In major intergovernmental and non-governmental meetings held around the world in the past years, policy-makers, academics, civil society and youth have discussed peace and sustainable development passionately. While ideas on what needs to be improved often diverge, there is a shared understanding that we need to upscale our efforts to realise the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030.
Despite the progress made in the past years, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, noted that we are “off track”. Launching the Decade of Action in 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General called on the international community to mobilize a new movement for the fulfillment of the Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030.Footnote 1 To streamline these efforts, individuals need to take a proactive stance and act, while at the national, regional and international levels new partnerships need to be forged and existing ones strengthened to formulate innovative solutions addressing the threats that endanger our shared future.Footnote 2
Working with a global community of partners to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development and to strengthen the rule of law is at the core of the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).Footnote 3 Within the E4J initiative, UNODC collaborated with academia and educators in developing innovative approaches to strengthening the rule of law and crime prevention efforts. Through this collaboration, many new partnerships were formed, ultimately aiding international efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).
The cooperation between the International Society of Criminology and UNODC is one of such innovative partnerships. UNODC worked closely with criminologists and supported young researchers to attend and present their research at the XIX World Congress of the International Society of Criminology held in Doha, Qatar in 2019. We are delighted to see many of these papers included in this journal as we are convinced that this research stands in testimony to the readiness of the younger generation to be agents of positive change.
Note: The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Marco Teixeira is a Senior Programme Manager and coordinator of the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration at UNODC. Prior to joining the Global Programme, Mr. Teixeira led an international project supporting law enforcement agencies across the globe in the fight against illicit narcotic drugs trafficking through capacity-building and cooperation. For over a decade, Mr. Teixeira served at UNODC field offices in Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Senegal where he coordinated regional efforts to suppress and fight various forms of organized crime. Mr. Teixeira began his career with the Portuguese Public Security Police (PSP) and later served in the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office for Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), a special peace-keeping mission aimed at supporting reconciliation and stabilization efforts in the country.
Bianca Kopp is the coordinator of the tertiary component of the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). She has been working for the United Nations since 2010, including for the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, the UN Democracy Fund, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Prior to this, she was working for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Political Science of the University of Salzburg, Austria.
