The Emergence of United Nations Criminal Policy: The Fourth Session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

The draft Anticorruption Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (APUNCAC) seeks to implement aggressive measures to fight corruption and impunity, including United Nations inspectors who would conduct independent investigations into allegations of corruption and hand cases to dedicated domestic anticorruption courts. APUNCAC is designed to be a free-standing proposal. However, it could be combined with Judge Mark Wolf’s proposal for an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC). An advantage of combining IACC + APUNCAC is that the combination defuses the key arguments against the IACC. This article reviews evidence suggesting that leaders of nations that currently experience endemic corruption might find it politically expedient to adopt the proposed reforms. The article discusses the advantages of combining IACC + APUNCAC. The combination would establish an independent corps of elite investigators, endow them with strong powers to conduct independent investigations, and enable them to refer cases to dedicated anticorruption courts staffed by judges vetted by the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. APUNCAC establishes mechanisms to ensure accountability of judges serving dedicated anticorruption courts. By addressing the key arguments against the IACC, the proposal to combine IACC + APUNCAC may enable broad public support in nations that would require public support in order to secure ratification.

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in-brief-human-rights-at-the-united-nations-no59-crime-prevention-and-criminal-justice-oct-1994-4-pp

Human Rights Documents online ◽

10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-1212-0282 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

United Nations ◽

Crime Prevention ◽

The United Nations

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Global Norms and Local Action

10.1093/oso/9780190922962.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peace A. Medie

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

United Nations ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Local Action ◽

Women’S Rights ◽

Post Conflict ◽

Global Norms ◽

The United Nations

When and why do states implement international women’s rights norms? Global Norms and Local Action is an examination of states’ responses to violence against women (VAW) in Africa and their implementation of the international women’s justice norm. Despite the presence of laws on various forms of VAW in most African countries, most victims face barriers to accessing justice through the criminal justice system. This problem is particularly acute in post-conflict countries. International organizations such as the United Nations and women’s rights advocates have, therefore, promoted the international women’s justice norm, which emphasizes the establishment of specialized mechanisms within the criminal justice sector to address VAW. With a focus on the response of the police to rape and intimate partner violence in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, this book theorizes the United Nations’ and women’s movements’ influence on the implementation of the international women’s justice norm. It draws on over 300 interviews in both countries to demonstrate that high international and domestic pressures, combined with favorable political and institutional conditions, are key to the rapid establishment of specialized mechanisms within the police force and to how police officers respond to rape and intimate partner violence cases. It argues that despite significant weaknesses, specialized mechanisms have improved women’s access to justice. The book concludes with a discussion of why a holistic approach to addressing VAW is needed.

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Was Trafficking in Persons Really Criminalised?

Anti-Trafficking Review ◽

10.14197/100 ◽

1969 ◽

Author(s):

Kristiina Kangaspunta

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

United Nations ◽

Human Trafficking ◽

Criminal Group ◽

Trafficking In Persons ◽

Criminal Charges ◽

Women And Children ◽

The United Nations ◽

Criminal Justice Response

This paper examines the successes and setbacks in the criminal justice response to trafficking in persons. While today, the majority of countries have passed specific legislation criminalising human trafficking in response to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, there are still very few convictions of trafficking. Using currently available knowledge, this paper discusses four possible reasons for low conviction rates. Further, the paper suggests that due to the heavy dependency on victim testimonies when prosecuting trafficking in persons crimes, members of criminal organisations that are easily identifiable by victims may face criminal charges more frequently than other members of the criminal group, particularly those in positions of greater responsibility who profit the most from the criminal activities. In this context, the exceptionally high number of women among convicted offenders is explored.

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