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15 November 2000
Excerpts: UNGA Adopts Documents on Transnational Crime, Trafficking
Proposed agreements allow international cooperation on anti-crime efforts
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted international
agreements on transnational organized crime, human trafficking and
immigrant smuggling November 15. The three documents will be opened
for national signatures starting in December at a conference to be
held in Palermo, Italy. True enforcement of the anti-crime provisions
will not be possible until national governments ratify the agreements,
according to November 15 press materials issued by the United Nations.
The agreements are formally known as the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime; the Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children; and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land,
Sea and Air.
Luigi Lauriola served as chairman of the committee that produced and
presented the draft convention to UNGA. He commented on the speed with
which the documents had been proposed and drafted, less than two
years. An UNGA press release summarizes Lauriola's remarks: "The
political will of the participants, driven by newspaper headlines and
public opinion, gave decisive impulse to the search for a global
response to global organized crime."
The Convention provides new international legal instruments that will
better enable nations to work together in the pursuit of criminals who
engage in illegal cross-border activities or attempt to elude
authorities by moving from one country to the next.
Following are excerpts of press materials from the United Nations:
United Nations News Service
General Assembly adopts major treaty targeting organized crime
15 November 2000
International efforts to fight criminal activity around
the world took a major step forward today as the United Nations
General Assembly adopted three legal instruments designed to combat
organized crime, human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants.
The documents -- UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children; and the Protocol against the Smuggling
of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air -- were annexed to a resolution that
was adopted by the Assembly without a vote.
By the terms of the resolution, the Assembly urged all States and
regional economic organizations to sign and ratify the Convention and
its protocols, and decided that they would be opened for signature
during a high-level political conference to be held in Palermo, Italy
from 12 to 15 December.
The Convention aims to promote cooperation to prevent and combat
transnational organized crime more effectively. In 41 articles, it
provides a blueprint for countries working to shut down international
criminal organizations, eliminate "safe havens," protect witnesses and
block money laundering. The treaty will go into effect when 40
countries have ratified it.
The issues dealt with in the two Protocols have taken on greater
urgency in recent years, according to the UN Office of Drug Control
and Crime Prevention, which reports that interlinked gangs are moving
some 4 million people every year as human cargo, with annual earnings
from trafficking climbing to between $5 billion and $7 billion. The
Protocols are intended to beef up and internationalize efforts to stem
these practices.
The committee which elaborated the instruments adopted today has not
yet completed its work on a third draft protocol dealing with the
illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and
components and ammunition. By today's resolution, the Assembly
requested the committee to finalize its work on that protocol as soon
as possible.
Addressing the Assembly today, the Chairman of that committee, Luigi
Lauriola, expressed regret that work on the draft firearms protocol
had not been completed in time to submit it to the session. As for the
newly adopted Convention and its two Protocols, Mr. Lauriola
underscored the importance of the documents, but emphasized that their
implementation would be critical.
In another development, the General Assembly this morning began
consideration of next year's special session on the follow-up to the
1990 World Summit for Children.
Opening the discussion, General Assembly President Harri Holkeri of
Finland said the Summit had represented an "unprecedented dialogue"
among world leaders. He observed that ten years later, despite the
fact that almost all countries had ratified the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, major challenges persisted. The suffering of
millions of children around the world showed that the Summit's goals
were "far from fulfilled," he said, calling for greater action to keep
the promise made to children back in 1990. 15 November 2000
end excerpt
begin excerpt
United Nations General Assembly
Press Release GA/9822
Assembly Adopts Convention Against
Transnational Organized Crime and Two Additional Protocols
Instruments to Be Open for Signing at High-Level Palermo Conference
The General Assembly this morning adopted the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women
and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by
Land, Sea and Air, and opened them for signature at the high-level
political signing conference to be held in Palermo, Italy, from 12 to
15 December. It did so by adopting, without a vote, a related draft
resolution.
By the terms of that resolution, the Assembly urged all States and
regional economic organizations to sign and ratify the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the protocols
thereto as soon as possible, in order to ensure the speedy entry into
force of the Convention and protocols. It called upon all States to
recognize the links between transnational organized criminal
activities and acts of terrorism, and to apply the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in combating all
forms of criminal activity.
Luigi Lauriola, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of
a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, introducing the
Convention and its two additional protocols, said the Convention
provided a framework and tools for better international cooperation
against organized crime without borders. What was critical, however,
would be its implementation. The dangers posed by organized crime to
the individual citizen and to the international community had rightly
risen to the top of the agenda. The first steps had been taken, but
there was still a long way to go. He regretted that the Ad Hoc
Committee had been unable to complete its deliberation on a Protocol
against illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms, their parts
and components, and ammunition, in time for submission to the
Assembly.
The Assembly also took up consideration this morning of the Special
Session of the General Assembly in 2001 for follow-up to the World
Summit for Children. Many delegates felt that, since the World Summit
Meeting for Children in 1990, much progress had been made, including
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its additional
protocols, dealing with the participation of children in armed
conflict and with the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography. . . .
General Assembly Plenary -- 3 -- Press Release
GA/9822 62nd Meeting 15 November 2000
Assembly Work Programme
The fifty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly this morning
took up consideration of the agenda item "Crime prevention and
criminal justice" for the sole purpose of taking action on the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the
protocols thereto. It was also expected to consider the item "Special
session of the General Assembly in 2001 for follow-up to the World
Summit for Children".
Before the Assembly was a report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the
Elaboration of a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on
the work of its first to eleventh session (document A/55/383),
paragraph 121 of which contained a draft resolution to be taken up by
the Assembly on the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime. The text of the Convention is annexed to the report.
By the terms of the draft, the Assembly would adopt the Convention and
its two protocols: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; and the
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. It
would open them for signature at the high-level political signing
conference to be held in Palermo, Italy, from 12 to 15 December.
The Assembly would urge all States and regional economic organizations
to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime and the protocols thereto as soon as possible in order
to ensure the speedy entry into force of the Convention and protocols.
It would call upon all States to recognize the links between
transnational organized criminal activities and acts of terrorism, and
to apply the Convention in combating all forms of criminal activity.
Also by the draft, the Assembly would decide that, until the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention established pursuant to
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
decides otherwise, the account referred to in article 30 of the
Convention will be operated within the United Nations Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice Fund. It would encourage Member States to begin
making adequate voluntary contributions to the above-mentioned account
in order to provide developing countries and countries with economies
in transition with the technical assistance they might require for
implementation of the Convention and the protocols thereto.
The Assembly would request the Secretary-General to designate the
Centre for International Crime Prevention of the Office for Drug
Control and Crime Prevention to serve as the secretariat for and under
the direction of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention.
Annexed to the draft resolution in document A/55/383 are the texts of
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling
of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. . . .
LUIGI LAURIOLA, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of
a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, introduced the
Convention and its two additional protocols: one on illicit
trafficking in persons, especially women and children; the other on
illegal trafficking and transporting of migrants. He said that those
texts had been finalized and unanimously agreed upon in less than two
years. The idea of preparing a United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime had been first formally raised at the
World Ministerial Conference on Organized Transnational Crime in
November 1994. Little by little, the political will of the
participants, driven by newspaper headlines and public opinion, gave
decisive impulse to the search for a global response to global
organized crime. Countries which had been opposed even to the idea of
discussing the possibility of an international instrument had become
some of the Convention's strongest supporters. Other countries, like
Italy, Poland and Argentina, had supported the process from the very
beginning.
The Convention, he continued, provided a framework and tools for
better international cooperation against organized crime without
borders. But it was implementation of the Convention that would be
critical. He recalled that the mandate given to the Ad Hoc Committee
also included the elaboration of a Protocol against illicit
manufacturing and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components,
and ammunition. He regretted that the Ad Hoc Committee had been unable
to complete its deliberations on that protocol in time for submission
to the Assembly. Accordingly, the Committee requested that it be
allowed to continue its work in conformity with resolutions 53/111,
53/114 and 54/126, so that it might have an opportunity to finalize
its work in the near future. The dangers posed by organized crime to
the individual citizen and to the international community had rightly
risen to the top of the agenda. The first steps had been taken, but
there was still a long way to go.
YVES DOUTRIAUX (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union and
associated States, stated that the growth of transnational organized
crime was a major challenge facing the international community. The
phenomenon represented one of the major non-military threats to the
security of the individual, the stability of societies, the
sovereignty of States, and the development and continuance of
democracy. His Government believed that, in light of its universal
mission, the United Nations was the forum for devising legislative
tools to combat transnational organized crime. A period of less than
two years had been set aside by the General Assembly for negotiating a
Convention against such crime, which was a sign of the urgency
attached to the matter by the Member States.
The European Union considered the Convention to be an exemplary set of
provisions. Moreover, it was the first global legal instrument devised
to combat transnational organized crime, introducing essential
innovations in law and in the procedures for cooperation among States
parties. The Union was pleased that, for the first time, the
Convention offered the international community universally recognized
definitions of several fundamental concepts of criminal law linked to
organized crime, such as "organized criminal group", "serious offence"
and "the proceeds of crime". It was also important that the Convention
broached the subject of approximating national criminal legislation by
establishing criminal offences of a universal nature (participation in
an organized criminal group, money laundering, obstruction of the
course of justice, corruption) and by obliging the States parties to
transpose them into their domestic criminal law.
In regard to the two related Protocols adopted in parallel with the
Convention itself, the European Union considered them to be essential
complementary tools, especially the Protocol designed to prevent,
suppress and punish trafficking in persons, including women and
children, thereby providing a legal definition of trafficking in
persons. The Union believed that the completion of negotiations on the
Convention and two of its related Protocols was a remarkable result,
and looked forward to the Signing Conference in Palermo, Italy, this
coming December. The European Union called upon all Member States to
sign the Convention and its Protocols at the Palermo Conference.
SERGIO VENTO (Italy) said the Convention and its two Protocols
addressed sensitive issues. His country had played a major part in the
process that led up to finalization of the texts. That process would
conclude in December in Palermo, where his Government was organizing
the High-level Political Conference for the signing of the Convention
and the Protocols.
Organized crime damaged the quality of life and the enjoyment of human
rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world. It jeopardized
economic development, corrupting and destabilizing social and
political institutions. The adoption of the Convention was a major
step in the fight against that scourge. The Convention was an
innovative instrument that had a direct impact on the prevention and
prosecution of a broad range of crimes, including all serious
transnational crimes committed by organized crime groups, and included
both measures to strengthen national crime fighting systems and
measures to foster cooperation among States.
The Convention also contained significant measures on international
cooperation between judicial and police authorities. Bilateral or
regional agreements were not enough to meet the need for prompt
collaboration in investigating and prosecuting transnational crimes. A
global system of norms and practices was needed, fostering
collaboration among the largest possible number of countries. While
satisfied with the fact that it took less than two years to complete
the enormous job, he hoped that negotiations on the unfinished
Protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in arms
would be resumed shortly, so as to reach a compromise on the most
controversial points.
He called for quick follow-up of the adoption by implementation of the
Convention's provisions. He appealed to all States to promptly sign
and ratify the Convention and to come to Palermo, represented at the
highest possible level.
MANUEL TELLO (Mexico) said he would like to place on record his
concern at the lack of political will of some States, which had
prevented conclusion of a protocol on the manufacture of firearms. In
an increasingly interdependent world, organized criminal groups used
increasingly sophisticated methods to make their atrocities
transnational. International cooperation was needed to fight the
phenomenon. The Convention was novel, as it had established a
juridical regime to fight organized crime while incorporating a wide
number of initiatives to promote international cooperation. Preventing
and combating the smuggling of persons, especially trafficking in
women and children, was designed to protect victims of exploitation.
The relevant protocol was not an instrument to control migration, but
to prevent such crimes. It protected the rights of persons who were
victims of trafficking. As far as Mexico was concerned, illicit
trafficking in migrants was serious when it endangered their life and
security.
Fighting international organized crime would only be successful if the
international community suppressed the manufacture of firearms. That
trade in violence promoted phenomena as serious as drug trafficking,
which destroyed and imposed its code of death and violence very
widely, as well as terrorism and organized crime. With the adoption of
the related protocol, the international community would be taking a
very important step forward. Mexico invited the States that maintained
reservations to reconsider their options, so that the international
community could conclude the protocol.
SERGEY KAREV (Russian Federation) said it was obvious that
transnational crime could not be addressed by a single State. Modern
criminals had realized the advantages of international crime and would
take advantage of any loophole. The need for formulating a single
front of States in combating that threat was glaringly obvious. The
international community must establish a system where no criminal
would be beyond the law, and the Convention and its additional
protocols would become the basis for such a system. Given the
necessary will, serious results in the anti-criminal sphere could be
reached quickly.
He expressed his satisfaction that the Convention embraced a broad
range of crimes, including money laundering and corruption, and it was
important that there were detailed arrangements for extradition and
other matters, which would enhance the work of the law-enforcement
agencies. He welcomed the additional protocols and hoped that the work
on the protocol on the manufacturing and trafficking of small arms
would be completed shortly. The quick entry into force of the
Convention was very important.
JANUSZ RYDZKOWSKI (Poland) said his country had initiated the
practical work on the Convention in terms of concept and
implementation. Following that initiative, the Polish Government had
invited a group of international experts to Warsaw, in February 1998,
to start preliminary discussion on the Convention. The Warsaw meeting
marked an important breakthrough in two respects. First and foremost,
the issue of drafting such a multilateral convention was no longer
addressed in "whether or not" terms but became a question of "how and
when" instead. Secondly, more than 50 States had agreed unanimously to
develop an effective tool to combat transnational organized crime in
its most dangerous transnational dimension. In the preparatory stages,
delegations had focused on identifying areas of emerging consensus.
The new legal instrument was of a unique character, because, for the
first time, it delivered a precise definition of the phenomenon of
transnational organized crime, and defined the instruments for an
effective fight against uncivil society. Adoption of the Convention
and its two additional protocols after only three and a half years of
work was a significant achievement, and reflected the political will
of the international community to combat the increased threat posed by
organized crime. However, from a practical point of view, the adoption
of a legal instrument was only the beginning. Ahead was the signing
ceremony in Palermo, the difficult process of national ratification
and implementation on international and national levels.
It was important to stress that full implementation of the Convention
was possible only when it was carried out on a universal basis --
which meant that resources would be necessary to assist States unable
to fight organized crime by themselves. . . .
end excerpt
Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs. U.S.
Department of State.
Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
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Trafficking
