{"p"=>"In 1955, the first UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Delegates from approximately thirty countries gathered to discuss key issues related to crime and punishment. Bringing together global history and critical prison studies, this article examines the trajectory and impact of the UN Congresses and associated meetings over a 40-year period. While considering global trends, it focuses in particular on African postcolonial states' engagement in these forums. Analyzing the Congresses, and their precursors in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, opens up key questions about how “universal” penal norms were created and contested within global governance arenas. There has been little attention paid to the origins of such norms, and how they were shaped by colonialism, fascism, and decolonization. Ultimately, this article contends that while the UN Congresses provided an important space for discussion and dissent—particularly from Global South actors—these meetings were limited in their transformative impact."}