ABU DHABI, 28th September, 2026 (WAM) -- The 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice – Abu Dhabi 2026 continued its third day at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, highlighting the UAE's intensified diplomatic and judicial efforts and addressing criminal, environmental and technological challenges through four thematic meetings and 45 ancillary meetings aimed at advancing international justice.
Abdullah Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice and President of the Congress, held a series of bilateral meetings with representatives of Bangladesh, Canada, Kazakhstan, India and the United Kingdom to discuss strengthening legal and judicial partnerships, exchanging expertise and advancing cooperation to combat organised and transnational crime.
Al Nuaimi also delivered remarks at a workshop on combating trafficking in persons, stressing the responsibility of governments and businesses to identify exploitation risks and prevent criminal networks from taking advantage of the complexity of supply chains and international trade.
He also participated in the high-level session Protecting Young People and Safeguarding Sport: Addressing Crime in and through Sport, which discussed strengthening integrity and cooperation among governments, law enforcement agencies and sports institutions to protect young people from exploitation.
Al Nuaimi also attended the session Harnessing Technology to Ensure Women's Leadership and a dialogue paving the way for operationalising the CONNECT initiative – Coordination through Operational Networks against the Nexus between Crime and Terrorism – to strengthen African-led operational coordination in addressing links between crime and terrorism.
Discussions under Agenda Item 3, Advancing innovative and evidence-based crime prevention strategies towards social, economic and environmental development, examined ways to address the underlying social, economic and environmental causes of crime and link prevention with sustainable development, quality of life and community resilience.
The third day also saw the launch of Workshop 3, Getting ahead – strengthening data collection and analysis to better protect people and planet in times of new, emerging and evolving forms of crime.
The workshop examined ways to improve the quality of indicators and criminal information-sharing to anticipate risks, while ensuring privacy protection and the responsible use of data and advanced technologies.
The UAE organised two strategic meetings. The first, focusing on harnessing agentic AI to strengthen, secure and streamline national risk assessments, examined the potential of intelligent systems to analyse data and connect indicators in support of risk assessment, while stressing the importance of governance and human oversight.
The second highlighted the UAE's integrated model for oversight and combating corruption, showcasing the integration of legislative and regulatory frameworks and the role of transparency, accountability and joint coordination in protecting public funds and strengthening confidence in institutions.
The 45 ancillary meetings addressed a broad range of challenges, including developing the Arab strategy to combat organised crime, accelerating implementation of the Bangkok Rules, strengthening global financial intelligence, combating financial crime and recovering assets.
Discussions also addressed protecting children from exploitation and recruitment, supporting victims of forced marriage, combating trafficking in persons and developing public-private partnerships.
Environmental discussions covered the protection of marine ecosystems, illicit waste trafficking, environmental crime in the Mediterranean, security risks linked to critical minerals for the energy transition, and the role of scientific research in developing legal responses.
Other meetings examined future forms of crime, scam centres, online casinos, high-risk investments, privately manufactured firearms, corruption in prisons, the digitalisation of justice, implementation of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime and the development of restorative justice.
During a session titled From Evidence-Based Policy to Legal Technology Innovation, the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network Institutes Lab reviewed approaches to building an integrated criminal justice data ecosystem by combining data from police, prosecution services, courts and ministries of justice to support policymaking.
An NGO coordination meeting was also held as part of the day's programme.
The Congress will continue until 1st October 2026 through an intensive programme of sessions and meetings aimed at supporting implementation of the priorities of the Abu Dhabi Declaration and translating international consensus into practical initiatives.