Kuwait contributes to UN anti-crime portal: Official
VIENNA: A visiting official of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Justice said the department had contributed with a large number of local and international laws’ copies to the UN Sherloc portal. The information and documents have been provided to the site, in line with a previous agreement among member states of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, said Zakariya Al-Ansari, the assistant undersecretary for legal affairs. He was speaking following a meeting with a UN official in charge of the site, on margins of the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Sherloc portal is a tool that contributes to enhancing international cooperation in legal matters, he said, also noting that the Kuwaiti side held the meeting with the officers in charge of the digital service for affirming the Gulf country commitment to international treaties and robust support for international-regional cooperation in combating transnational crimes. Participants in the session discussed, over the past five days, strategies for clamping down on organized crimes, such as trade in humans and arms, illegal immigrants’ trafficking and bolstering global cooperation against emerging crimes.
Kuwait’s efforts
Kuwait’s participating delegation in the session’s activities of the UN 9th session of Combating Organized Crime conference highlighted efforts exerted by authorities in Kuwait in combating crime, especially organized crime, Kuwait First Attorney General Bader AlMassad said yesterday. He stressed Kuwait’s keenness to attend regional and international forums that deal with fundamental and important issues such as this conference, including to gain experience from exchanging experiences with officials and participating delegations. Participation in this event was meant to emphasize Kuwait’s commitment to international conventions in the spirit of shared responsibility and its absolute commitment to support international and regional cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime and its protocols.
Kuwaiti delegation from the Ministries of Justice, Interior and Foreign Affairs is keen to provide the appropriate and constructive visions and exchange of successful experiences with participating delegations through these sessions and discussions held on the sidelines of the conference. Massad added that the Kuwaiti delegation sought to strengthen cooperation with countries, including UN affiliated organizations with which they have agreements, and memorandums of understanding, stressing the importance of concerted international efforts and shared responsibility in confronting crimes in all its forms and manifestations. The conference also examined strategies to combat organized crime, such as trafficking in firearms, human trafficking, and smuggling of illegal migrants, as well as discussing how to strengthen international cooperation in relation to emerging crimes and criminal matters.
New measures
The conference had agreed on Friday on a series of measures to implement the convention’s protocols on human trafficking and illegal smuggling of immigrants and arms. Such measures would boost criminal justice response, Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, told reporters after closing of the ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Some 189 member-countries approved the new measures, Fedotov added, noting that the measures would also bolster implementation of anti-arms manufacturing protocol and anti-human trafficking protocol as well. The ninth session, which kicked off on Monday, tackled a wide array of key issues related to organized crimes, including the implementation of the protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, particularly women and children. It also discussed the protocol against smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air; and the protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts, components, and ammunition.