INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL OF THE UNITED NATIONS CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM - ISPAC
The General Assembly of the United Nations, in its resolution 45/107 (Annex, para. 28), called for broader involvement of, and assistance by, Non-Governmental Organizations in order to fully implement the mandates emerging from the crime prevention and criminal justice programme and to provide additional technical and scientific expertise and resources for international co-operation in this field. The Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, in its resolution on Guiding Principles for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in the Context of Development (para. 46), also called for more intensive efforts to secure support and co-operation from scientific and professional organizations and institutions with an established reputation in the field, so as to make greater use of those resources at the subregional, regional, interregional and international levels, and proposed establishing an international council of scholarly, scientific, research and professional organizations and academic institutions to strengthen international cooperation in crime prevention and criminal justice by furthering the exchange of information and providing technical and scientific assistance to the United Nations and the world community which it serves. Pursuant to these mandates, the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme - ISPAC was constituted. The constituent assembly of ISPAC, attended by some seventy representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations and academic institutions and associations, from all regions, was convened at Milan, Italy, from 21 to 23 September, 1991. The tasks of the Council were defined as channelling to the United Nations professional and scientific input and creating a capacity for the transfer of knowledge and exchange of information in crime prevention and criminal justice, drawing on the contributions of Non-Governmental Organizations, academic institutions and other relevant entities, so as to assist the United Nations in programme formulation and implementation in this field, and provide access to the services and expertise of the constituent organizations, including technical assistance, training and education, research, monitoring and evaluation.
One of the principal goals of ISPAC is to enhance the contributions of Non-Governmental Organizations from developing countries.
The Ministerial Conference convened by the United Nations at Versailles (November 1991) and the General Assembly of the United Nations, in its resolution 46/152 (December 1991), emphasized that the Non-Governmental Organizations and the scientific community are a valuable source of professional expertise, advocacy and assistance, and that their contributions should be fully utilized in programme development and implementation.
The Secretariat of the Council is located in Milan, Italy, at the Fondazione Centro nazionale di prevenzione e difesa sociale. ISPAC's Executive Board, composed of Members representing different organizations, disciplines and geographical areas, is elected every two years in the framework of the biennial Plenary Sessions of ISPAC. ISPAC acts through Workshops, Seminars, Conferences and Research activities.
On its website, ISPAC provides detailed information on its activities and publications, links to other international organizations and institutes in the field of criminal justice and hosts a detailed calendar of international criminal justice activities.