On March 25-27, 2025, the European Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which will be held in April 2026 in Abu Dhabi under the general theme “Accelerating crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: protecting people and planet and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the digital age” was held in Vienna (Austria).

Ukraine was represented by the First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Oleksandr Oborskyi and David-SoslanAlkhanishvili, Acting Head of the International Technical Assistance Coordination Unit of the Department of International Cooperation and European Integration of the ARMA. During his speech, the ARMA representative focused the attention of international partners on the importance of intensifying cross-border asset recovery as an effective tool for crime prevention and criminal justice in the context of war and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

Particular emphasis was placed on the effectiveness of ARMA reforms under the leadership of Olena Duma, which ensured effective and transparent operation of the ARMA. In particular, by opening public access to the Unified State Register of Seized Assets, introducing new procedures for the management and sale of assets both in Ukraine and abroad, and bringing national legislation in line with European standards.

The ARMA representative emphasized the need to include provisions on cross-border asset recovery in the upcoming Abu Dhabi Declaration and called on international partners to strengthen cooperation in the field of recovery of illegally withdrawn assets exceeding 100 billion USD.

ARMA is ready for further effective cooperation with international partners, which will significantly increase the level of interaction.