The 1st Criminal Justice Forum for Asia and the Pacific was held on 14 and 15 February 2022.
The Ministry of Justice of Japan convened the “1st Criminal Justice Forum for Asia and the Pacific” on 14 and 15 February 2022. All participants from foreign countries participated online, considering the global COVID-19 pandemic situation.
At the opening ceremony, Mr. FURUKAWA Yoshihisa, the Minister of Justice of Japan, delivered his opening remarks. Ms. Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of UNODC, also offered her message.
At the opening ceremony, Mr. FURUKAWA Yoshihisa, the Minister of Justice of Japan, delivered his opening remarks. Ms. Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of UNODC, also offered her message.
At the Plenary Meeting, Heads of Delegations of the participating countries and organizations delivered their statements related to the overall theme of “Implementing the Kyoto Declaration: Strengthening International Cooperation against Crime in the Asia-Pacific”. As the Head of Delegation, Mr. TAKASHIMA Norimitsu, the Vice-Minister of Justice of Japan, delivered his statement.
After the Plenary Meeting, participants were divided into two working groups: one for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters (WG-MLA) and one for offender treatment and rehabilitation (WG-OTR). During the working groups, practitioners of the participating countries and organizations shared information and exchanged opinions under each theme of “Understanding how our Central Authorities work: Sharing key principles and good practice for effective mutual legal assistance” and “Challenges and development regarding prison management and the treatment of offenders under the COVID-19 pandemic”, respectively.
Participating countries and organizations
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United States, Viet Nam, ASEAN Secretariat, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)