FIGHT AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME REQUIRES COMBINED EFFORTS OF STATES, RUSSIAN FEDERATION TELLS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Press Release
SOC/4441
FIGHT AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME REQUIRES COMBINED EFFORTS OF STATES, RUSSIAN FEDERATION TELLS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
19980218 The fight against crime, and against organized crime in particular, required the combined efforts of States if it was to be successful, the representative of the Russian Federation said this afternoon, as the Commission on Social Development concluded its consideration of the social implications of violence and illicit drugs.Russian society was suffering greatly from crime and its social consequences, he said. The criminalization of the society was destroying industry and frightening investors. In addressing the problem, the Russian Federation had already reached a number of bilateral and multilateral agreements to fight transboundary crime.
The representative of Iran said the existence of transnational criminal groups represented one of the international community's most complicated problems. He stressed the need to curb the drug trade, including the recent trend to market and advertise illicit drugs through such global technologies as the Internet.
Increased urbanization, consumerism and poverty were cited as social trends which contributed to the rise of crime by the representative of the Philippines. A representative of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said that lessons could be learned from the current financial crisis in Asia and stressed that countries must anticipate emerging trends that could worsen social instability.
Also this afternoon, the Commission heard from a number of non- governmental organizations (NGOs). Among them, a representative of the National Youth Council of Luxembourg said the legalization of certain "soft drugs" could disrupt black markets and prevent individuals from spiralling into decline. The useful example of the Netherlands in drug legalization should be considered as the beginning of a solution, he said.
At the outset of the meeting, the Commission held a dialogue with a number of NGOs. Issues raised included the importance of protecting the rights of migrants, as well as the need to further consider the particular questions of urban and rural poverty.
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Statements were also made by the representatives of Jamaica, India, Mexico, Nepal, Argentina, and Chile (also for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), as well as by a representative of the Untied Nations Division for Social Policy and Development.
Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations also spoke: Rotary International, Caritas Internationalis, the Norwegian Federation of Organizations of Disabled People, the International Council on Social Welfare, Environment and Development in the Third World, the World Movement of Mothers, the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies and United Families International.
The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 19 February, to hear the introduction of draft decisions.
Commission Work Programme
The Commission for Social Development met this afternoon to hold a dialogue with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The NGO segment of its session forms part of the Commission's effort to enrich the debate on social development by including civil society organizations, social development experts and other relevant partners in its work.
Also this afternoon, the Commission was scheduled to continue discussing the topic of enhancing social protection, reducing vulnerability and enhancing employment opportunities for groups with specific needs. It was also to discuss the issues of violence, crime and the problem of illicit drugs and substance abuse as factors in social disintegration.
The Commission is continuing its review of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995). (For background information, see Press Release SOC/4430 of 9 February.)
NGO Segment
DONALD TREIMANN, of Rotary International, said that within a few years, 60 per cent of the world's population would live in cities. Social development in urban areas was now a priority. While cities provided employment opportunities, they were also centres of poverty, social discrimination and vulnerability. For that reason, Rotary International was focusing on urban peace and on preventing drug and alcohol abuse. Civil society, NGOs and the private sector must work together to play a significant role in social development.
ALBERT GYAN, of Caritas Internationalis, speaking for an ecumenical delegation, said that never before had societies been so culturally homogenized yet so fragmented. There was a global pattern of targeting foreigners as scapegoats for the negative repercussions of economic policies. He called on Member States to implement policies to promote the harmonious co-existence of migrants in their new communities. All parties must develop innovative alternatives for resolving social predicaments. "Hyper- individualism" and exclusion must be challenged, he said.
ELLA GHOSH, of the Norwegian Federation of Organizations of Disabled People, stressed the importance of making the Commission's conclusions accessible to vulnerable groups. National and international documents must be simplified and disseminated, so that vulnerable groups would be made aware of their basic rights. Within the United Nations system, there was a need for continued efforts to implement the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. The Secretariat's Disability Unit must be given the resources and personnel it needed to fulfil its mission.
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DIRIK JARRE, speaking on behalf of the International Council on Social Welfare and the German Forum of NGOs for Follow-up to the Social Summit, said that the "20/20 initiative" offered a realistic strategy to combat poverty. By that initiative, 20 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) from developed countries and 20 per cent of developing countries' public expenditure would be invested in making basic social services available to all. New forms of cooperation between all social actors was needed to reduce vulnerability. There should be improved coordination between international and national donors.
TAUFIK BEN-ABDALLAH, of Environment and Development in the Third World, discussed social protection in Africa in the context of that continent's impoverishment. Vulnerable populations were increasing, largely due to economic policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Poverty alleviation must become the guiding principle of any policy for economic growth. Debt reduction was needed, along with policies focused on the social sector.
JOHN LANGMORE, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, said the Disability Unit was understaffed, as was the entire Division. So long as some countries did not pay their dues, the United Nations priority issues would receive inadequate attention. It was hoped that the enlargement of the Division to include persons involved in research and technical assistance would lead to strengthened capacities.
AURELIO FERNANDEZ (Spain), Chairman of the Commission, said that not enough had been said about the contrasts and similarities between rural and urban poverty during the session to date. Another topic that merited greater consideration was the problems faced by migrants.
The representative of Jamaica agreed on the need for more in-depth analysis regarding the urban poor, which was a problem of great relevance to her country.
The representative of India said that in some countries, the worst poverty was in rural areas. India had traditionally targeted its efforts to the rural poor. With modernization and migration, problems of urban poverty were coming to the fore.
The representative of the Philippines said that women were the most vulnerable migrant workers. The international community must develop cohesive multilateral strategies to protect them. She called on NGOs to help convince governments of the importance of that effort.
The representative of Mexico stressed the importance of fulfilling the agreements reached at Copenhagen. Towards that end, she suggested that the working group on protecting migrants should be enlarged.
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Mr. BEN-ABDALLAH said that urban areas were often not equipped to handle the influx of migrants. Prohibitive costs prevented the overwhelming majority of people from accessing minimal social services. In many countries, decentralization had changed the roles of States and local organizations, resulting in a situation in which social responsibilities were undefined.
Mr. JARRE said the Commission's meetings were prepared in part as a result of expert meetings on specific issues. Opening those meetings to NGO participation would enrich that preparatory work.
Mr. LANGMORE said that members of NGOs had participated formally and as observers at those expert group meetings.
Mr. GYAN said that NGOs were often viewed as promoting idealistic objectives. He stressed that the agreements reached at Copenhagen indicated the need for specific measures to address the problems faced by migrants.
Statements
LINGLINGAY LACANLALE (Philippines) said the "Social Reform Agenda" was the blueprint of his country's social programmes and included policy measures to address the needs of vulnerable groups. In the case of women, the Government was vigorously implementing the law prohibiting discrimination in employment, promotion and training. The positive results achieved could be seen in the increased share of women in the total labour force -- from 37 per cent in 1990 to 49 per cent in 1996. In addition, a skills development agency of the Government was providing training for women in all industrial areas traditionally dominated by men.
The problems of violence and crime were rooted in poverty, unequal distribution of income and opportunities, and social marginalization, she said. In the Asian Pacific region, increasing urbanization, consumerism, and poverty amidst affluence, were major factors contributing to rising crime. Her country was increasingly confronted with crimes involving young delinquents and offenders, violence against women and children, and trafficking in human beings. Social services to victims had been increased to address those problems. There were efforts under way to adopt a law against domestic violence, and a law had been passed to protect children from abuse, neglect and exploitation.
ESMAEIL AFSHARI (Iran) said that drug-related behaviours threatened all societies. The existence of transnational criminal groups represented one of the international community's most complicated problems. As a result of its geographical position between the drug producers of the east and the consumer markets in Europe, Iran was seriously affected by drug trafficking activities. Its Government had maintained full-fledged activities to attack all aspects of the drug problem in the country and had invested huge human and financial
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resources to block the influx of drugs. Efforts to curb demand of drugs include preventive treatments and the rehabilitation and social reintegration of former addicts.
A key problem with relation to the drug trade was the recent trend to market and advertise illicit drugs through such global technologies as the Internet, he said. Despite that development, the Government had succeeded in reducing the supply of drugs coming from the country. In the past, Iran was considered a traditional supplier of opiates. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, however, poppy cultivation had been totally prohibited and had been curbed significantly. Iran had also recognized the importance of multilateral cooperation in combating drug problems, concluding several bilateral and multilateral agreements on cooperation in law enforcement.
V.A. TSEPOV (Russian Federation) said that violence and crime lay at the basis of many social ills. Russian society was suffering greatly from crime and its social consequences. The criminalization of the society was destroying industry and frightening investors. It was causing a whole range of problems requiring mobilization of all the forces of the State and society to combat them. Organized crime was a particular problem. Countering such organized forces produced results only when actions were coordinated among countries. The Russian Federation favoured the creation of an international basis to fight organized crime and had already reached a number of bilateral and multilateral agreements to fight transboundary crime.
The danger of drugs was a serious problem in his country and would accompany society into the third millennium, he said. The solution required more than just legal means; it also calls for health-care measures and other social programmes. In Russia, the anti-drug realm was an important area of social policy. A special government commission was created to fight the abuse of narcotics, and in April last year a special conference was held in Moscow to look for ways to combat the drug threat. The United Nations bodies dealing with drug issues, the Commission on Social Development, and the Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention should increase cooperation among themselves to act in a coordinated manner to overcome the danger of drugs and their economic consequences.
PARAS GHIMIRE (Nepal) said that ensuring the full participation of all groups in society reduced their susceptibility to crime and substance abuse. Resources must be invested in education and training, to empower people to participate in social and community affairs. Political empowerment was an integral part of participatory development. Governments should promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. States should encourage the private sector to participate in the achievement of national objectives. Civil society, too, was indispensable for reducing vulnerabilities.
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The international community was today facing problems that emanated from failures in social development, he said. Those included rampant poverty and massive unemployment. Development should lead to job growth and poverty alleviation. The social and economic progress of all nations was retarded by violence, crime and the deadly effects of substance abuse. Crime and violence were bred in conditions of poverty and bolstered by ignorance and illiteracy. Coordinated international measures were needed to address those issues holistically. People must be treated as resources rather than problems.
MARIANO SIMON-PADROS (Argentina) said that while implementing policies for economic transformation and State reform, his country had also been establishing social structures. Argentina was implementing programmes to address the needs of vulnerable groups. It was acting to ensure the protection of rights and equality of opportunities. The State had undertaken a national plan for the elderly, with activities ranging from food provision to education. Special projects had been designed to cover workers who faced vulnerability and instability, such as youth, women and disabled persons.
Since 1994, coordinated activities had been carried out by various institutions and ministries to coordinate programmes with the aim of creating a system in which labour training was a key element for the inclusion of disabled persons, he said. At the provincial level, laws had been passed to implement those policies. Several programmes had been undertaken regarding children. Recognizing that protection of the vulnerable should not be relegated solely to governmental actors, civil society had been strengthened. The State was striving to combine economic growth with social equity.
REINALDO RUIZ (Chile), speaking also on behalf of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, said there was a strong tendency among nations to promote the free exchange of goods and services and to allow for open and liberalized trade. Although that trend was important for economic interests, it did not always improve the social situation of some groups. In 1997, a regional conference was held to address the issues of development and social integration. One result of it was the establishment of a working group to consider the issues of participation and social integration. That working group was scheduled to hold six meetings in 1998 on such topics as children and adolescents, rural communities, participation, and the experiences of the elderly. The working group would further help the region move forward in realizing the goals of the Social Summit.
LIM KIM LAN, of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said there were lessons to be learned from the current financial crisis in Asia. The affected countries needed to be monitored to assess the impact of the crisis on their populations at large and especially on various social groups. The international community should ensure that social development and integration goals in those countries were not adversely affected by the situation. The immediate concern was the critical need to
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generate adequate social protection and social safety nets to safeguard the livelihood of the poor, even as economic measures were being planned to address the crisis. The ESCAP would hold a panel discussion on the social impact of the financial crisis at its annual session in April 1998.
The needed for support, especially for dependent and vulnerable groups, would continue to expand for nations around the world, she said. Countries needed to keep a constant vigil, to anticipate emerging issues which might compound social exclusion and instability. Attention should be accorded to such newly excluded groups as the urban poor, undocumented migrants, migrant workers and victims of HIV/AIDS. Creating an adequate social safety net for those unable to help themselves represented a continuing challenge. Policies and programmes addressing those needs should guard against creating further divisions or widening the poverty gap. The challenge was to maintain domestic political stability and to balance competing demands and aspirations of various groups.
RICHARD WILKINS spoke on behalf of the World Movement of Mothers, the David M. Kennedy Centre for International Studies, and United Families International. He said that, while most major United Nations documents concerning social development had reaffirmed the importance of families, they were virtually ignored at the policy level. Families played a central role in cushioning the effects of social vulnerability. Government at all levels, including the United Nations, must foster families with committed marriages that transmitted cultural values and emphasized mutual responsibilities. Such family units were not an unrealistic ideal, but could exist even in the midst of abject poverty.
Not enough energy had gone into developing policies to strengthen the family, he said. In his report on reducing vulnerability, the Secretary- General had called for strengthening networks and community organizations. The family was the most obvious of those networks. Programmes which enabled parents and grandparents to work together to improve the condition of the young would be more successful than other approaches. The best way to strengthen society was to improve its families.
JEAN-LUC FRAST, of the National Youth Council of Luxembourg, said that, although drugs led to social disintegration, every individual must be included in society. Drug taking was a manifestation of the desire to escape an unsurmountable present. The legalization of certain "soft" drugs could lead to control of the market and disrupt black markets. Legalizing certain drugs could prevent individuals from spiralling into decline. The Netherlands provided a useful example in drug legalization. While one example was of course not entirely convincing, it should be considered as the beginning of a solution.
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