15 December 2000
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=00121301.glt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
13 December 2000
(Dec. 13, Palermo: Praises anti-crime convention and protocols) (1600)
Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Frank Loy said December 13
that governments must rely on global agreements if the battle against
transnational organized crime is to be won.
Loy spoke in Palermo, Italy at a signing conference for the
Transnational Organized Crime Convention and its companion protocols
on human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
He noted that the agreements "define -- for the first time in binding
international instruments -- organized crime, migrant smuggling and
trafficking in persons; and they require all parties to criminalize
this defined conduct under their domestic law. But they permit
individual countries to tailor the manner in which they implement
their obligations."
The convention and protocols "facilitate increased cooperation among
governments, in this case law enforcement officials," Loy noted. The
acceptance of standard definitions of organized crime, migrant
smuggling, and trafficking in persons makes international
collaboration easier, he said.
The agreements, reached after only two years of international
negotiations, are also notable for the provisions included to protect
victims and to prevent criminal activity, Loy said. There are
provisions concerning witness protection, states' humanitarian
obligations towards migrants, and services and protections for victims
of trafficking.
The United States is "at the forefront of this fight" against
international criminal activity, and will remain there, said Loy, who
is signing the treaty on behalf of the United States. It must be
submitted to the U.S. Senate for approval.
The agreements are formally known as the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime; the Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children; and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land,
Sea and Air.
Loy also expressed the United States' hope "that negotiations on the
Protocol to suppress the illicit manufacture of and traffic in
firearms will soon come to a successful conclusion, so that Parties to
the Convention will be able to sign that, too, ratify it and put it to
work."
Following is the text of the Loy speech as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Wednesday, December 13, 2000
STATEMENT BY UNDER SECRETARY FRANK LOY
UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME
HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL SIGNING CONFERENCE
Palazzo di Giustizia (Hall of Justice)
Palermo, Italy
Good morning. I am pleased to be here to represent the United States
at this historic conference. I'd like to thank the Government of Italy
for the splendid job it has done in preparing this conference. 150
countries are here for the signing of the first multilateral treaty to
combat organized crime. It is an accomplishment of some magnitude --
perhaps unprecedented -- for this many countries to achieve in such a
short time, and by consensus, three international agreements on three
distinct issues of critical importance to the world today.
It's been a good week for the United Nations and for the people of the
world. Earlier this week agreement was reached in Johannesburg on a
treaty that addresses the problem of certain toxic chemicals, commonly
called persistent organic pollutants or "POPs". About the same number
of countries participated as here, and the text was also adopted by
consensus.
And earlier this year there was another successful UN negotiation --
the Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biodiversity, dealing with
genetically modified agricultural products. This was also adopted by
consensus by a large number of countries.
The successful conclusion of these three agreements, all under United
Nations auspices, all by consensus, and all involving a large number
of the countries of the world, is heartening news.
Such agreements are hard to come by, and the achievement we are
celebrating this week in Palermo should not be taken for granted.
Similar agreements on other issues have eluded us so far,
notwithstanding the significance of the issues and the commitment of
the countries participating in the negotiations.
All of these international agreements deal with the consequences of
different aspects of globalization. While globalization has brought
progress and expanded economic opportunities to the world, an
unfortunate consequence of globalization is transnational crime. As
Secretary General Kofi Annan said yesterday, the openness of
globalization works both ways. We must match the increasingly
sophisticated means that organized criminal groups have found to
exploit globalization if we are to win this battle. In particular it
takes international agreements that are global to fight crime that is
global.
The Transnational Organized Crime Convention and its supplementary
protocols include several common themes that characterize successful
global agreements. Perhaps most important, they establish global
standards that all countries must meet, and then provide for
flexibility in the manner in which they meet them. For example, the
Convention and Protocols define -- for the first time in binding
international instruments -- organized crime, migrant smuggling and
trafficking in persons; and they require all parties to criminalize
this defined conduct under their domestic law. But they permit
individual countries to tailor the manner in which they implement
their obligations to the particular needs of their system. For
example, the Convention recognizes that different countries have
different approaches to the crime that we in the United States label
as conspiracy.
The international norms established by this Convention and its
protocols lead to another common theme of successful global treaties
-- namely, they facilitate increased cooperation among governments, in
this case law enforcement officials. Having accepted definitions of
organized crime, migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons makes
international collaboration on these subjects easier. The Convention
and Protocols build on these definitions, by including numerous
mechanisms for cooperation. For example, rather than going through the
time-consuming and expensive process of negotiating bilateral
agreements, countries will be able to rely on these treaties for
extradition and mutual legal assistance.
Finally, the Convention and Protocols recognize the fundamental
humanitarian aspects involved in fighting organized crime,
particularly trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. This is a
constructive development, which perhaps has not been a common theme in
global law enforcement treaties, but which should be. These treaties
do not stop with punishing the criminal; that is just the beginning.
They also recognize that a cornerstone of our work must be the
protection of the victims of these crimes, and the prevention of these
criminal activities in the first place. For example, the Convention
contains witness protection provisions; and the migrant smuggling
protocol reaffirms states' obligations towards migrants under
international humanitarian law, and explicitly states that migrants
are not punishable under the Protocol simply for being an illegal
migrant. Of the three agreements, the Trafficking in Persons Protocol
includes, with good reason, the most far-reaching provisions for
services and protections for victims -- including calling for states
to provide in appropriate cases shelter, medical and legal assistance,
and the possibility of permanent residence.
The completion of this negotiation is certainly cause for celebration,
and I again congratulate all involved in it. However, we must
recognize that the fight against international organized crime is far
from over.
The United States has been at the forefront of this fight and we are
committed to staying there. Among other things, we provide law
enforcement training and equipment to scores of governments all around
the world. This past year alone the U.S. allocated more than $36
million for such training and technical assistance programs.
In collaboration with host countries, the United States has
established and continues to support two International Law Enforcement
Academies in Budapest and Bangkok, and we will open two more -- in
Africa and Latin America -- in the near future. At these facilities,
rank-and-file law enforcement personnel from those countries and their
regional neighbors learn how crime syndicates operate, how to
recognize trafficking and smuggling operations and much more.
Many countries have worked together on this front. Let me pay special
tribute to our hosts. The Government of Italy has shown great courage
and determination in attacking organized crime. Cooperation between
our two governments has brought many successes. For example, Italian
authorities under the leadership of the courageous magistrate Giovanni
Falcone worked with U.S. law enforcement to uncover and disrupt
international trafficking in heroin in the 1980s. This effort also
benefited from the cooperation of the German, Swiss, Spanish,
Brazilian and Turkish governments, and remains today a model for
multilateral law enforcement cooperation.
U.S. support for such cooperation will continue and grow. This
Convention, through its comprehensive framework for multilateral law
enforcement collaboration, will help make that possible.
I want to express my government's hope -- and optimism -- that
negotiations on the Protocol to suppress the illicit manufacture of
and traffic in firearms will soon come to a successful conclusion, so
that Parties to the Convention will be able to sign that, too, ratify
it and put it to work.
Completion of the Convention and two Protocols in such a short time
took an extraordinary effort. It could not have been accomplished
without the tireless dedication and expertise of the Crime Center
Secretariat, the pioneering efforts of Poland and Argentina, the skill
and wisdom of Chairman Luigi Lauriola, another proud son of Italy, the
leadership of the Conference Bureau and the determination and
flexibility of delegations from more than 120 countries. The United
States is honored to be part of this effort and its culmination in
Palermo today.
We have taken the first steps together, and now we must bring these
instruments to life as meaningful tools in our fight against
transnational organized crime.
Thank you very much.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)