The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) was established in 1992 by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and functions as the primary body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. The commission holds annual and intersessional meetings, which consist of 40 Member States elected by the Economic and Social Council. CCPCJ serves as the governing body for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The commission follows the 2030 Agenda consisting of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, primarily focusing on “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions”. Moreover, the annual sessions allow Member States to share expertise and information used to strategize and create international plans for combating crime.

Latin America and the Caribbean faces complicated challenges including cross-border organized crime, human trafficking, trafficking of controlled substances, and political violence. All of these crimes fall under the scope of CCPCJ’s core mandate. To address these issues, CCPCJ actively collaborates with national governments and regional organizations to strengthen criminal justice systems and enforce the rule of law through its close partnership with UNODC’s Regional Office for Central America and the Caribbean in Panama City and the Regional Office for the Andean Region and the Southern Cone in Bogota. In particular, the Commission supports multinational cooperation to achieve cross border security, tackle transnational illicit trafficking as well as to strengthen institutional capacity in judicial sectors. By addressing these threats CCPCJ aims to ensure peace, freedom, justice and security throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.