The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) is a functional committee of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is the principal body of the United Nations concerning transnational crime and criminal justice. In the early 1990s, the UN developed a greater interest in criminal justice policy, leading to a recommendation for the creation of the CCPCJ by the UN General Assembly. Its predecessor, the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control, was dissolved with the intent of intensifying “international cooperation in crime prevention and criminal justice” and increasing coordination between existing UN agencies. Therefore, in 1992, the ECOSOC established the CCPCJ as a commission of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the passage of Resolution 1992/1. The commission is composed of 40 member states, with terms of three years and quotas for each region of the world to ensure broad discussion and cooperation. Resolution 1992/22 further defined the priorities of the CCPCJ, including: “To plan, implement and evaluate crime prevention and criminal justice assistance projects and to serve as a facilitating agent…with which to assist countries in preventing crime, promoting security, sustaining national development and enhancing justice and respect for human rights.” With such a guideline, the CCPCJ has adopted thematic discussions ranging from money laundering to crime prevention in urban areas.

Reoffending, or recidivism, is a foundational concept in criminal justice. Reoffending refers to a person who has previously committed a crime and commits another one after release from prison or undergoing other intervention. Moreover,  rehabilitation is defined as “an ambitious sentencing goal that aims to decrease criminal acts.” It aims to reduce reoffending in different ways such as increasing the prisoner’s ability to be employed. The lack of rehabilitation to prevent reoffending is a global issue, where countries of all levels of development are impacted. In the United States, in 2023, there was a 70 percent recidivism rate within the first five years of prison release. Countries have attempted to reduce recidivism in several ways. Some states have implemented specific systems that focus on rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Globally speaking, to reduce reoffending, it is important to keep various factors of the issue in mind, including poverty, social inequalities, and discrimination. Another challenge is the availability and quality of the rehabilitation programs in prisons, which vary from country to country. Several obstacles to effective rehabilitation are an increased prisoner population, the lack of seamless transitions from the custodial environment to the community, and the need for individualized and ongoing assessments of offenders. Delegates in the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice should look for ways to promote the application of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners worldwide to achieve quality rehabilitation that contributes to minimizing reoffending.

Human trafficking in business operations has a long history that has affected most markets worldwide. In business operations, human trafficking usually takes on the form of forced labor, where people are coerced into working without being compensated. In 2012, about 21 million men, women, and children were trafficked into forced labor. However new reports from the International Labor Office in 2022 estimate that number is now around 28 million, and it increases every year. The Asia-Pacific region experiences some of the largest numbers of forced laborers, with about 11.7 million people facing exploitation. Like other forms of human trafficking, most people who are trafficked in business operations typically come from backgrounds of extreme poverty and are manipulated into working. Many of the victims do not recognize that they are being exploited or, if they do, feel as if they have no other choice but to continue working. With different transportation companies being rotated in and out to maintain secrecy, this problem only continues to worsen. Delegates of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) should consider methods to prevent human trafficking and ensure that companies are not promoting forced labor through their business practices as these violations worsen.