Promoting the rule of law and human security in South Eastern Europe

Regional High Level Conference
Belgrade, 30- 31 March 2009

Photo: FoNet	Representatives from the countries of Southeast Europe on March 30 in Belgrade signed a joint statement on cooperation in the fight against organized crime, primarily in the prevention of drug and people smuggling, the financing of terrorism and money laundering. The statement, adopted at the "Promotion of Justice and Security in South East Europe" regional ministerial conference, says that the region's countries had decided to cooperate in the fight against crime. "The countries emphasize that the implementation of the internationally recognized norms and values of the U.N., as well as EU integration, require the respect of democracy and the principle of the rule of law for all citizens and the region as a whole," reads the joint statement, which was presented by Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Photo: FoNet	The joint statement was signed in the Palace of Serbia by representatives of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as UNODC director Antonio Maria Costa. The conference was organized by the Interior Ministry and UNODC, and the participants will primarily work toward improving the fight against drug smuggling. Antonio Maria Costa said that the Balkans were a transit route for drugs and specified that between 80 and 100 tons of heroin passed through the Balkans every year and that the transit of cocaine was also on the rise. He emphasized that a 2008 report on crime and the effects of crime in the Balkans stated that Southeast Europe had become one of the most secure regions in Europe.
Photo: FoNet	"The number of criminal acts against people and property, such as murder, robbery, rape and assaults, is lower than in Western Europe. The murder rate is lower than the European average and continues to drop," said Costa, adding that corruption was the biggest problem in the region. Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said at the conference's opening that Serbia, in addition to the financial crisis, would continue to fight corruption and organized crime, which were obstacles in the European integration process. Cvetkovic and Dacic emphasized the importance of cooperation between Balkan countries because criminals did not recognize borders, and that interstate cooperation in stamping out crime was an imperative condition to improve the fight against crime.
Photo: FoNet	Dacic stressed it is necessary to highlight the importance of long and systematically drafted programmes for cooperation in the fight against crime and corruption, such as the Regional Programme, drafted by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime. He said that efficient cooperation between states in the region concerning crime fighting is absolutely essential for making progress, adding that cooperation in fighting organised crime and drug trafficking and judicial capacity building are areas where it is necessary to make decisive progress. Dacic said that successful crime fighting requires large investments in sophisticated technology and human resources development. He said that the global financial crisis is making the fight against crime more difficult because the crime rate grows in crisis situations.
Photo: FoNet	Co-Chair of the conference Director General of the UN Vienna office and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Antonio Maria Costa said that Southeastern Europe is one of the safest regions in Europe where the biggest problem is corruption. He said that the incidence of crimes such as murder, robbery, rape and assault is lower in Southeastern Europe than in Western Europe. He recalled that according to the UNODC 2008 report Southeastern Europe is one of the safest regions of Europe, stressing that corruption in countries of Southeastern Europe is the biggest problem and should be dealt with firmly and thoroughly.
Photo: FoNet	Relations between businesses, politics and crime could severely damage democracy and the rule of law in the region, said Costa, adding that people living in Southeastern Europe deal with corruption much more than the rest of the world. He said that apart from corruption, organised crime and drug trafficking are very profitable activities, adding that the Balkans are still a transit area for illegal drug trade between Afghanistan and Western Europe. According to him, the entire region deals with cigarette, weapon and human trafficking and therefore all the countries must consistently implement adequate laws and legal instruments, such as the UN Convention against Corruption and other conventions concerning the fight against organised crime. It is also necessary to develop health improvement programmes and raise people's consciousness when it comes to drug and AIDS, said Costa, pointing out that the entire region can count on the support of the European Commission, OSCE, UNODC and the Regional Council for Cooperation.

UNODC Executive-Director's speech in Belgrade

Roma medical-social center developed under the UNODC HIV/AIDS Project in Bucharest, Romania

March 2009

A Medical-Social Center was opened on 18 March 2009 by the Roma Center for Health Policies - SASTIPEN in partnership with the Municipality of District 5, Bucharest, with technical and financial assistance from UNODC and UNICEF to help curb the spread of HIV among vulnerable groups.

The Center will provide free of charge medical and social services including HIV/HBV/HCV prevention and counseling, monitoring of TB and STIs treatment among high risk populations such as injecting drug users, sex workers and most-at-risk adolescents living in Ferentari area of the capital city.

REGIONAL CONFERENCE on Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Trafficking in Persons in the Black Sea Region

Mamaia/Constanta, Romania

18 - 20 June 2008

The effective action to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, especially women and children, requires a comprehensive transnational/regional approach, including cooperation, the exchange of information, experiences and other practical measures, including socio-economic measures, at the national and regional levels. Such approach includes more specifically measures providing victims of trafficking with the protection of their internationally recognized human rights.

Weaknesses in the criminal justice response to human trafficking within the Member States of BSEC, identified by UNODC, justified a substantive intervention at regional level in order to foster bi- and multilateral cooperation between the BSEC countries in their anti-human trafficking activities. All BSEC countries have taken action to fight trafficking and recognize it as a severe problem. All BSEC countries have ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Anti-Human Trafficking Protocol). The majority of BSEC states have established intergovernmental task forces and adopted Action Plans. Many bilateral and multilateral agreements on exchanging information and providing legal assistance have been signed.

Pursuing an effective partnership approach, UNODC has developed the project in close consultation with BSEC to stimulate ownership. After presenting a first project idea to the BSEC Working Group on Cooperation in Combating Crime, in particular in its Organized Forms, in Bucharest in March 2006, the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of BSEC that was held in Moscow on 1 November 2006 endorsed the project idea. The Council, in its decision, expressed its satisfaction for the enhanced cooperation between BSEC and UNODC and instructed Permanent International Secretariat of the BSEC (PERMIS) to take further steps for the implementation of the project. The Permanent International Secretariat of BSEC has offered to facilitate project implementation through assistance in data collection and hosting of the Expert Group in Istanbul and proposed Bucharest as the venue for the Conference since Romania currently chairs the BSEC Working Group on Combating Organized Crime.

The Regional Conference was the main event to be organized under this Project and brought together criminal justice practitioners (including police, border control officers, prosecutors and judges), relevant service providers (including NGOs), researchers and decision-makers. In general, the conference served to facilitate networking, expertise exchange, analyze the weaknesses and strengths of the current criminal justice responses and provide recommendations to strengthen the criminal justice response to human trafficking. On the other hand, a Regional Action Plan will help the BSEC Member States to enhance their cooperation in the field of Criminal Justice Response to Human Trafficking. The delegates expressed their thanks to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for the technical assistance provided in the process of formulation of the draft Regional Action Plan for Strengthening Criminal Justice Response to Human Trafficking in the Black Sea Region and invited UNODC to continue its involvement in the project implementation. The outcomes of the Regional Conference are:

1. enhanced bi- and multilateral networks and dialogue among the relevant criminal justice actors in the Black Sea region,

2. improved access to knowledge and exchange of existing expertise and best practices, and

3. the provision of guidance for further action through a Regional Action Plan on Bi- and Multilateral Cooperation in the Field of Criminal Justice Response to Human Trafficking.

The present report describes the conference proceedings, specific administrative activities and accomplishments of the Regional Conference on Strengthening Justice Response on Trafficking in Persons in the Black Sea Region, held in Mamaia, Romania from 18th to 20th of June 2008.

Report Regional Conference June 2008