EU Presidency Statement - Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Associated Countries - Cyprus, Malta and Turkey as well as the EFTA countries of the European Economic Area, Iceland and Norway, align themselves with this statement.

[100. Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice]

The terrorist attacks in the United States last year have indeed made the fight against all forms of international organised crime and terrorism an absolute priority.

The UN Convention against transnational organised crime and its additional protocols remains the key international instrument in combating international organised crime. This Convention is the first legally binding UN instrument in the field of organised crime and it marks a major stage in the international fight against organised crime, particularly in reinforcing judicial cooperation measures. These instruments also allot a special place to prevention and the protection of victims in international cooperation. Furthermore, they contain provisions likely to strengthen capacity and technical assistance and to facilitate the exchange of information between the State Parties. The European Union strongly appeals to all states to consider ratifying these instruments as a matter of priority.

The EU welcomes the efforts being carried out by the Centre for International Crime Prevention both in promoting that the Convention against transnational organised crime enter into force expediently, and in providing technical assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition with a view to the timely implementation of the Convention.

The next step in the United Nations' contribution to the global efforts to combat international crime will be the establishment of the UN Convention against corruption. The member states of the European Union are taking active part in negotiations to ensure that this instrument will form an effective framework for the future global efforts to curb corruption.

The fight against corruption is essential to global economic and social development, and the responsibility for ensuring its successful outcome rests on the shoulders of all states. During the negotiations for the UN Convention against corruption the EU has advocated for the adoption of an instrument, which is both sufficiently focused in its criminal provisions so as to add specific value to the struggle against corruption, and also contains measures to effectively prevent corruption from taking place.

The European Union hopes that the completion of the negotiations and the opening for signature of the UN Convention against Corruption will take place in 2003.

The EU welcomes the follow-up to the plans of action for the implementation of the Vienna Declaration on Crime and Justice that were adopted at the tenth session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice last year endorsed by the GA resolution 56/261 of 31 January 2002. The EU is confident that the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will take into account these considerations in preparation for the Eleventh UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which is foreseen to take place in 2005.

In this context and taking into consideration the symposium: "Combating international terrorism: the contribution of the United Nations" organised in Vienna on 3 and 4 June 2002 by the CICP the EU welcomes the proposals of the Secretary-General of the UN to strengthen the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the Centre for International Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and calls on the Centre to provide, upon request, technical assistance to Member States.

[101. International Drug Control]

Growing drug production, trafficking in illicit drugs and drug consumption are global problems of concern to all Governments. The illicit drug business in all its aspects has indeed become one of the evils of the world. It involves transnational crime and organised criminal groups trafficking in human beings and arms as well as money laundering, corruption, and the financing of terrorism.

As a follow up to the UNGASS Action Plan on International Drug Control adopted in 1998 the annual meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in March this year focused on alternative development and the eradication of illicit crops. Both elements are essential parts of the efforts to fight drug-related problems.

Production of crops used for production of illicit drugs tends to flourish in countries, which suffer most from conflict and poverty. The linkage between all these elements must be recognised. That is why alternative development should be seen in the broader context of reducing poverty and conflict resolution. All states need to promote poverty reduction and help create economic opportunities and social well being for all. This will involve a strong partnership between developed and developing countries implementing nationally owned and led poverty reduction strategies. The EU recognises that the supply of narcotics and the use of illicit drugs are worldwide issues to both developed and developing countries. The EU wishes to stress the need for an effective coordination between partners involved in alternative development, as well as preventive actions and law enforcement programmes to address the world drug problem.

In the view of the EU the UN Drug Control Programme has an essential and catalytic role to play in all drug related areas. The EU urges the UN Drug Control Programme to adopt a stronger profile and stronger interaction with other UN agencies and other actors to ensure that illicit drug issues are effectively integrated into the development programmes.

Opium poppy cultivation is of particular concern in Afghanistan. A sustained reduction will require an enhancement of Afghan drug law enforcement capabilities and capacity building for drug control institutions. It is important also to address the growing addiction problems in Afghanistan. The EU urges the UN Drug Control Programme to increase its efforts in Afghanistan to focus on these priorities.

Drug demand reduction and prevention of drug abuse are indispensable elements to counter illicit drug problems and illicit drug trafficking. The EU remains concerned about the high level of drug abuse worldwide. Drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit drug use is a key element of the EU Drugs' Strategy 2000 - 2004 and the EU Action Plan on Drugs. The EU will continue to give priority to the UN Plan for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Demand Reduction.

The EU calls upon the UN Drug Control Programme to continue to lend its full support to countries that are committed to have national plans for a balanced approach to both supply and demand reduction in their fight against drug problems.

The EU is alarmed by the rapid growth in the illicit production and use of amphetamine-type stimulants. This problem is posing new challenges in the field of supply reduction operations and effective international law enforcement cooperation. In this context the EU has noted with concern the increasing use of illicit and other psychoactive substances by young people in recreational settings. It has to be tackled through consistent preventive measures including school based prevention programmes and involvement of families and local communities.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic constitutes a global emergency. The spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C in particular among intravenous drug abusers is on the increase. Enhanced cooperation is needed to identify and disseminate best practices on prevention and care of HIV/AIDS associated with drug abuse. The EU strongly encourages the UN Drug Control Programme to continue to work with UNAIDS and other UN entities and to play a role in promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS at the global, regional, national and community levels.

The EU wishes to underline the importance of promoting the exchange of information on new patterns of drug abuse and especially on the novel substances consumed. It is essential for the international community to adapt itself to the risks of the ever-changing trends and behavioural patterns. Improved knowledge about drug use and dependence is also important in order to increase the impact of drug control policies and to strengthen the effectiveness of prevention policies. The EU urge the UN Drug Control Programme to continue to strengthen the Global Assessment Programme on Drug Abuse (GAP) to make it possible to collect and compare data collected at national and international levels.

The EU wish to recall that the Conference on Synthetic Drugs jointly organised by the EU and the UN Drug Control Programme in November 2001 underlined the need to increase knowledge about illicit drugs. This means that all states should develop early warning systems and draw on a variety of disciplines and scientific programmes.

The General Assembly at its 20th Special Session established goals and targets to be met by all States by 2003 and 2008 in the global fight against drugs. In response to this the Commission on Narcotic Drugs has decided to convene a ministerial-level segment of its 46th Session in April 2003. This Ministerial Meeting should assess progress achieved and difficulties encountered in meeting the goals and targets set out in the Political Declaration of the 20th Special Session. The EU recognises the importance of this high-level exchange and looks forward to this opportunity to take stock and to provide new impetus to counter illicit drug problems.

The EU has closely followed the efforts of the UN Drug Control Programme to improve the functioning and the administrative, financial and operational management of the Programme over the last year. The EU recognises that progress has been made and hopes this will continue, leading to strengthened programme delivery, increase cost-effectiveness and coherence of action. Staff training and programme monitoring and evaluation are important areas of future work. EU also encourages the UN Drug Control Programme under its new Executive Director to explore how to broaden the donor base for the programme, and encourages all Member States to support the pertinent endeavours of the programme. In this connection the EU emphasises that the UNDCP and the CICP, bodies which play a central role in coordinating international cooperation on combating illicit drugs and crime, need strong and predictable core funding in order for them to conduct their activities well and carry out their mandates.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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