PRESS CONFERENCE BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UN OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME

PRESS CONFERENCE BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UN OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME

The entry into force of the Convention against Corruption was days away and could come as early as next week, Antonio Maria Costa, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said at a Headquarters press conference today.

Responding to a question about the repatriation of assets looted by former African leaders, he said the Convention contained all the legal instruments that would force countries to repatriate such funds.  Regarding the banks holding those funds, he said that at the moment only very few developed countries had ratified the Convention, and in Europe, only France had done so.  However, all the others would ratify it, as would the United States which had do so as a matter of principle.

The Convention stated very clearly that banking secrecy -– the traditional impediment to repatriation of assets -– could no longer be used to protect funds illegally exported from one country and illegally detained in a third.

Mr. Costa was briefing correspondents on a UNODC assessment of crime in Africa.  The investigation was aimed at helping the continent overcome a very dramatic situation regarding violence, corruption, urban crime and money laundering, as well as trafficking in human beings, narcotics and arms.

Asked how crime in sub-Saharan Africa compared with that of North Africa and what he recommended in dealing with corruption, he said the report was fundamentally about sub-Saharan Africa, which was more greatly affected by the problems of underdevelopment and poverty than the North.  The statistics showed that homicide rates in sub-Saharan Africa were higher, while the rate of convictions for homicide was the lowest in the world.  The incidence of rape and violence against individuals was worse in sub-Saharan Africa than in North Africa.

Regarding corruption, he said the political leadership must take the lead and demonstrate accountability.  Unfortunately, some of the most tragic cases of corruption involved former dictators -– including Nigeria’s Sanni Abacha, Mobutu Sese Seko in the former Zaire, and Charles Taylor of Liberia, as well as more recent cases –- who looted the public coffers.  The strongest recommendation was to strengthen the judicial system, because a healthy, honest judiciary could put everything else into shape.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record