“There is no peace without
development, no development without peace, and there is no lasting peace or
sustainable development without respect for human rights and the rule of law.”

– United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

 

Soroptimist
International UN Representative, Martina Gredler, will be joining government
representatives, policy makers and experts at the 13^th UN Crime
Congress in Doha, Qatar. The
Congress aims to intensify international cooperation in tackling the threat of
transnational organized crime.

This issue is
of critical importance to SI, as women and girls are often vulnerable to
transnational organised crime. Human trafficking, cybercrime, and other serious
crimes are human rights abuses and we must demand that the needs of women and girls
are included in the development of effective policy. All too often, the
perspectives of women are marginalised. Martina is attending the conference to
help ensure that this doesn’t happen, and that these perspectives are included in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

 

Martina will be
giving a presentation at the Congress that highlights the important role that
organisations such as Soroptimist International have in providing protections and
services to victims, to vulnerable groups and to the wider community.

As Martina
explains: “NGOs are very effective at ensuring remote, isolated and vulnerable
groups are included in crime prevention and criminal justice systems. The needs
of women, girls, and older persons are often forgotten. This cannot happen anymore.
Everyone must be included. SI, NGOs and civil society have expertise in raising
awareness on crime issues, in establishing safe-houses and providing services.
Governments need to know this. This is why it is important that SI is heard at
the 13^th UN Crime Congress.”

 Photo: A Purple Teardrop Campaign awareness raising poster on the issue of Human Trafficking.

As the international community continues to discuss
the post-2015 development agenda, so the 13th Crime Congress will consider how
best to integrate crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider UN
agenda. It will focus on links between security, justice and the rule of law,
and the attainment of a better, more equitable world.

As the Executive
Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov,
has said, people aspire to be free from the grip of crime, violence, corruption
and insecurity: “This basic human aspiration chimes with a growing recognition
across the international community that crime is not simply a social problem,
but a grave obstacle to achieving sustainable development.”