From 26 September to 1 October, IDLO will join governments, international organizations, civil society and stakeholders from around the world at the Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Congress will be hosted in Abu Dhabi by the Government of the United Arab Emirates under the theme Accelerating Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law: Protecting People and Planet and Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Digital Age.
The rule of law is essential to effective crime prevention and criminal justice. Strong, accountable justice institutions can help prevent and respond to crime, reduce impunity and build public trust. As crime becomes increasingly complex, transnational and technology-enabled, effective legal frameworks and international cooperation are critical to addressing emerging threats while safeguarding human rights and due process. At the Crime Congress, IDLO will showcase its experience working across the criminal justice chain to strengthen institutions, enhance access to justice and advance effective, people-centred criminal justice.
The Crime Congress presents an important opportunity to strengthen international cooperation, exchange knowledge and experience, and advance collective responses to evolving criminal justice challenges, while keeping people, human rights and sustainable development at the centre.
IDLO will co-convene two ancillary meetings highlighting complementary dimensions of effective and people-centred criminal justice. The first will explore how cooperation between formal criminal justice institutions and customary, informal and community-based justice actors can improve access to justice, contribute to crime prevention and sustain peace. The second will examine how electronic tools and digital solutions can strengthen international legal cooperation, making cross-border processes more efficient, secure and accessible.
Join IDLO at the Crime Congress
- What: The meeting will share insights on effective cooperation between the criminal justice system and informal and community-based justice that can deliver people-centered justice, reduce crime, and sustain peace.
- When: Monday, 28 September 2026, 3-4 pm (UTC+4)
- Where: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Room 1D (and online)
- Co-convenors: African Centre of Excellence for Access to Justice; Alternative Law Groups; COMJIB; HiiL; International Development Law Organization; Open Society Africa; Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies; UN Development Programme; UN Office on Drugs and Crime; UN Peace Building and Peace Support Office; Vanuatu Australia Policing and Justice Program
- Co-sponsors: Canada and Germany
Advancing Legal Cooperation with Electronic Tools: Medellin Treaty
- What: The meeting will explore how electronic tools and digital solutions can strengthen legal cooperation, making processes faster, more efficient, secure, and accessible.
- When: Wednesday, 30 September 2026, 10-11 am (UTC+4)
- Where: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Room 1D (and online)
- Organizers: Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB), La Red Iberoamericana de Cooperación Jurídica Internacional (IberRed), in collaboration with IDLO and GlobE Network