Opening Statement of
Pino Arlacchi
Under-Secretary-General
Executive Director
to the
Tenth Session
of the
Commission on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice
Vienna,
8 May 2001
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
If I were to choose one word to apply to the current efforts to address crime, I would pick the word "momentum". Developments over the past year are impressive. And when we look to the future, we see even more.
But the international momentum cannot exist unless it is based on a consensus among nations. We have that consensus at present, and it is strong. Individual countries and the people who live in those countries want action against crime, both domestically and internationally.
The most obvious expression of this is the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. When it was opened for signature at a three-day conference in Palermo last December, there were one hundred twenty-four signatories. This is an all-time record for a new Convention.
Part of the appeal of the Palermo Convention is its pragmatic nature. Going well beyond the rhetoric of good intentions, the Convention deals with the day-to-day reality of cooperation against organized crime. It is based on best practices drawn from around the world best practice, not just best theory. I do not think we are exaggerating when we call it a "state of the art" instrument.
The protocols reinforce this practical and real-world approach. First of all, they deal with subjects that are timely. The trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants now capture headlines on a regular basis, detailing the growing list of tragic incidents that happen when human beings become just another commodity.
The attention to the protection of witnesses and victims adds to the appeal of these new instruments. They are criminal justice tools and human rights tools at the same time.
But the momentum goes much further.
The Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms has now been submitted to the General Assembly for approval.
The General Assembly decided late last year to move forward on the corruption issue as well. As requested by the Assembly, the Secretariat has prepared an analysis of existing instruments and institutional arrangements in the field of corruption. This report is before you for consideration at this session.
The Assembly also requested the convening of an intergovernmental open-ended expert group to draft the terms of reference for the negotiation of the convention against corruption. This group will meet in late July and early August.
The experience gained in the negotiations for the Palermo Convention and, most importantly, the spirit that prevailed and produced such an impressive outcome, will serve us well in the preparation of the anti-corruption instrument.
The full extent of the momentum for international action against crime was evident in the Vienna Declaration last year. In an effort to articulate this momentum, we have presented to you, as requested, a draft five-year Action Plan for the implementation of that declaration. This document is on the table at the present session. The very title of the Action Plan "Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century" indicates that it is far more forward-looking than the five-year period it covers formally.
It is an ambitious proposal. But the current strong commitment to action by Member States leads almost inevitably to a pro-active and far-reaching approach.
The draft Action Plan includes both international and national strategies. In so doing, it underlines the close interplay of action between the two. In this era of globalization, we have no choice if we want to be effective in preventing crime national and international action must reach a stage of symbiosis, each depending on the other and each supporting the other.
The work of the Centre for International Crime Prevention falls within this context linking national and international. Just like in drug control, I like to think of the work of the United Nations in crime prevention as the "software" of the system.
This UN "software" serves Member States by providing a mechanism for finding the common ground on which they can work; by providing the global view, including data and analysis; by undertaking special initiatives on behalf of the collective international community; by providing the basis for coordination and identification of best practices; by providing technical cooperation in support of global standards.
The Global Programmes of the Crime Centre are an important part of this software. The Global Programme against Corruption, for example, includes a global study on trends in corruption, including the identification of best practices. The Programme has also designed a tool-kit incorporating some thirty anti-corruption measures, now being supplemented with case studies. The technical assistance component of the Programme concentrates on six countries that have requested assistance from the Centre.
The Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings works in much the same way. Projects are in operation or development in eight countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. Now that the Protocol is signed, the Programme will be actively involved in the formulation of a global strategy to address this rapidly growing form of organized crime.
The Global Programme against Money Laundering, in which the CICP works closely with UNDCP, was also given a strong injection of support by the Palermo Convention. The use of bank secrecy as an excuse to withhold evidence in criminal proceedings will be categorically prohibited. I take this opportunity to mention one of the special initiatives with which we are associated. Next month in St. Petersburg, the Russian Federation will host an ODCCP-sponsored international conference of specialists on illegal economy and money laundering. The group will examine trends in these two forms of crime as well as various practical strategies for combating them.
The work of analyzing worldwide data and trends in organized crime is centered in the CICPs Global Programme against Transnational Crime. The global study begun last year has now been successfully tested in twelve countries and one region. The result is a workable methodology for collecting information on organized crime groups, which can then be integrated into the CICP database. Expansion to other countries will now follow.
There is a clear applicability in connection with the coming into force of the Palermo Convention. Here the CICP has taken on a special initiative for pre-ratification assistance. The first concrete exercise took place in late March in Pretoria, organized jointly with the Southern African Development Community. Senior officials from fourteen countries in the region analyzed the main provisions of the Convention and began work on relevant SADC treaties to facilitate ratification. They also issued a communiqu? committing themselves to a process leading to ratification.
A similar regional ministerial seminar took place in April in Guatemala City, involving ten countries. At the end of the meeting, unanimous and full support for ratification was again expressed.
Much more needs to be done to promote ratification of the Convention. And requests for CICP assistance under the Global Programmes continue to come in. I take this opportunity to thank those donors who have made it possible to move forward.
There is now a momentum within CICP itself. If this is to be maintained and, even more important, if the work of the Centre is to keep pace with the impressive momentum established by Member States in international cooperation against crime, more resources will be needed. I appeal to all of you to contribute to the CICP fund.
As you know, the Convention establishes a special account for pre-ratification and implementation assistance. Parties to the Convention are encouraged to contribute to this special account some of the resources obtained through the confiscation of assets of organized crime groups. The decision of the Italian Government to provide to the United Nations twenty-five per cent of the value of such assets is encouraging.
Mr. Chairman, the international community is proving that concerted action is possible. Step by step, new and up-to-date international instruments are being put in place to deal with todays rapidly changing crime scene.
We have no choice but to keep this momentum alive and even pick up the pace. The alternative is simply not an option. The sums of money generated by organized criminal activity have reached such proportions that the numbers are hard to comprehend. Individual cases involving billions of dollars are becoming more and more common. Such wealth in the hands of criminals gives them the power to paralyze legitimate economic and political activity and to destabilize whole countries.
It is almost customary to conclude an opening statement by pointing out how full the agenda is for the coming days. In the case of this Commission, the idea of a full agenda goes well beyond the meeting itself. The international community has taken on a challenging set of tasks in the field of criminal justice. And the work has been launched in a spirit of consensus and cooperation. I am confident that this momentum will be maintained.
This is the tenth anniversary session of the Commission. May the next ten years continue down the same path that has been so productive up to now.
Thank you..