AN INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT
TO FIGHT ORGANIZED CRIME
Hon.
Antonio Guerra De la Espriella
Senator, Republic of Colombia
A sincere international commitment requires joint
action by the world community to fight and eradicate criminality which
has been increasing with the dominant trends of globalization in recent
times.
Organized crime tries to use borders as a shield to avoid legal liability
and, in doing so, it spreads violence and insecurity. The international
community, however, does not seem to be sufficiently prepared to fight
these criminal activities and nations have not clearly identified the
need to work together to combat global criminal networks effectively
and efficiently.
Nations must change their approach to fighting transnational crime,
admitting the danger that such organizations present and their strength
around the world. Starting with extremely realistic assumptions, a more
accurate assessment of the scope of the problem will be achieved.
It must be admitted that organized crime as it now exists does not
operate in a clearly identified space or even, in many cases, have a
single supreme leader. For example, terrorism “is manifested as
irregular warfare; it does not have sources or delimited battlefields
or forward or rear lines. This kind of war is not confined to a particular
time and place. Its frontline is anywhere at any time. Its ubiquity
and its timelessness are its most frightening aspect”.
The unfortunate acts of terrorism in the United States in September
can be interpreted as a wake-up call to the international community
on the unchecked growth of these criminal activities. The challenge
facing nations in this regard is undeniable; what is needed is to establish
mechanisms based on international law and fully recognized by the family
of nations that would correct the mistakes made to date in this struggle
and chart a course to repress or totally eradicate these criminal activities.
These strategically discussed mechanisms will be a step on the road
to harmonizing criminal law. These common standards must be based on
fundamental justice, so that nations will be more confident in the effective
operation of these instruments.
Of course, harmonizing legislation cannot and must not be the only
tool that nations use in their serious commitment to fight organized
crime. The tools or strategies used will call for joint effort but also
in some cases will have important limitations. Therefore it is necessary
to use all the tools available to reach the desired objective. Just
as the phenomenon to be fought is multifaceted, so too must be the tools
used in the campaign against it.
This is the same approach taken by the U.S. Department of National
Intelligence (CIA), which calls on states to increase the weapons in
their arsenal, as follows:
“Every tool against terrorism is hard to use. It is even more
difficult to use them well together”.
This specific statement about terrorism may well apply to the fight
against transnational organized crime.
Below I will mention some of the tools that I believe can make a significant
contribution to the fight against these phenomena.
Diplomacy
against Organized Crime
If organized crime is to be fought effectively,
regional coalitions or leagues must be created to fight it. Diplomacy
against international organized crime requires the full participation
of government officials at all levels and from all specialties. It must
not be limited to officials from the foreign ministry.
Diplomacy must lead to cooperation agreements that are accepted bilaterally
or multilaterally by the states concerned and by other international
organizations. This important diplomatic tool is the structural base
for the other mechanisms in the struggle.
The effectiveness of the countries’ penal
systems is a key factor in repressing organized crime. When these criminal
activities go beyond national borders, laws must be standardized so
that criminal organizations do not use borders as barriers to escape
legal liability with impunity.
The efficient application of an international penal system can achieve
solid progress in this struggle. The imprisonment of an international
criminal or terrorist makes the public feel safer, acts as a deterrent
to other offences, encourages other states in their fight against crime
and demonstrates the government’s determination and commitment.
In general, these successes must be pointed out as examples of international
cooperation.
In practical terms, there are many barriers to implementing an ideal
international penal system. If a crime begins in one country and ends
in another, sharing information and obtaining sufficient evidence to
convict the criminal is vitally important.
This barrier can be overcome through bilateral or multilateral cooperation
agreements on evidence and criminal matters. Nations must also be encouraged
to sign extradition treaties—a legal foundation that will surely
produce results and deter international criminal organizations.
International cooperation in blocking and seizing
funds used by criminal organizations is essential to this struggle,
but it faces two major hurdles. One is the amount of money handled by
criminal organizations. For example, terrorist organizations do not
need large amounts of money to operate. The other is the use that they
make of legal companies and intermediaries to circulate the large sums
generated by these activities.
International cooperation has made some big gains recently in controlling
the laundering of money obtained by these organizations. Especially
noteworthy are the mechanisms used by the United States against terrorism,
such as freezing bank accounts and property owned by terrorists, whether
individually or collectively, including the property of their sponsors.
The shared gathering and analysis of intelligence
information is a very valuable tool in breaking up criminal organizations.
Most intelligence information is fragmentary, ambiguous and often unreliable.
Therefore joint analysis of information is as important as obtaining
it; cooperation in sharing information is essential to identify criminal
networks, how they operate and their sources of funds.
A distinction must be made between cooperation in handling intelligence
information and information to be used as evidence in a trial, but these
two tools are always closely related.
These tools are only some examples of the many that can be used in
the fight against organized crime. Success depends on their strategic
combination and interaction.
The importance of international forums as opportunities to think about
and discuss such complex subjects must be emphasized, especially the
leading role throughout the world of interparliamentary international
organizations like FIPA. These provide parliamentarians of member countries
with an unmatched opportunity to state their positions, so that these
can go beyond national boundaries and cross language barriers in the
search for sincere and fruitful integration.
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