*EPF413 11/16/00
Excerpts: UNGA Adopts Documents on Transnational Crime, Trafficking
(Proposed agreements allow int'l cooperation on anti-crime efforts) (3300)

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:

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UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE

General Assembly adopts major treaty targeting organized crime

15 November -- 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

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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 (AM) 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. . . .

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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