, UNAFEI held an international seminar on overcrowding incorrectional facilities.
Further, UNAFEI was responsible for organizing a Workshop on“Strategies and Best Practices against Overcrowding in Correctional
Facilities”at the 12th Congress. UNAFEI carried out its preparatory work,
including hosting of a series of meetings of international experts, andcontributed to the success of the Congress through recommendations fromthe Workshop.

2 The outline of the Congress Workshop(1) Summary
The workshop aimed to describe the nature and extent of prison
overcrowding, to analyze the reasons for it and to propose what can be done
to relieve it.
Many countries have adopted measures to address the multiple
problems created by overcrowding in correctional facilities and to mitigate
the effects of overcrowding. The Workshop offered an opportunity forgovernment representatives, experts and practitioners to exchange
information on strategies and best practices for reducing overcrowding incorrectional facilities.
Concretely, we had four Presentations and three Panel discussions inthis workshop, as follows:4Presentation 1: “Current Situation of Prison Overcrowding”
Presentation 2: “Causes of Prison Overcrowding”
Presentation 3: “Countermeasures against Prison Overcrowding”
Presentation 4: “Specific Situations in Middle and Low IncomeCountries”
Panel Ⅰ: “Strategies for Reduction of Prison Populations throughDiversion, Informal and Restorative Justice and Alternatives
to Pre-trial Detention”
Panel Ⅱ: “Strategies for Reduction of Prison Populations at theSentencing and Post-sentencing Stages”
Panel Ⅲ: “Strategies for Securing Support for Reduction of PrisonPopulations”
In the workshop, UNAFEI pursued the subject matter through apractice-oriented, comprehensive and integrated approach, addressing
possible efforts at the legislative level and all stages of the criminal justiceprocess, including the rehabilitation of offenders, instead of simply focusing
on the causes and countermeasures within the prison settings.
(2) The Outcomes
The workshop ended by addressing how to build political, judicial andpublic support for reducing overcrowding and limiting the use ofimprisonment.
In summary, such initiatives are as follows.
Best practices call for concerted and comprehensive efforts on thepart of the entire criminal justice system, involving the cooperation andcoordination of all criminal justice stakeholders. States should analyse theirnational criminal justice systems in the context of their own historical, legal,
economic and cultural background.
Specific strategies are:(a) to ensure a system-wide, integrated and sustained approach to thecriminal justice process and related programmes;(b) to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice process;(c) to ensure comprehensive sentencing policies;5(d) to increase the use of alternatives to detention and imprisonment, on thebasis of the principle of imprisonment as a last resort and the principle ofproportionality;(e) to strengthen access to justice and public defence mechanisms;(f) to develop or strengthen, as appropriate, provisions for early release;(g) to strengthen measures to prevent recidivism, such as rehabilitation andreintegration programmes;(h) to increase prison capacity if absolutely necessary; and(i) to communicate evidence-based information on crime and criminal
justice to legislators, politicians, decision makers, criminal justicepractitioners, the public and the media, through continuing research on
factors contributing to prison overcrowding;
Strategies to reduce overcrowding should be gender-sensitive andshould respond effectively to the needs of vulnerable groups.

I believe that our workshop served as a great opportunity to share theknowledge, expertise and wisdom of many criminal justice specialists
concerned about the problems of prison overcrowding. The strategies andbest practices presented and exchanged there, and the recommendations
derived from the workshop, will contribute immensely to Member States’
efforts to redress the harm caused thereby. Thus, I am glad that ourworkshop has become an important milestone on the road to the resolutionof this significant problem.
For countries afflicted with prison overcrowding, UNAFEI plans tofurther disseminate the outcomes of this workshop. So that the insights andknowledge derived there will have a long-lasting, practical impact, UNAFEI
will incorporate them into its future training programmes and include themin its publications. As such, I genuinely hope that UNAFEI, as a coorganizer of the workshop and a member body of PNIs (UN Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network Institutes), will beable to further contribute to advancing its achievements, according toparagraph (o) of the “Conclusions and Recommendations of theWorkshop” which emphasizes the importance of providing assistance incapacity building to requesting Member States.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude
and appreciation for the participation of my dear PNI colleagues, as the6moderators, presenters and panelists of the workshop, and for the cooperation of the ICCLR &CJP(International Center for Criminal Law
Reform and Criminal Justice Policy) in organizing this workshop.
In closing, let me reassure you of UNAFEI’s continued support forthe UNCPCJP.

Thank you very much for your attention.

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