Organized Crime

Speech by the Representative of Working Table III Security Issues – Justice and Home Affairs, Sebastian von Münchow

Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (TOC)

Consideration of mechanisms for achieving the objectives of the Conference

Mr. President!

It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to address you today. First of all, I would like to convey the very best regards of Dr. Erhard Busek, the Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. As you recall, the EU and its transatlantic partners launched the Stability Pact under the auspices of the OSCE in 1999 to foster peace, stability, democracy, respect for human rights and economic prosperity in the Balkans. It draws upon lessons from worldwide international crisis management and is the first serious attempt by the international community to replace the previous, reactive crisis intervention policy with a comprehensive, long-term conflict prevention strategy.

The aim of the Pact’s third Working Table is, inter alia, to contribute to a climate of confidence and security throughout South Eastern Europe by enhancing transparency and predictability in the justice and home affairs sector. Organised crime has infiltrated some government structures in the region during the 80s and 90s. Today, it is seriously undermining some of the benefits, especially regarding investment and business opportunities, that SEE countries began to enjoy after the consolidation and reforms in the last years. Hence, we believe that one of the most serious problems in the region is transnational organized crime. We are convinced that the Palermo Convention (TOC) presents a cornerstone in the fight against transnational organised crime. It signifies the recognition of UN member states that organised crime is a serious and steadily growing problem, which can only be dealt with through close and coherent international cooperation. The regional TOC implementation – once entirely in place - will provide the right mechanism to fight members of organised criminal groups more effectively. In consequence, the Justice and Home Affairs team assists various initiatives dealing with transnational organized crime and the implementation of the Palermo TOC.

The Stability Pact Initiative against Organized Crime (SPOC) oversees dialogue facilitation with international and regional representatives of the legal, academic, donor and law enforcement communities. The initiative assists with joint project formulation regarding capacity building, awareness raising and legislative reforms. It is also involved in political advocacy and helps the SEE region to formulate strategies against organized crime. SPOC activities are in line with the London Conference on Organized Crime in SEE (November 2002) and the EU-Western Balkans Forum.

The Police Forum (PF) initiative consists of three projects focusing training: Regional Police Training modules for senior police officers, Organized Crime Training Network (OCTN) for operational managers and the Stolen Vehicle Project.
Related to the 1st additional Protocol of the Palermo TOC, the Stability Pact Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings (SPTF) is an instrument of coordination to encourage and strengthen co-operation among the SEE countries in order to streamline and accelerate existing efforts to combat human trafficking in the region. The Task Force ensures that the regional dimension of all issues involved in addressing the multi-faceted elements of human trafficking are fully considered and included in the international community’s activities in SEE.

In relation to the 2nd Protocol: The Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative’s (MARRI) objective is to enhance state and human security and initiate, facilitate and coordinate developments in the fields of asylum, migration, visa, border management and sustainability of return and to meet international and European standards. Senior representatives of these two initiatives will join the conference for their respective parts next week.

Ladies and Gentlemen, before I introduce our methodology to monitor the regional implementation of the Convention in the Balkans, please allow me to underline that recently the region started to take ownership in fighting organized criminal networks. The South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Justice & Home affairs ministers have started a campaign against organized crime and corruption in the region. Their latest ministerial statement showed strong political will to fight crime in the Balkans and to speed up legislative reforms, as well as providing the appropriate technical equipment and trained staff. It also meant to provide the framework to cooperate internally and also with neighbors. In this light, I also wish to mention a network of South East European public prosecutors and the Ohrid process.

This means that the implementation of the Palermo TOC gained additional momentum from the region. The Stability Pact – in particularly through its SPOC initiative and thanks to German funding – is assisting this process. In front of you, you will fine a four-page matrix, which illustrates the status of TOC implementation in the Balkans. You will also find an overview of existing legislation and an individual case-by-case analysis of various institutions, which were established to prevent/combat organized crime, plus other enforcement issues/mechanisms (e.g.: offices for witness protection and permanent training centers). Soon, this overview will be combined with a comparison/outline on financial and technical assistance that was spent on courts, law faculties, assistance/training and other technical assistance. In addition, we want to examine assistance programmes aimed at prevention and repression of organized crime such, CARDS (West Balkans), PHARE (Romania, Bulgaria) and TACIS (Moldova).

The information was obtained from SPOC contacts points and a range of actors of the wider SPOC network in SEE. This matrix was tabled on various ministerial and working level meetings in- and outside the region since summer 2003. Ever since, regional and external representatives have welcomed it as an important tool to judge reforms, improvements and obstacles. It is also interpreted as a mechanism, which indirectly encourages necessary changes due to its visualized competitive and comparable design.

Distinguished delegates! Glancing through the available information draws the following conclusions: The legislative changes in SEE to implement the TOC are insufficient. The speed of legislative harmonization differs from country to country. Although most of the SEE countries have ratified the TOC, judicial capacities have just recently started to draft new laws, adapt existing laws or introduce technical modifications. However, the matrix also shows that the implementation of the Palermo TOC is high on the agenda of JHA ministries in South East Europe. We are sure that our methodology will assist local authorities to address the needs and gaps. In addition, Dr. Busek asked the representatives from the Pact’s task forces to facilitate dialogue among international and regional representatives of the legal, academic, donor and law enforcement communities with the aim to launch joint TOC-related capacity-building projects.

I hope you agree with me that the Stability Pact provides a valuable mechanism to encourage South Eastern Europe’s further implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Crime.

Thank you very much for your attention.