THIRD COMMITTEE MEMBERS COMENT ON EFFORTS AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME AND ON THE DEATH PENALTY

Press Release
GA/SHC/3530

THIRD COMMITTEE MEMBERS COMENT ON EFFORTS AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME AND ON THE DEATH PENALTY

“The purpose of the death penalty is to protect the right of people to live,” the representative of Rwanda told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning, further explaining that it made sense because it was harsh enough to deter potential criminals. The Committee continued its discussions on issues related to crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.

After 25 April 1998 when 22 genocide master-minders had been executed, the representative of Rwanda continued, detainees had an opportunity to think about their crimes and had volunteered to resort to the plea bargaining mechanism enshrined in the organic law on the categorization of genocide crime.

The representative of Indonesia said the position of each country in regard to the death penalty needed to be respected because the existing conditions of each country were different.

Speaking about organized crime, the representative of Canada, also speaking on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, called for more decision-making processes and business transactions to be transparent and open to scrutiny if governments and economic structures were to work for citizens.

The representative of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia said the political instability of the region, the worsened economic situation and the negative impact of recent developments in Kosovo had helped in the expansion of criminal underground activities in the region. The representative of Belarus, speaking also on behalf of the Commonwealth of Independent Countries (CIS), said those countries had made many regional agreements to form a reliable basis for combating organized crime in their region. In addition, legislation was being implemented in all CIS countries to reinforce cooperation.

Statements were also made by the representatives of the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Cuba, Uganda, Myanmar, Morocco, Ghana, Lebanon and Venezuela.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m., 19 October, to continue considering issues related to crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), met this morning to continue considering questions related to crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control. (For background information, see press release GA/SCH/3527 of 15 October.)

Statements

NADEZDA HOLIKOVA (Czech Republic) said primary responsibility for combating drug abuse lay with individual national governments. However, many countries faced with political, social or economic instability were in a situation requiring resources to be provided on other urgent issues. More effective international cooperation was needed to combat drug abuse; that included providing technical assistance to affected countries. It was encouraging that both the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and other United Nations bodies were involved in combating drug abuse. Coordination was essential and information links should be improved to avoid overlap and duplication of activities.

Her country was a member of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, she said. The Commission should actively contribute to implementing overall anti-drug strategies. Transnational organized crime was not limited to drug trafficking; it also involved corruption, prostitution, arms smuggling and trafficking in human beings. The draft Convention on transnational organized crime would be an important tool to strengthen cooperation between countries.

ALYAKSANDR SYCHOV (Belarus), speaking also on behalf of the Commonwealth of Independent Countries (CIS), said global criminal activities required international attention. The CIS countries were looking forward to assistance from the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Protection in combating transnational organized crime, such as the illegal trafficking of firearms and in reform of the penitentiary system. The proposed convention on transnational organized crime would be an important tool in fighting those crimes.

Actions at the regional level were critical, he said. The CIS countries had taken many steps and had made regional agreements to establish a reliable basis for combating organized crime in their region. Meetings took place at the ministerial level. Legislation was being implemented in all CIS countries to reinforce cooperation and multilateral legislative systems were being formed in the CIS countries. For example, new legislation would allow that criminals could serve sentences in countries other than the one where the crime had been committed. Cooperation between law enforcement agencies was being improved and joint training programmes were being set up.

The CIS wanted to stress that they were working constantly to battle crime, he said. They were successful. The international community, however, had to help.

DEMETRIS HADJIARGYROU (Cyprus) said his country had evolved into one of the major offshore financial centres in its region. For that reason it was particularly vulnerable to the possibility of being used by transnational organized crime groups for moneylaundering purposes. His Government had taken extensive measures to respond effectively to that threat. The centerpiece of those efforts was the draconian 1996 law on the prevention and suppression of moneylaundering, along with the establishment of the Unit for Combating Moneylaundering.

The efforts of the international community in regard to drug control would not lead to the desired results unless the root causes of the problem were addressed, he continued. Poverty and socio-economic imbalances, unemployment, the lack of opportunities in education and the alienation so often prevalent in urban society, needed to be urgently addressed. Effective action to reduce consumption of drugs must be combined with efforts at national and international levels to reduce the production of crops.

LUIS ABLERTO AMOROS NUNEZ (Cuba) said the fact that the most powerful Mafioso organization made 1.5 million dollars clearly demonstrated that those were the main beneficiaries of globalization. No country was able to confront alone, even if it had great economic power, the increase of international crime.

Respect for national legislation was essential for any international cooperation -- bilateral or multilateral -- to be effective, he said. Each country needed to exchange information and coordinate actions in order to combat international crime. The latter was more than an option, it was a necessity. He regretted the absence of political will from some countries to cooperate with others in the fight against crime and drug traffic. Unilateral actions in the fight against those ills were condemned to failure. Rather than helping the problem such actions made it more serious. Cooperation needed to be enhanced.

CATHERINE OTITI (Uganda) said, that criminals should not be excused for crimes committed. The machinery to deal with criminals should be ready at all times, just as criminals were ready to do their work. It was encouraging that technical assistance from the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention was being shifted to focus on developing countries, those with economies in transition and subregional efforts. The United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI) had done good work with meager resources. It could use more collaborative help from that office.

As crimes increased and criminals continued, there was no room for inaction, she said. Her Government had taken many actions to control the problem, such as those of its Judicial Commission of Enquire into Corruption in the Police Force, chaired by a woman judge. Criminals had to be stopped. To do so effectively, implementation of the law should be streamlined and those who implemented it held accountable so that they did not serve as a conduit for criminals and in that way become criminals themselves.

U WIN MRA (Myanmar) said the drug menace was one of the most difficult problems of the time. It was a global problem that needed global solutions, similar to problems of environmental degradation. His country had made relentless efforts to combat the problem of narcotic drugs. It had been a national task as well as a top priority. But in the past, the Government had no control over the border areas where the poppy was grown. It was a pernicious legacy of a colonial past. The Government had focused on law enforcement. Many steps had been taken and the Government had drawn up a 15-year master plan to eradicate narcotic drugs in cooperation with ethnic leaders.

However, he said, now there had come a brand new challenge posing a threat to Myanmar and the region. That was the illicit manufacture, traffic and abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants and their precursor chemicals. Those stimulants were spreading quickly among the youths of the region. They drugs were being produced along the porous borders of Myanmar, with precursors and drug-making equipment smuggled from neighboring countries. The Government was redirecting efforts to address that problem as a matter of top priority. National efforts were paramount in fighting narcotic drugs, he said and regional and global cooperation were essential in joint efforts to deal with the problem.

SADEWO JOEDO (Indonesia) said the growth rate of the traffic and consumption abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) was phenomenal. Its abuse had already reached tragic levels, especially among the youth including children. The Narcotics Coordinating Agency had been established to combat such drugs, locally referred as “shabu”. That Agency would help in the implementation of policies at the national and local levels. Also, it would assist in developing a more focussed strategy to address that problem. His Government was also undertaking an information campaign against drugs.

His country had become a transit area in the trafficking of drugs. The economic and financial crisis which had suddenly driven many into unemployment had had an accelerating effect on the drug problem. In regard to the death penalty, the position of each country needed to be respected because the existing conditions of each was different.

JOHN von KAUFMANN (Canada) also speaking on behalf of Australia and New Zealand (CANZ Group), said a more open and integrated international system had increased opportunities for criminals. “We are seeing a growth in such crimes as the trafficking of people, especially women and children and the smuggling of migrants”, he said. Equally disturbing was the use of new technologies for criminal purposes. Since the problem of criminal justice and crime prevention were now matters of international concern, multilateral agreements were essential. Organized crime did not respect jurisdictional boundaries and it gravitated to countries where it was easiest for criminals to operate.

Decision-making processes and business transactions must be transparent and open to scrutiny if Governments and economic structures were to work for citizens, he said. “It is encouraging that there is a greater understanding of the social and economic costs of corruption, more willingness to discuss it, and more interest in the development of international instruments to combat corruption”, he added. Corruption lowered economic growth and could lead to poverty over time.

KARIM MEDREK (Morocco) said drugs and crime were two big scourges of the modern day. Many societies were threatened by the increase in crime, which was changing in degree as well as in kind. Criminal organizations were getting larger and the international community had to change its strategies. He supported the forming of an intergovernmental group of experts to draft the proposed convention on organized crime. Combatting crime was a duty to future generations.

In the world economy of today, organized crime gained much from the drug trade, he said. Morocco, like other countries, was aware of the economic and social costs of drugs. It had taken many steps to counter those scourges, as was manifest in its legal system: in 1977, for example, Morocco had established a national commission on narcotic drugs. It was taking steps towards sustainable development in the north of the country. It had established a superb security system, complete with aerial and water-control measures and the latest technology. Yet even so, it was obvious international cooperation had to be strengthened both bilaterally and multilaterally.

At present, he said, it seemed like a dream to think the two scourges could be controlled. But it was better to work in line with that dream than to accept the nightmare of crime and violence that now existed.

BEATRICE ROSA BROBBEY (Ghana) said the fight against drugs was a common and shared responsibility because all countries were affected. However, the ever-increasing demand for drugs in developed countries, in an environment where trade had become globalized and information easily available through the Internet, was putting unsustainable pressure on the resources of developing countries who were called upon to help fight illegal drug trafficking. All States should commit themselves fully to implementing the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction. Ghana had been active in sub-regional cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States.

The drug issue was seriously complicating the struggle against poverty, she said. There was a linkage between drug demand, supply and poverty. In parts of the world where people were poor, they were easily tempted into growing illicit crops and acting as couriers for drug barons. Equitable prices and market access to Third World commodities and manufactured products would go a long way to curb illicit crop production, which had become a secondary source of income-generation in her part of the world. It was essential to shrink demand, introduce alternative crops and strengthen international efforts to implement anti-poverty strategies in order to beat the menace of illicit drugs.

PIERRE-EMMANUEL UBALIJORO (Rwanda) said despite the recognition that the crime of genocide was prohibited by international law, genocidal events continued to be committed throughout the world “and before the passive eyes of the international community”. The universal failure to take effective action against genocide had made a mockery of the most sacred values of civilization. International criminal law enforcement must be the means by which fundamental human rights were protected.

His country was facing “the enormous problem of how to handle the other 12,500 plus criminal cases arising from the Rwandan genocide”, he said. A specialized criminal justice programme had been laid out in order to respond to the situation. Also, an ancient traditional system known as “gacaca” had been reimplemented to speed up genocide-related trials. The “gacaca” meant that justice was carried out by community councils that heard evidence of crime, meted out punishment and tried to foster reconciliation.

The Death penalty made sense because it was harsh enough to deter potential criminals, he said. “The purpose of the death penalty is to protect the right of people to live”, he emphasized. It was an ideal form of deterrence and it needed to be understood as that. Many detainees were saying that the 1994 genocide had never occurred. That had been the result of “the so-called humanitarians now in vogue” which had been created by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) present in his country. “These NGOs sometimes place far too much emphasis on the convicted murderer, who is being executed, and the victim is forgotten”, he said. After 25 April 1998 when 22 genocide master-minders had been executed, detainees had an opportunity to think about their crimes and had thus volunteered to resort to the plea bargaining mechanism enshrined in the organic law on the categorization of genocide crime.

DONKA GLIGOROVA (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said the political instability of the region, the worsened economic situation and the negative impact of the recent developments in Kosovo had helped in the expansion of the criminal underground activities in the region. The increased illicit production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution of traditional and new synthetic drugs, and the spreading of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region was also of great concern.

Her Government was concerned with the existing links between the illicit drug production, drug trafficking and the illegal arms trade. In order to fight drug abuse it had established a new state commission. There was great political will for more efficient action. The law against corruption was currently before the Parliament as was the law on precursors. In addition, the law on drug abuse and that on moneylaundering were expected to become operative soon.