Antonio Maria Costa
Executive Director
Confronting Globalization:
Global Governance and the Politics of Development
Fondazione Centesimus Annus, Vatican 30 April 2004
Peace and international law are closely linked to one another:
law favours peace and peace depends on laws
John Paul II
In this years message on World Day of Peace (1 January), the Holy Father told us that crime is something more than violence against people and property. Indeed peace cannot be guaranteed, development cannot be sustained and justice cannot reign:
And so on.
Indeed crime deprives individuals of their humanity and societies of their future, violates human rights and perpetuates humanitarian crises. In the course of this lecture I intend to prove that, in addition, crime has turned local conflicts into threats to international governance and world peace.
Crime is not new. The Old Testament tells us that it started with mankinds second generation, as Cain raised his hands against Abel. My starting point is that crime today is unprecedented, both in magnitude and in manifestation.
Why has crime, and its impact, changed so much in recent times? Because crime has evolved, as cause and consequence of changes in the way modern societies function and interact. Weak or collapsed governments, mass poverty, income inequality, corrupt behavior and armed conflict have become a weapon and shield for criminals, traffickers and terrorists. They have turned contemporary public goods -- for example, the internationalization of activity, market deregulation, privatization, hi-tech communications and rapid transportation systems -- into public bads. By operating in a modern business conglomerate style, with growing speed and ease, criminal groups have become multinational and agile, with their own tariffs, terms of trade, management structures, financial arrangements and means of enforcement.
Has the international community remained passive in the face of these frightening developments? Not at all, although the measures undertaken have fallen short of what is required.
In the same 2004 Peace Day message, the Holy Father made another important point: The legal systems of the individual societies progressively grew up into norms which came to be known as jus gentium, the law of the nations . This process has led to the formulation of universal principles which are prior to, and superior to the internal law of States, and which take into account the unity and the common vocation of the human family.
What are the new components of the jus gentium advocated by John Paul II? In the UN context, one segment of the jus gentium is the United Nations Convention on Trans-national Organized Crime, a new instrument of world governance and a new means to combat anti-social behaviours. This convention has just come into force (28.09.03). Significant also are its three supplementary instruments: (i) the Protocol on Trafficking in Persons; (ii) the Protocol on Smuggling of Migrants; and (iii) the Protocol on Firearms. Interestingly, while the first two protocols have already entered into force, the third one (on firearms) is running into serious opposition and ratification is lagging behind.
The newest building-block in the world governance system is the United Nations Convention against Corruption, adopted by the General Assembly in October 2003, signed by over 100 countries and yet to come into force (possibly in 15-18 months).
Also noteworthy are the twelve UN instruments against terrorism. These, combined with earlier legislation (for example, on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and on the Rights of the Child) provide an increasingly comprehensive global response to injustice and insecurity. They constitute a legal framework and a stimulus for action.
What is the concrete impact of these elements of the jus gentium? Do we feel more secure and safe because of them? Before addressing these questions, let us look in depth at the nature of the crime problem.
During the past quarter century, organized crime has become a more complex phenomenon, spreading to less developed and/or more centralized societies previously untouched by it. Let us look briefly at these ominous trends.
Todays crime groups blend illegality with legitimate business. UNODC has probed into the key characteristics of these groups (Fig. 1).
Figure 1: Characteristics of organized crime groups
(click on image to enlarge)
To a large extent, the earlier hierarchical structures of crime (the families, the cartels, the cupolas and the like), specialized in violence and therefore easily cast to the margins of society, are gone. Major crime groups have rather evolved into complex networks, with activities in many countries, taking advantage of open markets and of governments different levels of commitment (and readiness) to combat them. They are more pervasive and dynamic, having broadened their scope of operations, geographically and by sector. They are not merely trans-national and specialized: crime groups are now trans-continental and diversified, part and parcel of globalization.
In other words, criminal organizations today are not simply creatures of the underworld. Their business (bloody as it may be) uses legitimate trade networks: for example, they ship goods (merchandise, money, currency etc) by means of the same containers, the same commercial liners, scheduled air-carriers, postal systems and couriers as honest businesses.
Figure 1 also shows that, like legitimate business, organized crime today pursues multiple activities. While drug trafficking remains a key specialization, illegal traffic deals with whatever is available for large-scale profit from nuclear waste and firearms to protected species, cultural artefacts and, most tragically, human beings and their organs. Cyber-links have opened greater, and even more sophisticated opportunities, especially as illegal profits are in most cases invested in the legal economy.
Above all, Figure 1 shows that crime weighs heavily on its victims: think of the women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation, or of the male adults enslaved in suburban sweat-shops or remote countryside. Trafficking in these human beings is quite remunerative: commodities, once sold, are gone, while human bodies can be sold over and over again, until they are consumed by disease.
Criminals do not always bend victims resolve at gun-point. They bribe and pamper public officials to gain acquiescence. They court and payoff next-of-kin. But they also threaten illness, or refuse medical treatment (in brothels and at the work-place) if this is necessary to achieve their aims. They take away identity papers. In short, crime knows how to adapt.
The intangible aspects of crime have today become very prominent, for example, their penetration of governments, media and the economy at large. Crime groups bribe governments, rendering law-making unfair and to the advantage of the few. They keep journalists on the pay-roll, to disseminate the kind of news they wish and their opponents hate. The resulting corrupt behaviour undermines investment, and therefore development. Few legitimate (international) firms wish to top investments with kickbacks or bribes. Moreover, the danger to society is not always openly visible, or palpable: public suspicion that the system of governance is corrupt weaken democratic legitimacy, the market system and the rule of law. With the likelihood of democratic retaliation weakened, illegal activities become viciously more and more rewarding.
Crime has also learnt how to put on a mantra of purposefulness. In Afghanistan and Colombia early on -- and more recently in many other countries -- the bloodiest attacks on innocent civilians have come from terrorist groups, namely from criminals pretending to justify their acts on the basis of ideology. Paraphrasing a famous statement, we can call terrorism as crime conducted in a different form: as on earlier occasions (see Figure 2), the recent terrorist attack in Madrid was paid for with crime money. Crime and terrorist groups do cooperate: terrorists run illegal activities (they smuggle drugs or people) to raise cash, while criminals trade forged papers and clandestine weapons for security cover and free transit (offered by insurgents).
Figure 2: Terrorist groups funded by drug trafficking
(click on image to enlarge)
While organized crime first developed (in the 1950s) in rich countries, the phenomenon has now reached global proportions. Mafia-style behaviour and, more recently, corporate crimes are increasingly present in transition (former communist) and developing (third world) countries. Given the scarcity of resources to fight the problem and cushion the consequences, the impact of organized crime on these countries is, of course, great.
The rapid growth of organized crime in new regions has been greatly facilitated by weak, even collapsed governments, wars and ethnic strife, growing poverty and wealth inequality, forms of privatization gone wild, and high levels of corruption. At times it is difficult to discern whether such factors are the cause or the consequence of organized crime because illicit activities, like the licit ones, are driven by market forces. Rich countries are the main consumers of drugs, counterfeits and natural resources (including, sadly, people) illegally trafficked from poor, corrupt or conflict areas. On the other hand, motor vehicles, appliances and firearms stolen in rich countries make their way to poorer countries, where people are unable to buy these commodities at market prices.
A good example is provided by trafficking in humans beings (Figure 3). Countries of origin are mainly Central and Eastern European, African and Asian states. Countries of destination are mainly the rich ones. A similar pattern also characterizes the smuggling of migrants.
Figure 3: Global human trafficking patterns
(click on image to enlarge)
The global nature of todays organized crime, corruption and terrorism, therefore, calls first and foremost for increased international governance. Civil society cannot surrender to the notion that these social malaises are unavoidable because so widely spread and part of modern world. Hence the legitimate question: at the United Nations, which lies at the heart of international cooperation, are we doing enough about these social evils?
I would like to consider now the issue of international governance, but not from the sinister side of the social evils like (i) drugs, (ii) crime and (iii) terrorism, but from the virtuous perspective of securing (i) peace, (ii) development, and (iii) rule of law and democracy.
Todays conflicts, even when civil and political in the origin, are closely linked to the formation and growth of criminal networks. Conflicts and instability in the Andean region; in West, Central and Southern Africa; in Central Asia and South Eastern Europe have all been intimately associated with the growth of powerful criminal organizations as well as corruption. War not only generates instability, in which organized crime thrives; war also provides opportunities for illicit enrichment, through the creation of profitable new trading opportunities (most typically, natural resources for weapons). Criminal networks have often constituted an important interface between legitimate commercial operations and dishonest groups within conflict zones.
A careful look at the over 80 (major) conflicts that have taken place in the past half century uncovers some revealing common features:
In many conflict situations, foreign criminals help local warlords plunder regions they control and use their power to trade in weapons, drugs and local primary resources (see Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar at present; Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, Somalia in the past). Such warmongers (call them insurgents, commanders, guerrillas, contras or whatever other term is in the thesaurus) deliberately block progress towards conflict resolution, and strive for the perpetuation of the anarchy and lawlessness under which their illegitimate business activities thrive.
Warlords and their (international) mafia acolytes grossly violate human rights and humanitarian law. Given that they operate under the guise of political motivations and their activities include both common and war crimes, Foreign criminals/Local warlords Inc. represents a (new) criminal partnership hard to deal with. Not rarely, we find foreign political interests and geopolitical considerations caught-up in all this, creating gigantic political Gordian knots.
Another example of rule of law violation is the trafficking of light arms by organized criminal groups used in the Balkan civil war, then re-exported to West Africa (Liberia and Ivory Cost). There is evidence that these arms are now finding their way to Sudan and east Congo. Light arms trafficking has led to a dramatic increase in casualties during these conflicts and to criminal violence afterwards, both within states engulfed by conflict and in surrounding lands: a fact that needs to be seriously considered by law-makers in countries that have not yet ratified the UN Protocol against Firearms. Also tragic has been the distribution of drugs to child-soldiers in conflict situations, as a way of turning them into killing-machines. Only now (that they are children no more) is the UN Office on Drugs and Crime able to reach these young victims and help them cope with (what has become) a life time addiction.
Crime renders development unsustainable in two perverse ways. On the one hand, organized crime impedes economic growth. This becomes evident if the UNODC Index of Organized Crime is measured against the UNDP Human Development Index. The UNODC index includes several indicators: the extent of smuggling in a number of illicit commodities, public and business perceptions of the degree of organized crime and corruption, and the extent to which crimes such as homicide, robbery and corruption are closely connected to organized criminal activity. A detailed overview of this data on a country-by-country basis indicates that high levels of organized crime correlate with low levels of human development.
Figure 4: The relations between organized crime and human development
(click on image to enlarge)
On the other hand, underdevelopment and institutional weaknesses provide the context for organized crime and corruption to thrive. Markets are bent out of shape, competition is undermined, investment decisions are distorted. Criminal organizations often operate through front companies, undercutting prices. They can do so by making their profits from illegal activities, effectively eliminating honest competitors.
Economic and financial crime is also widespread, involving investors across the world. The most severe damage occurs to the banking systems of developing countries; the international financial system is hurt as well and loses credibility. This phenomenon is often dismissed in the worlds major financial centres. Such a benign (at times, malign) neglect of the origins of the blood money is not a good example of integrity on the part of those who have established the rules of world financial probity.
Crime is also profoundly anti-social. While the Robin Hood-type mythical gloss is that robbing the rich is a form of wealth redistribution, in effect criminals mostly steal from the poor to fund lavish life-styles. Furthermore, the shadow economy fed by illicit profits means less revenue for education, health, pensions, and other necessities.
In more exposed countries, crime constitutes a serious impediment to municipal government. Taking advantage of weak administration, organized crime controls city governments; it manages urban resources, determining the right to housing or other services. In addition, it influences, through the corruption and co-option of officials, decisions on land management and public investment, diverting funds from public good to personal interests and illicit financial gain. When appropriate regulation and enforcement are not forthcoming, entire sectors of the urban economy are supervised by local gangs or warlords. The example of transport systems in many African cities is a case in point.
Criminal groups even target development agencies: indeed a better understanding (and a reassessment of operating procedures) is urgently required by the Agencies engaged in emergency and development assistance, to protect themselves from criminal (or corrupt) activity.
Organized crime violates human rights, subjecting individuals and communities to high levels of violence, fear and increased exposure to disease. Look at the HIV/AIDS epidemic among injecting drug users, in prisons and in the sex industry in Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation and Central Asia. After the break-up of the former Soviet Union, various social institutions ceased functioning in the newly independent states (CIS), particularly in the drug control and the health care sectors. As a consequence, there was a huge influx and increased availability of drugs, supplied by foreign and local syndicates.
This development has led to a dramatic rise in the number of drug users. For example, in the Russian Federation, the number of injecting drug users (IDUs) is estimated at about 2 million. As a result, the incidence rates for HIV infection have increased dramatically. Today, it is estimated that there are approximately one million people living with HIV/AIDS in the Russian Federation, a significant proportion estimated in 2002 at well over 50 percent having acquired the disease by using contaminated needles.
The situation in Central Asia is even more worrisome. Here there has been a particularly rapid increase in drug abuse given these countries exposure to drug trafficking from Afghanistan. Figure 5 shows the number of registered cases of HIV/AIDS in Central Asia since 1999 as compared to an estimate of the proportion of cases regarded as being related to drug injecting. Statistically, the correlation could not be more robust. The average proportion of HIV/AIDS cases related to injecting drug use in 2003 for the region as a whole is estimated to be in the order of 75 percent. In China the equivalent measure is 79 per cent; in Russia and Ukraine it could be as high as 90 per cent.
Figure 5: HIV/AIDS trend in Central Asia due to drug injection
(click on image to enlarge)
The trafficking of human beings is another, particularly terrifying violation of human rights. Ample evidence of it can be found in the brothels of many large urban centres (from Bangkok to Bombay, from Moscow to Los Angeles) where very young girls -- aged 14-16 at most -- are forced into prostitution, with the likelihood of being infected with HIV/AIDS before reaching adulthood. Rich countries should do more, at least to reduce related suffering: victim protection and support is essential, including the granting of resident or refugee status (rather than deportation) to those (few) who are rescued, as they are victims of crime, not illegal immigrants. The entry into force of the UN Protocol against Trafficking in Human Beings offers a unique opportunity to set into motion the appropriate national measures and international assistance.
Criminal groups engaged in the smuggling of migrants destroy lives at the early stage. Individuals, whether trafficked for sexual exploitation or smuggled as modern slaves, have difficulty returning to their home countries, in part because of practical difficulties resulting from the loss of identification and travel documents or the fear, stigma and retaliation awaiting them at home.
A clear criterion for combating organized crime and corruption so as to foster respect for the rule of law and strengthen democracy, is political commitment. Yet, as the Holy Father states in the message mentioned earlier, national measures are not sufficient: problems are trans-national, so remedies have to involve the community of nations.
Organized crime, having expanded rapidly and widely, now constitutes a global security challenge. It must be countered by effective law enforcement, using the momentum generated by the entry into force of the UN Convention on Trans-national Organized Crime and of its three Protocols. Similarly, the UN Convention against Corruption, another significant achievement, is an indication of both the severity of the problem and the commitment to tackle it.
The comprehensive response to organized crime that I argue for, presumes that law enforcement interventions are the last resort, and that greater efforts are made to make societies less attractive for organized crime and victims less vulnerable to exploitation. But more is required. Better income, faster growth, improved education and wider health care (there are 14 million orphans, in HIV/AIDS-affected Africa) will all help curtail the pool of potential crime soldiers needed by the crime syndicates to do the dirty work. If the billions of dollars spent on law enforcement against crime and terrorism were invested in prevention and development, perhaps most of the tragedies reported above would be avoided -- and the resources spent today on law enforcement would not be needed after all.
Law is the road leading to peace,
and people need to be taught the respect of law.
Yet, one does not arrive to the end of this road
unless justice is complemented by love.
John Paul II
I find this message from the Holy Father convincing. I hope you do too.