CRIME COMMISSION EXPLORING PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING UN CAPACITY TO ASSIST GOVERNMENTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD
Press Release
SOC/CP/188
CRIME COMMISSION EXPLORING PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING UN CAPACITY TO ASSIST GOVERNMENTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD
19960530 Finland Introduces Draft Resolution on Victims' Concerns(Reproduced as received from UN Information Service.)
VIENNA, 28 May -- The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is considering setting up a working group or groups on technical cooperation and assistance issues to explore ways of strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to provide concrete services to requesting States.
In a discussion of the subject this morning, the Justice Minister of Burkina Faso called for a group to be convened to address mobilization of funds for technical assistance, and the Justice Minister of Senegal stressed the need for a group that could also provide strategic guidance and coordination for such assistance. A representative of the National Police Agency of Japan suggested that the Commission ask the Secretary-General to convene an informal consultative group composed of those States that had contributed in the last two years to the trust fund for crime prevention and criminal justice.
Also this morning, the representative of Finland introduced a draft resolution calling for preparation of a draft manual on the application of the General Assembly's 1985 Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. By the draft, which is also sponsored by Canada, the Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal and Uganda, an international expert meeting for that purpose would also explore the feasibility of a database on promising practices and legislation in the area of victimology and victims' rights.
Also speaking on technical cooperation and assistance were representatives of China, France, Romania, Uganda, Indonesia, India, Canada, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Research Institute (UNICRI), International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council, European Institute
for Crime Prevention and Control, Asia Crime Prevention Foundation, Department for Development Support and Management Services, United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders.
The representative of Croatia expressed concern over a reference, in a conference room paper, to a set of project proposals for the five countries of the former Yugoslavia, including her own. She said that Croatia would need more information, and time to study the proposals. Despite the common past shared by the countries, their present situations were quite different; it might be preferable to address their assistance needs separately and specifically.
Statements on Technical Cooperation and Assistance
WU YANSHI (China) expressed support for the expansion of the technical assistance activities of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, which would require the mobilization of further resources. China would be interested in participating in consultations on the subject as suggested by the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna.
She stressed the priority that should be given to technical cooperation and assistance activities to develop the criminal justice capacities of developing countries. China also attached great importance to technical assistance and judicial cooperation at the regional level.
HERMAN WOLTRING, the Director of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), outlined the Institute's activities and its approaches and provided examples of its projects. The basic goal of their technical cooperation activities was to promote self-reliance by enhancing institutional capacities through development of policies, programmes and professionalism of policy makers through to corrections personnel.
He described a project on judicial training in Albania as an institution-building activity with a strong emphasis of the training of the trainers who would impart their new knowledge long after the Institute's direct involvement had passed. The project involved the entire membership of the Albanian Court of Cassation and its registry staff, and 36 District Court judges, who received training in modern court management procedures and techniques.
A project on crime prevention and control in Kyrgyzstan focused on identifying areas in crime prevention that needed attention, some of which required technical cooperation. Activities that were needed included the enhancement of public awareness and the improvement in training programmes and management of the law enforcement sector.
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JIRO ONO (Japan) said his Government was considering participating in the United Nations assessment mission for the re-establishment of a criminal justice system in Cambodia. He noted that Japan had already contributed $1.7 million to the Police Assistance Programmes for the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He said that Japan provided extensive bilateral assistance to developing countries in the field of police administration. Later this year, it would be introducing its community police system to Cambodia, and its police administration system to Pakistan. Some 1,200 law enforcement officials from developing countries had participated in Japanese training programmes. Japan had also sent high-ranking correctional officers to advise the Secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) on such matters as the development of criminal justice statistics and the treatment of offenders.
He supported the proposal of the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna to establish an informal group of interested countries to address issues of technical assistance, resource mobilization, coordination and strategic management. Expressing concern that not enough budget resources were being allocated to the Division due to the Organization's overall budgetary constraints, he proposed that the Commission ask the Secretary-General to convene a consultative group composed of those States that had contributed in the preceding biennium to the trust fund for crime prevention and criminal justice.
MICHAEL PLATZER, of the Department of Development Support and Management Services, attested to increasing practical collaboration between the Division and his Department. He drew particular attention to their cooperation in the execution of projects to improve the administration of justice in Rwanda, reform the penitentiary system in Haiti and enhance law enforcement management systems in India.
He noted the Division's participation in such activities as meetings of the Group of Experts on Public Administration and Finance. The Group had recommended using alternative dispute-resolution techniques before resorting to the judicial system in disputes between citizens and public administration. It had further recommended that the judicial supervision of public administration be strengthened in order to address corruption, and that the efforts of governmental organizations and the media to inform citizens and promote their legal rights be supported.
He described also the Department's involvement in the area of post-conflict reconstruction, including the establishment of a support unit in Vienna, and focal points for Haiti, Rwanda, Angola, Palestine and Bosnia and
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Herzegovina. It hoped to incorporate the expertise of the Division in a joint programme for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Bosnia.
BENIAMINO CARAVITA DI TORITTO, of the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council, said that criminal law had an important role to play in the protection of the environment. He asked the Commission to assess the priority to be given to that topic, to convene a workshop to continue research on the subject and to reaffirm the importance of field activities in that area. The proposed establishment of an international court for environmental protection could be made within that context.
He noted that many international environmental treaties contained dispute settlement procedures. He questioned how well these procedures had served that purpose and if there was a possibility of unifying such procedures. In the last few years there had been a world trend to enact national laws to reflect commitments made at the international level. A study of how international laws were developed and applied at the national level could be the first step in the creation of an independent international forum for the implementation of environmental law.
TERHI VILJANEN, of the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, recalled that the Economic and Social Council had called for the establishment of a clearing-house for international projects in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, thereby inviting States, international organizations and other entities engaged in crime-control-related training and technical assistance projects in the European region to provide information for the Institute's database.
The purpose of the database was to collect, store and disseminate information in order to assist decision-makers in planning, targeting, monitoring and evaluating specific projects, she said. It did not overlap other databases, but rather complemented them, including the database set up by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).
The Institute had begun collection of data on projects on crime prevention and criminal justice in Europe and North America and information was being provided to governments and agencies upon request.
LARBA YARBA, Minister of Justice of Burkina Faso, said that in the area of criminal justice his Government complied with international rules and standards to which it had subscribed. However, with the economic crises facing the world, particularly the developing countries, economic crime had become increasingly alarming and considerable attention should be focused on crime prevention in that area.
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He emphasized the importance of united efforts to struggle against crime and corruption. However, the lack of financial resources limited the actions of some countries to fight that battle. The Division should endeavour to strengthen institutional capacities of law enforcement institutions at the national level.
Some observers might incorrectly interpret practices resulting from a lack of resources as a restriction on rights and freedoms, he said. For example, delays in court appearances and the detainment of youth in adult centres could often be due to a lack of adequate resources. In some countries the lack of financial resources limited actions to the extent of threatening to close institutions involved in the fight against crime. He proposed convening an informal group to address the mobilization of funds to assist Governments in this area.
JACQUES BAUDIN, Minister of Justice of Senegal, recalled that the 1994 Naples Conference had called on international community to assist developing countries and countries in transition in improving the capacities of their criminal justice systems to combat transnational organized crime. He drew attention to the establishment in Dakar last year of a regional UNDCP office which was working with his ministry on a new drug code. Noting the need to harmonize national laws with international efforts to combat transnational organized crime, he said Senegal would need expert assistance to enact the necessary instruments against money laundering and other illicit financial transactions.
He said, the adoption of principles was not enough; it was clearly necessary to give effect to them with practical programmes, which would require technical cooperation and assistance to implement. He supported the proposal to set up an informal working group of interested countries to provide strategic guidance and coordination in that regard. He stressed the importance of bilateral as well as multilateral cooperation. He proposed the elaboration of a draft regional convention aimed at harmonizing African legislation to combat transnational crime as well as all forms of corruption.
MINORU SHIKITA, Chairman of the Board of the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation, stressed that the collaboration of non-governmental partners -- including consultative organizations, the private sector, academia, the media and the arts -- could maximize the potential of global efforts against crime. As a tangible token of the contribution of the arts, the Foundation was donating to the United Nations the painting entitled "Sacred Birds Descending", by Japanese painter Sagenji Yoshida. It was based on an ancient Oriental tale which held that peace and justice would reign on earth once those birds descended from heaven.
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He said that the Foundation had been fortunate to be able to draw on the generosity of industry leaders who understood the relevance of crime prevention to their own concerns. That support had enabled it to continue funding training courses as well as the activities of its network of alumni, many of whom were in policy-making positions and were thus instrumental in disseminating and implementing United Nations norms and standards. The Foundation was also engaged in assessing the needs of countries of the region, and undertaking collaborative actions aimed at helping them develop practical arrangements for cooperation.
The Foundation's fourth world conference, held in Bangkok last November, had responded to the recommendations of the Ninth Congress by establishing working groups on criminal justice in environmental protection and on extradition, he said. It was also sponsoring action-oriented research, including pilot projects on urban community-based crime prevention and alternatives to imprisonment.
ALAIN BIANCHI, of the Police Technical Cooperation Division of the Ministry of the Interior of France, stressed his Government's commitment to assisting States in the development of modern, democratic police systems. Its training and technical assistance programmes in that field were available to any State which requested them, in the context of traditional bilateral relations. All areas were covered, including development of a code of conduct, basic training and training in such specialities as control of drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal immigration.
Historically, France's technical assistance efforts had been restricted to the African continent, he recalled, but it now extended to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and central and eastern Europe. It was also participating in multilateral programmes, including United Nations efforts to re-establish peace and order in El Salvador, Haiti and Cambodia. It was prepared to place experts at the disposal of the Division to assist in needs assessment.
CONSTANTIN VIRGIL IVAN (Romania) outlined several types of transnational crime that affected his country, including drug-related activities, car theft rings and trade in counterfeit foreign currency. Money laundering was a new problem in his country. Laws that ensured the confidentiality of banking operations allowed criminal groups to launder money, transfer money illegally across the border and to hide the proceeds of other illicit activities.
He called for the development of a regional data bank that would contain information regarding the extent of criminal activities in each country, methods of fighting them, and current and proposed legislation. Central and Eastern European countries should cooperate to detect organized crime gangs that operated in the region. Closer regional cooperation was needed,
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especially in information exchange regarding drug trafficking, money laundering and forgery, and networks that were smuggling illegal migrants.
Romania's lack of experience in combating organized crime could be overcome by improvement in the penal laws. He stressed the value of the workshops and symposia that had been provided to his country by the United Nations in that area.
JOSEPH A. ETIMA, Commissioner-General of Prisons of Uganda, drew attention to a resolution on technical cooperation and interregional advisory services in crime prevention and criminal justice that had been adopted last year by the Economic and Social Council. It stressed the importance of continuing to improve the operational activities of the United Nations crime control programme, particularly in developing countries and countries in transition. The Commission should provide guidance to the secretariat on how to implement that resolution.
In that connection, the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders was "riddled with poverty", he said. Since Africa was overwhelmed by crime, it would be disastrous to leave that Institute to die. International aid in the field of criminal justice had eventually improved governance and democracy in Uganda as well as other developing countries.
He stressed the need for resources and increased technical assistance to assist his country in meeting its obligations under international commitments, including the provision of basic equipment for the police, judiciary and correctional services and for legislative reform.
MULADI (Indonesia) said the United Nations crime control programme should become more responsive to, and better equipped to meet, the needs of States. He hoped the secretariat would continue to organize a fellowship programme for developing-country personnel in various areas of crime prevention and law enforcement, including the fight against organized crime. The 1996-1997 cycle of fellowships should be expanded to include the study of first-hand experience in the institutions of various countries.
He urged Member States to establish a network of bilateral and multilateral agreements on mutual assistance, extradition and cooperation to prevent money laundering and control the proceeds of crime. United Nations model treaties could help States to bridge gaps in their legislation. The Secretary-General should extend the time for responses to his request for information for a database on technical assistance and the needs of States.
He said the Division should give particular emphasis to the provision of advice in the drafting and application of criminal law aimed at the protection
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of the environment. Furthermore, not only criminal law, but also civil and administrative law, should be invoked in that regard. Alternative dispute resolution could be introduced as an important complementary arrangement in environmental matters.
L.C. AMARNATHAN (India) recalled the high priority accorded by the General Assembly to technical cooperation and advisory services in the criminal justice field and the importance of continuing to improve the capacity of the United Nations crime programme to provide such services.
The creation of the Internet had assisted the breakdown of geographical boundaries and allowed for a cost effective method for information exchange thereby bridging the information gap encountered by many countries, he said. Databases should be created on crime statistics, United Nations crime surveys, criminal justice standards and international declarations. An electronic "bulletin board" could save costs for the Commission.
As part of India's contribution to technical cooperation, it was extending assistance to African countries in the area of training of criminal justice personnel.
DENYSE DUFRESNE (Canada) said it was essential to find the necessary practical and financial means to enable the United Nations crime prevention programme to assist developing countries. Steps must be taken to ensure that the expertise of donor countries was matched with the needs of receiving countries. It was essential that the parameters of the justice systems of receiving countries be taken into account.
Recalling the success of manuals produced in Canada and published by the United Nations on domestic violence and on computer crime, she said her Government was cooperating with several others on technical assistance in criminal justice. Projects initiated by States and disseminated by the United Nations benefited a large number of countries while saving costs.
She urged the international community to strive for a coordination of bilateral assistance, to avoid overlaps and duplication of efforts. There was also a need for greater cooperation within the United Nations system. This Commission should undertake joint programmes with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women.
ABBAS-ALI RAHIMI-ISFAHANI, Director-General of the Bureau of Crime Prevention of Iran, said his country had traditionally imposed strict legal measures concerning possession, carrying and illicit trafficking of arms. However, those efforts had been interrupted by the eight-year war imposed by Iraq. Surveys had shown that the main routes the entry for illegal arms into
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Iran were the eastern and western border provinces. This year, his Government had declared a general amnesty for six months to allow illegal weapons to be returned in; this had reduced significantly the incidence of violent crime.
Without the provision of legal, financial and technical assistance to countries in need, and without bilateral and regional cooperation, the international community could not achieve its goals in the area of firearms control, he said. Furthermore, without controlling the primary sources of firearms production, and setting strict rules, transnational criminal groups could not be prevented from possessing firearms. Not only smugglers, but producers and profiteers, must be held in check.
There was a need for well-organized, institutionalized measures, including mass media public awareness campaigns, international exchanges of information, restriction of violent entertainment and strict regulation of the issuance of gun permits and licenses, he said. The Commission had a vital role to play in coordinating national efforts and preparing the groundwork for a comprehensive declaration on firearms control.
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