Qatar is taking part in the Global Judicial Integrity Network which was launched here on Monday under the theme "Joining Forces to Strengthen Judicial Integrity and Prevent Corruption in the Justice System". 
Qatar's delegation is being led by President of the Court of Cassation and Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), Masood Mohamed al-Amri.
The launch of the Global Judicial Integrity Network comes as one of the outcomes of the Doha Declaration that was adopted by the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which was held in Qatar in April 2015.
Addressing the opening session of the two-day conference, Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar's ambassador to Austria and permanent envoy to the UN organisations in Vienna, reaffirmed the success of the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which culminated in the adoption of the political declaration of the conference (Doha Declaration).
The ambassador noted that His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani directed the officials in Qatar to follow up on the implementation of Doha Declaration through a global programme that aims to assist countries, especially developing ones, in addition to implementing the recommendations of the Doha Declaration and turning them into reality on the ground.
In November 2015, the ambassador said, Qatar launched, in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Global Programme on the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, stressing that it is the biggest programme funded by a single country in the history of the United Nations Office.
The programme comprises the four pillars, namely judicial integrity, crime prevention through sports, prisoner rehabilitation and education for justice.
Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al-Thani expressed his delight at meeting distinguished heads of judicial authorities and supreme courts to celebrate the launch of the Global Judicial Integrity Network.
He stressed that this network is one of the most prominent successes of the Global Programme on the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, adding that it represents the most brilliant reflection of international co-operation as efforts of judicial institutions unite for the common humanitarian interest.
The ambassador said that the UN secretary general's report to the 27th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), which will be held in May, demonstrated the contributions of the judicial integrity programme executed within the Global Programme on the Implementation of the Doha Declaration in coordinating and unifying the efforts of judges around the world around the goal of judicial integrity.
Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al-Thani added that the secretary general said that the programme was able to reach more than 400 judges and other relevant entities in the judicial sector in 155 countries, while 340 judges from 177 countries benefited from multiple capacity-building activities.
HE Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al-Thani also expressed his pride that the judicial integrity activities, which culminated in the launch of the Global Judicial Integrity Network, effectively contributed to the promotion of the supreme values of humanity and strengthened the Convention against Corruption and the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct.
HE the ambassador pointed out that the launch of the Global Judicial Integrity Network requires more efforts to ensure that the network achieves its objectives and also to ensure its sustainability, stressing that the State of Qatar, as the donor country, is committed to doing everything possible to achieve these goals thanks to its belief in its mission to promote international and regional joint action, and to interact and coordinate with international organizations, states and regional groups to serve the humanity.
For his part, Dr Abdullah Yousuf al-Mal, chairman of the joint preparatory committee between the State of Qatar and the United Nations on the follow up of the implementation of the projects of Doha Declaration 2016-2020 that was adopted at the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, said that through the joint committee between Qatar and UNODC as a representative of the United Nations, a report was submitted to HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, who chaired the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and a five-year programme was approved until the 14th congress in 2020 in Kyoto, Japan.
Dr al-Mal added that as a result of the Doha Declaration and the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, a meeting for the heads of judicial councils is taking place in Vienna for the first time in the history of the United Nations.
He pointed out that the integrity of the judiciary is a major pillar, especially that Article 11 of the Convention against Corruption stipulates the importance of the role of the judiciary in the fight against corruption, and, hence, the role of the entity combating corruption must be away from corruption.
Over the past two years, Dr al-Mal added, preparatory meetings have been held in five continents, and the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct were the main basis, while a referendum was carried out in which about 4,000 judges participated in order to establish the Global Judicial Integrity Network, which was launched Monday as an outcome of the Doha Declaration.

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