Addressing the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior Saad Bin Nasser Al-Sudeiri stated in Vienna today that the Kingdom stresses the importance of looking for the real causes of increasing crime rates worldwide. He attributed this increase to poverty and ignorance; failure to give due attention to social development; lack of adherence to spiritual values; and the adverse impact of films depicting sex and violence. He also warned against organized crime, the commerce in illegal drugs, the slave trade in women and children, currency counterfeiting, and illegal weapons trading including those of mass destruction such as poisonous gases, chemicals and fissionable material, saying these challenges must be met with determination, mobilizing all available potential to protect society.

Undersecretary Al-Sudeiri pointed out that Saudi Arabia, by the Grace of God Almighty and thanks to implementation of Islamic Shariah [Law], has stood above most of such evils, particularly organized crime. The Kingdom's crime rate is very low in comparison with other countries. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has joined a number of international treaties and agreements, as well as concluding bilateral and multilateral agreements in the fields of security and judicial cooperation, extradition of criminals, and the fight against drugs and terrorism. He expressed satisfaction at the draft UN agreement on combating organized crime, and described the Vienna Declaration on Crime and Justice as accurately reflecting the issues of the conference.

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