15th UN Crime Congress: Plenary meeting 12 – 1 October 2026

Distinguished delegates, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning. It is an honor to welcome you all to the closing day of the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and criminal justice. We will first resume consideration of agenda item 6 on working better together to elevate cooperation and partnerships, including technical and material assistance and training at the national, regional, and international levels. in crime prevention and criminal justice. Meanwhile, Committee II is considering the report. I have a speaker on my list. I have now the pleasure to give the floor to the distinguished representative of Israel. Israel, you have the floor, please.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. It is difficult to leave Abu Dhabi after such an impressive Congress organized by United Arab Emirates and the UNODC, with such a painful reminder of why our work here matters. Yesterday, a Fly Abu Dhabi flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying more than 170 people, almost all of them Israelis, faced an attempted terror attack. The Israeli passengers who helped break into the cockpit and overpower an attacking pilot demonstrated extraordinary courage. Together with the pilot who took the controls and the crew of Fly Abu Dhabi, they saved lives and prevented a catastrophe. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all of them, and especially to Captain Samit Machahar, an Indian national, for his bravery. We wish him a swift and full recovery. For Israel, this was not only an attack against Israeli passengers. It was also an attack against the spirit of cooperation and peace that we have seen here in the United Arab Emirates. Hatred against Israelis and Jews cannot be normalized. Words have consequences, and hatred can become violence. That must change. And that change can begin in rooms like this one, but it cannot stay here. This week in Abu Dhabi, we saw what cooperation can build. We must not allow terror and hatred to destroy it. We thank the United Arab Emirates and UNODC for this Congress, and we leave with a simple message: We must stand together against terror, protect what we are building together. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you so much, Israel. Any other distinguished delegate who wants to take the floor, please? Thank you so much. We have now exhausted the list of speakers for agenda item 6. I declare the agenda item closed. The Congress has further on its agenda today the consideration of agenda item 7, that is adoption of its report. I would now like to give the floor to the Secretary. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, and good morning to everybody. Just to, in a way, confirm that per the agreed-upon program of work, we will have in the morning the consideration of the report of the Credentials Committee and the consideration of the report of Committee I. And then we will have in the afternoon consideration of the report of Committee II, which is still ongoing this morning, to be followed by the consideration of the report of the Congress, after which we will then have a short suspension to be followed by the formal closing session of the Congress. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you so much. So first, I would like to invite the chairman of the Credential Committee, Excellency, Ms. Angela Migliotta Mela to present the report of the Credentials Committee. You have the floor, Excellency.

Good morning, everyone. Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, I am pleased to address you in my capacity as the chair of the Credentials Committee of the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Credentials Committee held two meetings. On 27 September, the Committee elected its Chair, and on 27 and 30 September, it examined a memorandum by the Secretary of the Congress on the status of credentials of representatives to the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. On this basis, I have the pleasure to present to you the report of the Credentials Committee, which is before you and which bears the symbol A/CONF.241/L.6. The Credentials Committee recommends that the Congress approves its report and adopts draft resolution entitled "Credentials of representatives to the Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice as included in paragraph 13 of that report. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you so much, ma'am. The report of the Credentials Committee is contained in document A/CONF.241/L.6 and has been submitted by the chair of the committee. Are there any comments on this document? I see none. In the absence of the comments, I presume that you wish to approve that part of the report. I see no objection. It is so decided. Anyone who wants to take the floor, please? Yes, distinguished delegate from the Islamic Republic of Iran, please. Thank you. You have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. The adoption of the report of the Credentials Committee under no circumstances could prejudice the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding non-recognition of the Israeli regime. I thank you.

Any other statement from any other distinguished delegate? Any comments? I see none. I would like to invite the Chairman of the Committee 1 His Excellency Mr. Ruediger Bohn to present the report of Committee I, contained in documents A/CONF.241/L.4 and A/CONF.241/L.4/Add.1. Ambassador Bohn, you have the floor, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President, for providing me with the floor to present the report of Committee 1, which I had the pleasure to chair. Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, Committee 1 first turned its attention to Workshop 1 on building resilient societies with a focus on protecting women, children, and youth, fostering engagement, education, and the culture of lawfulness. and met on the 26th and 27th of September in two sessions. Amongst the Chair's salient points taken from the workshop are the following. Many participants emphasized the importance of preventive strategies that address the root causes of crime by strengthening protective factors at the individual, family, and community levels. Discussions highlighted the value of data, research, and evaluation in designing evidence-based interventions by underscoring the need to move from consultations to co-creation by meaningfully involving women, children, young people, survivors, and persons with lived experience in the development of crime prevention and criminal justice policies and programs. Many participants also encouraged member states to invest in community engagement and resilience building measures that promote social cohesion, trust in institutions, and the culture of lawfulness in line with the Kyoto Declaration and the Abu Dhabi Declaration. We next turned our efforts to conducting workshop three on the 28th and 29th of September on getting ahead strengthening data collection and analysis to better protect people and planet in times of new, emerging, and evolving forms of crime. Amongst the Chair's salient points taken from this workshop are, many participants emphasized that high-quality, standardized, and interoperable data are essential for understanding and responding to new, emerging, and evolving forms of crime. including those that are increasingly transnational and technology-enabled. They highlighted the importance of strengthening data management, implementing international statistical standards, enhancing international cooperation and data sharing, and making better use of both traditional and non-traditional data sources to support timely, evidence-based, and people-centered crime prevention and criminal justice processes, responses. I am pleased to report that Committee 1 met yesterday, on 30 September, at 3 pm, to review and adopt the two reports which flow from these workshops, namely, first, workshop 1, entitled "Building resilient societies with a focus on protecting women, children and youth, fostering engagement, education and the culture of lawfulness"; And the second one on workshop three entitled Getting Ahead, Strengthening Data Collection and Analysis to Better Protect People and Planet in Times of New Emerging and Evolving Forms of Crime. As mentioned during the committee meetings, the report contains a procedural summary, whereas the rest of the report is a chair summary containing the elements of the discussions that I as chair consider to be the most relevant. These points were not negotiated by member states and simply reflect the points that I as chair wish to highlight. Together, these two reports constitute the whole report of committee one, which is now before the plenary for its consideration and eventual adoption. I should also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all delegations, observers, and panelists for their valuable contributions to the work of the committee. I would also like to thank the two PNIs who co-organized workshops one and three, namely the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, UNAFE, and the Thailand Institute for Justice, TIG. Appreciation also goes to our UNODC focal points, Alexandra Martins and Tanya Wyatt, as well as Kayo Ishihara Kitti Boon Neohman, and Matti Joutsen, and Laetitia Ferhati, who all served as moderators for their respective workshops. Lastly, I would also like to thank the Vice Chair, Mr. Junichi Hashimoto, and the rapporteur, Mr. Carlos Sanchez, of the Committee, for their efforts in ensuring the successful conclusion of the Committee's work. Thank you.

Thank you so much, His Excellency. If there have been any changes made by Committee I during the adoption of its reports, I would now like to ask the Secretariat to introduce the same orally. Madam Secretary, have there been any changes? Kindly.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I have just two changes. First, in document CONV241/L4, in para 19, there is a second sentence that has been added before adoption. I will read it out. So the first sentence is The Chair invited participants to consider the following points raised during the discussions, and then there is a sentence being added. These points were not negotiated by Member States, but reflect the points that the Chair would like to highlight. And then it starts with little a and it continues. The same amendment has been introduced before the adoption of report L4/1, namely in paragraph 18, which now reads as follows: "The Chair invited participants to consider the following points raised during the discussions. with the sentence being added, these points were not negotiated by Member States, but reflect the points that the Chair would like to highlight. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Thank you so much, Madam. We will now move to the approval of the report. I would like to recall, as just also reiterated by the Secretary, that the second section of the report has been issued under the Chair's responsibility and is not subject to negotiations. Are there any comments on documents A/CONF.241/L.4 and A/CONF.241/L.4/N.1? Yes, distinguished delegates from United States, you have the floor, please.

Thank you, Chair, for reiterating that these reports in front of us are indeed Chair's summaries. My delegation would like to emphasize that point and that these reports do not sufficiently reflect the views of my delegation, but again, we understand that they are Chair's summaries. Thank you.

Any other comments from any other delegates, please? I see none. In the absence of comments, further comments, I presume that you wish to approve that part of the report. I see no objection. It is so decided. The meeting will now be suspended, and we resume this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. for the adoption of the remaining parts of the report, report of Committee 2 and parts relating to the plenary proceedings. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you so much.