15th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Vienna, April 24-28th, 2006: Issues of particular relevance to crime preventionOne of the major themes of the 15th Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was how to maximise the effectiveness of international technical assistance provided to member states in crime prevention and criminal justice. The sessions underlined the importance of collaborative links between donors and recipient countries, and of ensuring that such assistance is ‘country-led’ and adapted to the needs of recipient countries.
The Programme Network Institutes Workshop, which took place at the beginning of the Session, was organized on behalf of the Network by ICPC and the Vancouver-based International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy (ICCLR). Margaret Shaw, Director of Analysis and Exchange at ICPC, gave a presentation on the main lessons which can be drawn from the recent history of technical assistance, as well as the consensus emerging especially in the international aid and development field, on how these can be overcome. The 47th Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank, Belo Horizonte, 3-5 April 2006
ICPC’s Director General, Valérie Sagant, participated in the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD), which was held in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) from April 3-5. This meeting gathered a record number of over 10,000 participants, including representatives of 47 countries - Heads of State, Ministers of Finance and Ministers of Cooperation, Presidents of central banks, representatives of the private sector, civil society, international organizations as well as the media.
Aboriginal Policy Research Conference, CanadaThe second tri-annual Aboriginal Policy Research Conference was held in Ottawa, Canada on March 21-23rd. It marked the largest Canadian Aboriginal Policy Research Conference with 96 workshops, 212 presentations, and 1100 delegates comprised of governments, Aboriginal, non-governmental, women’s groups, and community-based organizations. The conference also served as the occasion for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to hold its first Regional consultation on Indigenous Peoples and Indicators of Well-Being (see note below). The first conference organized by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the University of Western was held in 2002. In addition to these partners, this year’s event included the National Association of Friendship Centres as an active partner and sponsor.
Over the course of 3 days, a wide-body of high quality research recently conducted on Aboriginal issues across a broad spectrum was showcased in order to promote evidence-based policy making (for some examples click here ). A strong point of departure for the conference included a paradigm shift away from a victimization model of Aboriginals, affording greater attention to those studies that examine the positive aspects of Aboriginal realities.
Be’sha Blondin, Elder, James Lahey, Associate Deputy Minister with special responsibility for northern issues, Paul Davenport, President of the University of Western, and Peter Dinsdale, Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) on the opening plenary outlined the importance of holistic approaches to strengthening Aboriginal communities and the important role research plays in helping to track progress of Aboriginal Peoples overtime. |
