E-Paper
Sign In
UAE says countries cannot 'fight serious crime alone', urges international cooperation
The Justice Minister highlighted a faster extradition process, international cooperation and cases involving Ireland and France at the UN Crime Congress
- PUBLISHED: Sat 26 Sept 2026, 4:15 PM UPDATED: Mon 28 Sept 2026, 12:45 PM
Criminals should not be able to use borders to escape justice, UAE Minister of Justice Abdullah Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi said on Saturday, outlining the UAE’s approach to international judicial cooperation at the 15th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking at a session titled 'Strengthening international judicial cooperation: The UAE experience and global partnerships', Al Nuaimi said organised crime, cybercrime, trafficking and illicit financial flows increasingly cross several jurisdictions, making cooperation between countries essential.
Recommended For You
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
“No country can fight serious crime alone,” he said, stressing that the UAE views judicial cooperation not simply as a legal process but as a partnership between countries.
The minister said the UAE has focused on making international cooperation faster and more effective, particularly when legal systems and procedures differ.
He cited the UAE’s extradition cooperation with Ireland as an example, referring to the recent extradition of Irish national Daniel Kinahan. The UAE Ministry of Justice said in August that the extradition followed a final decision by the Dubai Court of Cassation and was carried out under the extradition agreement between the two countries.
Al Nuaimi said the case demonstrated how direct communication between authorities, alongside the full judicial process, can help countries move quickly on serious organized crime cases.
The minister also highlighted the UAE’s work on mutual legal assistance, including efforts to trace and recover criminal assets.
He said that in one case involving France and four individuals, UAE authorities worked with French authorities to identify and trace assets. The request was executed through Dubai Public Prosecution, resulting in 80 properties being seized in the UAE in November 2025, according to the minister.
“These examples demonstrate that international judicial cooperation can deliver tangible results, especially in asset recovery, when there is a willingness to do so,” he said.
Faster response to extradition requests
Al Nuaimi said the UAE had also reduced the time needed to respond to extradition requests.
In 2025, he said, the average response time for voluntary extradition requests was reduced to five days. Where requests contained missing information or deficiencies, the requesting country was notified within an average of four days.
Cases requiring court proceedings naturally take longer, he said, with the process generally taking between six months and a year, depending on each case's complexity.
For mutual legal assistance requests, complete requests were executed in an average of 35 days, while authorities notified the concerned party of missing information within a maximum of five days.
Al Nuaimi said the figures reflected the UAE’s focus on speed, efficiency and effective international cooperation while respecting judicial procedures.
But he stressed that speed alone was not enough.
“Effective cooperation requires trust between all the parties,” he said, pointing to rapid communication, technology, strong partnerships between central authorities and practical solutions to differences between legal systems.
‘For criminals, borders offer opportunities’
UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said organised crime networks were adapting faster than many judicial systems.
“Organised crime, corruption, cybercrime, trafficking and terrorism do not respect borders or jurisdictions. They exploit them,” she said.
A suspect may be in one country, victims in another, evidence in a third, and criminal proceeds moving through several jurisdictions, Juma said.
“For criminals, borders offer opportunities. For justice, borders can become obstacles,” she said.
Juma said the challenge was to make international cooperation move faster than the crimes it is intended to counter.
She highlighted mutual legal assistance as a critical tool when evidence, suspects, digital records and financial assets are spread across jurisdictions.
Delays can have serious consequences for investigations, she said, noting that evidence can arrive too late or digital records can disappear while legal paperwork is being processed.
UNODC is working to close such gaps through modern tools for drafting requests, digital resources and operational guidance, she said.
Juma also stressed the importance of following the money, saying criminal justice should not be measured only by convictions but also by the ability to deprive criminal networks of their profits.
Through the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, a joint platform with the World Bank, countries are being supported in tracing, freezing, confiscating and returning stolen assets, she said.
“Money does not stop at the border simply because an investigation does. Therefore, neither can justice systems,” Juma said.
She also highlighted technology as an increasingly important part of international judicial cooperation, especially as criminals use digital tools to move money and communicate across borders.
The UN Convention against Cybercrime, she said, provides a new framework for exchanging electronic evidence and strengthening cooperation against cyber-enabled crime.
Juma said 95 countries had signed the convention as of Friday, and called for progress towards ratification, entry into force and implementation.
She said UNODC remained ready to support countries in turning international legal instruments into practical cooperation.
“Trust is a currency that sustains” international judicial cooperation, Juma said.
Arwa Almazrouei is an Arabic editor passionate about storytelling and journalism, and creating impactful content that highlights culture, society, and the inspirational.