EU Closing Statement at the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 1 October 2026

Mr President, Madam Executive Director, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

As this Congress draws to a close, we warmly thank the United Arab Emirates for your generous hospitality and leadership, the President and Chairs for guiding our deliberations, and Executive Director Monica Juma and the Secretariat for your dedication and excellent support.

The report of the Congress brings together the Abu Dhabi Declaration, the deliberations in plenary and the salient points and conclusions emerging from the workshops. 

These priorities should guide our follow-up in Vienna and our cooperation on the ground. We encourage the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to draw on the Congress report in carrying forward the Declaration and the conclusions emerging from our discussions, through focused exchanges on implementation, practical challenges and results.

We also thank the practitioners, civil society representatives, researchers and young people whose contributions have enriched these discussions and helped connect our policy commitments with experience on the ground.

Our responsibility now is to ensure that the work recorded in the Congress report leads to sustained cooperation and tangible improvements in people’s lives.

Mr President,

The discussions in plenary and the workshops have brought together questions that must also be addressed together in practice: how to prevent crime, how to ensure equal access to justice, how to anticipate emerging threats, and how to strengthen cooperation in the digital age.

On prevention, we must invest in the conditions that enable people and communities to resist violence and exploitation. Education, social inclusion, support for families and opportunities for young people belong at the heart of this effort. Women, children and young people must have a meaningful role in shaping the policies intended to protect them. Preventing the recruitment of children by criminal networks requires both early support and effective action against those who exploit them.

On access to justice, our institutions must be independent, impartial, accessible and accountable. Legal aid, fair trial guarantees and effective remedies must be available throughout the criminal justice process. Victims need protection, information and support adapted to their circumstances. Child-friendly, gender-transformative and trauma-informed approaches, alongside appropriate restorative justice opportunities, can help justice systems respond more effectively to the people they serve.

On effective international cooperation, we should strengthen our capacity to understand emerging criminal markets, identify vulnerabilities and assess whether our responses work. Better data collection and analysis should inform prevention, operational cooperation and the allocation of resources. We encourage closer collaboration among public authorities, researchers and civil society, with safeguards for privacy and personal data.

On technology, we must equip justice professionals to respond to rapidly evolving threats and cooperate effectively across borders. Digital tools can improve access to justice and support investigations, but their use requires clear legal safeguards, accountability and meaningful human oversight. Digital transformation must also remain accessible to those who cannot use online services.

Mr President,

The EU will contribute through partnerships, technical assistance and its Pledge4Justice commitment, including the forthcoming Themis and Intercept initiatives. We remain committed to helping partners strengthen criminal justice capacities and cooperation against organised crime and terrorism.

Throughout this work, respect for international law, human rights and the rule of law must remain our foundation. The EU reiterates its unequivocal opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.

We leave Abu Dhabi with a shared responsibility: to ensure that the commitments made here lead to stronger institutions, more effective cooperation, better protection for victims and safer communities.

The European Union and its Member States stand ready to work with all partners to fulfil that responsibility.

Thank you, Mr President.