PRESS CONFERENCE BY POLAND
Press Briefing
PRESS CONFERENCE BY POLAND
19961014
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Poland's Secretary of State and First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eugeniusz Wyzner, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon that his country's initiative on transnational organized crime had received unanimous approval from practically all regions of the world. Mr. Wyzner said that the Ukraine, Malta and other countries, including the permanent members of the Security Council, had supported the initiative in informal debates. However, since those debates were not official, he could not enumerate all the countries who had spoken in support of the proposal.
The initiative, Mr. Wyzner explained, calls for a convention aimed at creating a single, global instrument for combatting international organized crime. The framework convention would establish solid forms of cooperation and coordination of activities of States. It would also provide legal assistance along with reliable reporting and monitoring tools.
In response to a correspondent's question concerning State sovereignty in any proposed legal instrument, Mr. Wyzner said that, as in all international treaties, there was an obligation for States to relinquish part of their sovereignty in the area under consideration. Otherwise, there would be no international law. Any treaty dealing with transnational organized crime would involve the same obligations from States, because it would be in their own interest to do so.
How would Poland go about realizing admittance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) without aggravating the Kremlin? a correspondent asked. Mr. Wyzner replied that there was no contradiction between the interests of Russia and his country's desire to join NATO and Russia should not feel threatened. In fact, Poland had developed very good political, economic and cultural relations with Russia.
Was he familiar with proposals on subjects related to international organized crime, such as the United States proposal concerning international terrorism? a correspondent asked. Mr. Wyzner replied that while such proposals were complementary, there were no other proposals on the complete question of transnational organized crime. It was Poland's original initiative.
Asked if the initiative would consider criminal acts by Governments, Mr. Wyzner replied that the convention would consider primarily organized crime, not crimes perpetrated by Governments. In a response to a follow-up question
regarding "white slavery" -- the practice of selling women and children -- Mr. Wyzner said that the initiative would consider that particular issue.
Was there a Polish candidate for Secretary-General? a correspondent asked. Mr. Wyzner replied that it was too early to envision a Polish candidacy.
How long would it take to bring the initiative into action? a correspondent asked. Mr. Wyzner replied that, while it took nearly a quarter century to have a convention on the law of the sea, he hoped for faster progress on the transnational organized crime initiative. The process required patience.
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