COMMISSION ON CRIME PREVENTION, CRIMINAL JUSTICE, TO MEET AT VIENNA, 21-30 APRIL
Press Release
SOC/CP/204
COMMISSION ON CRIME PREVENTION, CRIMINAL JUSTICE, TO MEET AT VIENNA, 21-30 APRIL
19980420 Will Consider Key Elements for Proposed Convention On Cooperation against Transnational Organized Crime(Reissued as received.)
VIENNA, 17 April (UN Information Service) -- United Nations Member States are to begin detailed discussions on key elements of a new international treaty that would strengthen global cooperation against transnational organized crime, as the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice meets in Vienna for its seventh session from 21 to 30 April.
Recent United Nations research has confirmed that transnational organized crime, the designated special theme of the current session, is on the rise in many countries of the world. It is becoming more and more diversified and operates through global networks. Criminals have exploited the opportunities provided by the globalization of the world economy, the declining importance of national borders and the increased movement of people and goods. Groups from very different regions have established alliances to exploit the weaknesses in law-enforcement structures and to penetrate legitimate businesses, in search of high profits and political influence. They engage in trafficking in human beings and in diverse commodities, including arms, drugs, industrial and military secrets, and counterfeit currency.
Criminal organizations are well-financed and structured and prone to use violence to intimidate or silence competitors and opponents. They are major forces in the destabilization of governments through corruption and violence. Developing countries and emerging democracies are most vulnerable to their operations, as their weak institutions limit their ability to mount an adequate response.
It is to address this challenge posed by transnational organized crime that Member States, through the General Assembly, mandated the 40-member Commission -- the United Nations main policy-making body on crime-related issues -- to elaborate an international convention against organized crime. The current session of the Commission is expected to review a set of options for provisions of such a convention, as prepared by an intergovernmental panel of experts.
Fighting corruption and bribery will also be one of the key topics of discussion for the Commission. Delegates are expected to review national and international action taken against corruption and bribery, especially with the view of promoting the implementation of the provisions of two already existing international instruments on the subject: the United Nations Declaration against Corruption and Bribery in International Commercial Transactions; and the International Code of Conduct for Public Officials.
Since 1955, the United Nations has been organizing international congresses on crime prevention and the treatment of offenders every five years. The tenth such congress is scheduled for the year 2000. The current session of the Commission is expected to further the preparatory work for the tenth congress, including consideration of its dates and duration, documentation and venue.
In line with the mandate given by the Economic and Social Council in 1992, which called for more technical assistance activities, the Commission will review the technical cooperation projects and advisory services work of the Vienna-based Centre for International Crime Prevention and will also look at the planned future activities of the Centre.
The protection of victims of crime and abuse of power will also be among the key agenda items of this year's session, as the Centre will submit to the Commission two manuals -- a set of guidelines for policy makers, and a handbook for practitioners. These are expected to promote national implementation of the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, adopted in 1985 by the General Assembly.
Other agenda items include: the continuing work on the collection and analysis of data to promote the establishment of an international regulatory framework for the use of civilian-owned firearms; issues relating to the administration of juvenile justice; and discussions on the future work of the Commission.
The Commission will also consider the latest development in the reforms introduced by the Centre's new Executive Director, Under-Secretary-General Pino Arlacchi, to respond better to the growing expectations of the international community in the area of crime prevention and criminal justice.
Transnational Organized Crime
A high point of the international fight against transnational organized crime was the approval by the General Assembly in 1994 of the Naples Political Declaration and Global Action Plan against Organized Transnational Crime, which was adopted at the World Ministerial Conference on Organized Transnational Crime. Building on the favourable political environment and the cooperative framework created by the Declaration, and drawing on the
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initiative of the Government of Poland to submit a first draft, the Assembly in 1996 called on the Commission to consider, as a priority item, the question of elaborating an international convention against organized crime.
As a follow-up to the Naples Political Declaration, the Centre organized three regional ministerial-level meetings -- in Buenos Aires (November 1995), Dakar (July 1997) and Manila (March 1998). The recommendations of those meetings provided a significant boost to the international efforts towards the elaboration of a convention and more concerted action against organized crime. In December 1997, the General Assembly established an inter-sessional open-ended intergovernmental group of experts of the Commission to come up with a preliminary draft of a possible comprehensive convention.
The expert group met in early February in Warsaw and came up with a set of options that will be one of the main documents to be reviewed by the Commission. It is expected to be the basis of a detailed discussion on the key elements to be contained in the proposed international treaty on organized crime.
While there is an overall consensus on the need for such a convention and also on some of the main elements to be included, considerable work remains to be done to reach agreement on how to reflect in concrete provisions the broad elements of consensus, especially as regards the definition of organized crime and in defining the concrete forms of criminal activity and types of criminal organizations. Member States tend to agree that the convention should include practical measures of international cooperation, be a capacity-building instrument for States, promote preventive action and allow for the confiscation of illicitly acquired assets.
Corruption
An analysis of information provided by Member States on their experiences in taking action at the national level against corruption and bribery, to be reviewed by the Commission, is expected to serve as a basis for promoting more effective action on both the national and international levels, especially as regards the implementation of the United Nations Declaration against Corruption and Bribery in International Commercial Transactions and the International Code of Conduct for Public Officials, both of which were adopted by the General Assembly in 1996.
The analysis, drawing some preliminary conclusions from the responses provided by Member States, demonstrates the complexity of corruption. Efforts to combat it require an integrated approach composed of different but equally relevant elements, including promotion of good governance and democracy, economic reform, awakening of civil society and strengthened and coordinated international cooperation.
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The document goes on to point out that there is an increasing awareness by governments of the need to instil and nurture, through administrative and legislative initiatives, a culture of legality, accountability and transparency. Corruption and bribery therefore has become a top priority. There is also a shared understanding that action against corruption can be effective only when there is a concrete and continuous synergy between all actors involved at both the national and international levels.
Tenth Crime Congress
As part of its established practice since 1955 of holding a quinquennial review of international crime related trends, the United Nations will hold its tenth congress on the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders in the year 2000. The current session of the Commission is expected to finalize the organizational and substantive details of the congress, including its dates and duration and also its venue. South Africa and Austria have both publicly announced their readiness to host the meeting.
While the congresses of the past usually served as venues for reviewing ongoing and expected future crime trends, discussing global crime-related developments, exchanging experiences and promoting international cooperation, the current congress is expected to focus on a limited number of precisely defined substantive topics reflecting the urgent needs of the world community. It will include practical technical workshops on issues relating to the substantive agenda items.
The key topics of the agenda are expected to be: promoting the rule of law and strengthening the criminal justice system; international cooperation in combating transnational crime: new challenges in the twenty-first century; effective crime prevention: keeping pace with new developments; and offenders and victims: accountability and fairness in the justice process. The issues to be covered by the workshops are: combating corruption; crime relating to the computer networks; community involvement in crime prevention; and women in the criminal justice system.
Technical Assistance
The recognition of the crucial role of technical cooperation in making the Centre operational and able to respond to the needs particularly of developing countries and those with economies in transition prompted the Economic and Social Council in 1992 to include the topic as a regular agenda item.
The current session is expected to review the Centre's activities relating to technical assistance during 1997, and also how to implement the new priorities established for the Centre. In this regard, six specific suggestions have been made in the Secretary-General's report on the topic
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submitted to the current session. Those proposals aim at strengthening the technical cooperation programme of the Centre.
While in 1996 the only major technical cooperation field projects were in Bosnia and Herzegovina, during 1997 the Centre also had projects in Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, South Africa and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In an effort to provide practical long-term assistance, field offices are to be opened in Lebanon, Romania and South Africa.
Victim Protection
Apart from concentrating on criminal acts and the treatment of offenders, the United Nations crime-related efforts have also looked at the need for dealing with the concerns of victims of crime and abuse of power. As a result of those efforts, the General Assembly in 1985 adopted the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. Since then, the Centre and the Commission have been looking at ways to promote the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration and to make effective use of the agreed principles on the treatment of crime victims.
During the current session, the Centre will submit to the Commission the finalized texts of a manual which contains guidelines for policy makers on implementing the provisions of the Declaration in legislation at the national level. Participants will also have before them the final text of a handbook which is to serve as a resource tool to aid practitioners implementing the principles of the Declaration. Both texts have been finalized by the Centre after taking into consideration the observations of various Member States and individual experts.
Background on Commission
The 40-member Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was established by the Economic and Social Council in 1992. It develops and reviews the United Nations programme on crime prevention and mobilizes support for it among Member States. The Centre for International Crime Prevention acts as the secretariat of the Commission.
Membership
For its upcoming session, the 40 members of the Commission are: Argentina, Austria, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, France, Gambia, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, United States and Zambia.
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