Statement on behalf of The African Group during the 34th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ)

Delivered By Her Excellency Matilda Alomatu Osei-Agyeman Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Ghana to the Permanent Missions of the United Nations in Vienna
 
Vienna, 19 May 2025
 
Chairperson,
 
1. On behalf of the Africa Group, I wish to congratulate you on your election as Chair of the 34th session of the CCPCJ, as well as the other members of the Bureau. The Group is also grateful to the Secretariat for the excellent work done in preparing for this session.
  
3. We support the full and effective implementation of the Kyoto Declaration adopted at 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and welcome the preparations for the 15th UN Congress in the United Arab Emirates. The Group also welcomes the successful organization of the five Regional Preparatory Meetings and in particular the African Regional Preparatory meeting, along with its report, which took place in Addis Ababa.
 
4. We welcome the thematic discussion on addressing new, emerging and evolving forms of crime, including crimes that affect the environment, smuggling of commercial goods and trafficking in cultural property and other crimes targeting cultural property.
 
5. Transnational organized crime remains a serious challenge to the international community. Our efforts to fight this challenge should not only focus on its effects, but also its root causes, with a view to enhancing the sustainable development of our countries in accordance with Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
 
6.The Group believes that the fight against transnational organized crime is a common and shared responsibility which requires the enhancement of bilateral, sub-regional, regional, and international cooperation. In this regard, we call upon UNODC to continue the provision of adequate and sustainable technical assistance, including equipment and capacity-building programs based on the specific needs of requesting countries.
 
7. We also reaffirm our unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasize that it should not be associated with any religion, civilization, or nationality. The Group further stresses the need to develop effective responses to this phenomenon and to tackle its root causes.
 
8. The Group welcomes the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; Strengthening International Cooperation for Combating Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes and encourages all Member States to participate in the signing ceremony to take place in Hanoi in 2025 and to consider its ratification for the early entry into force. We also congratulate the Ad Hoc Committee to elaborate this Convention, within the framework of the United Nations, under the able leadership of the Chair from Algeria and with the assistance of the Secretariat. The Group encourages all Member States to constructively engage in the negotiations regarding the additional Protocol and the Convention’s Rules of Procedure in line with A/RES/79/243.
 
9. The Group urges all UNCAC State Parties to impose a system-wide zero-tolerance policy against corrupt practices and highlights the necessity to take urgent measures to prevent, prosecute and deter all forms of corruption, to strengthen international cooperation to effectively prevent and counter money-laundering and illicit financial flows and enhance measures for the identification, tracing, freezing, seizure, return of assets and recovery of all proceeds of crime or corruption, to deny them safe havens through their eventual confiscation. 
10.The Africa Group celebrates the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Nelson Mandela rules and acknowledges the progress made since the launch of the Group of Friends of Nelson Mandela Rules and commends the Secretariat for the technical assistance provided to Member States in accelerating the practical implementation of the Standard Minimum Rules.
 
12. The Africa Group expresses its concern regarding crimes that affect the environment and underlines the need to address crimes that have a significant impact on protected species of wild fauna and flora, illegal mining, precious metals, illicit trafficking in forest products, biological and natural resources, wildlife, including endangered species.
 
13. Chair, to conclude, the Group stresses the need for the implementation of initiatives by the UNODC in consultation with Member States and in line with existing mandates.
 
I thank you.