Qatar launches 'tweet for justice' at UN crime congress

The Media Committee under Qatar's Preparatory Committee of the 13th United Nations Crime Congress Saturday launched 'Tweet For Justice' to take forward the fight against increasingly sophisticated levels of crime, Major General Abdullah Yousuf Al Mal, Advisor to HE the Minister of Interior of Qatar and Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee attended the launch of Tweet For Justice on the penultimate day of the Congress.

This is Qatar's initiative to use social media to engage opinion makers, social media activists, law enforcement agencies, and public in crime prevention and promotion of criminal justice. This decisive move reiterates views of delegates that "promises on paper" are not enough, officials said.

Commenting at the launch, Media Committee Head Abdullah Khalifa Al Muftah said, "As we heard at UN Crime Congress, fighting crime truly requires sustained involvement of all. It must go beyond the Congress. This is why we developed Tweet For Justice." It aims to continue interactions between the public and law enforcement agencies.

This is to make sure the essence of Doha Declaration – that sustainable development and rule of law are strongly interrelated – is made the basis of future law enforcement policies.

People can share their thoughts about crime prevention and criminal justice using the hashtag #tweet4justice.

The popularity and integration of social media with traditional forms of communication have created new opportunities for the public interact with law enforcement agencies.

This can foster understanding, cooperation and a more comprehensive approach to countering all forms of crime, violence, corruption and terrorism, and to ensuring coordinated, coherent implementation.

"It is apt for us to launch this social media initiative since Qatar has the advantage of being one of the most networked-ready nations in the world," said Al Muftah.

The 2014 Global Information and Technology Report ranks Qatar 23rd in the world and first among the Arab Networked Readiness with its strongest area of performance being government usage of ICT, ranking 4th in the world, he said.

The Media Committee hopes that Tweet for Justice becomes the starting point of a sustained global discussion that will involve everyone who desires peace in the world, he added.