A/57/153 including victims of crime, violence against women, penal reform, juvenile justice and peacekeeping. An overview of progress made in the use and application and further development of United Nations standards and norms in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, as important tools for criminal justice reform, was brought to the attention of the Commission at its eleventh session (see E/CN.15/2002/3). 22. In addition, the Commission had before it the results of three surveys on the implementation of the International Code of Conduct for Public Officials (E/CN.15/2002/6/Add.1), the United Nations Declaration against Corruption and Bribery in International Commercial Transactions (E/CN.15/2002/6/Add.2) and the United Nations Declaration on Crime and Public Security (E/CN.15/2002/11). 23. The Centre serviced two expert group meetings on the issues of restorative justice and effective community-based crime prevention, topics closely related to United Nations standards and norms. The reports of the meetings were presented to the Commission at its eleventh session (see E/CN.15/2002/4 and E/CN.15/2002/5/Add.1). 24. The Commission agreed that the Centre should be selective when developing new United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice, responding to the pressing needs of the international criminal justice community, as required. In addition, it should focus its activities on the use and application of standards and norms in the context of technical assistance and in the overall context of United Nations programme priorities, including sustainable development, poverty alleviation and gender equality. B. Preventing terrorism 25. In the area of terrorism prevention, due to resource constraints emphasis has been placed mainly on research and analysis. A report on strengthening the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the Centre for International Crime Prevention is before the General Assembly (A/57/152). Two publications prepared by the Centre were issued by the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council in 2001: The Rule of Law in the Global Village: Issues of Sovereignty and 6 Universality and Countering International Cooperation. Terrorism through 26. Two databases on terrorism, one dealing with terrorist incidents and the other with counter-terrorist initiatives and developments of a unilateral, bilateral and multilateral nature, are currently maintained and regularly updated. Summaries of the incidents and counter-terrorist initiatives and developments are made available, on a regular basis, to the staff of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council. Work has been initiated on a database on best practices and lessons learned. 27. A conference was jointly co-sponsored by the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention of the United Nations Secretariat and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on the theme “Enhancing security and stability in Central Asia: strengthening comprehensive efforts to counter terrorism” (Bishkek, 13 and 14 December 2001). The conference adopted a declaration and a plan of action in which, inter alia, it emphasized that terrorism was a complex challenge owing to its links with transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, money-laundering, arms trafficking, computer and other high-technology crimes, as well as other threats, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 28. A separate report (A/57/152) provides additional information, including the convening of a symposium on the theme “Combating international terrorism: the contribution of the United Nations”. C. Illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in explosives by criminals and their use for criminal purposes 29. As requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 54/127, an intergovernmental group of experts was convened to conduct a study on the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in explosives by criminals and their use for criminal purposes. The group met twice during 2001, conducting a survey and other research. The group noted the serious threat posed by criminal misuse of explosives and the strict measures already in effect in most Member States to prevent this. It recommended a series of legislative, safety and security measures to establish or strengthen national controls on explosives, as well as further