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Mr. Chairman,
We wish to thank the Secretary General for his reports, which deliberate on various aspects of the ongoing problem, efforts made by Member States and technical assistance rendered by the relevant UN mechanisms in particular United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), in accordance with their mandates to tackle various aspects of this fight.
International organized crime in today’s world knows no boundaries and is a major threat to security, stability, public health and development around the globe. Latest advancements in technology and growing impacts of financial crisis have made this field even more attractive. A balanced and comprehensive approach is the only effective way to eliminate or substantially reduce the demand, supply and trafficking. The Secretary General has rightly observed that cooperation at national, regional and international levels remains the most important element to tackle international organized crime.
Mr. Chairman,
The ills of narco-trade, corruption, money laundering, trafficking in persons, cyber-crime and terrorism are a source of concern and challenge for all of us including the civil society, electronic media and international organizations. There exists a two-way relation between international organized crime that originates from developing and developed world. International organized crime in developing countries has its roots in the poorer less privileged socio-economic surroundings. Conditions of poverty, under-employment and weak socio-economic context are a catalyst for local and international organized crime. Their partners in developed countries exploit the access to advanced technology and availability of resources to their advantage.
There exists a direct supply and demand dimension to international organized crime specially for drug trafficking, human trafficking and money laundering. Increase in demand for drugs, cheap labour and illegal-transfer of money in the developed world results in increased supply from the developing world. We, therefore, welcome and support the call made by the Secretary General to the international community to focus more on the demand side, in particular for the consumer countries that create the strongest demand pull to strengthen their own efforts to reduce illicit drug use within their borders.
Mr. Chairman,
Pakistan is a state party to all United Nations Drug Control Conventions and has taken effective legislative and legal measures to effectively implement the provisions of these international conventions. We believe that the world drug problem requires effective and enhanced international cooperation. Pakistan has, through a multi-pronged strategy comprising of strict law enforcement actions and alternate development plans, made phenomenal gains in eliminating the illicit opium crop. However, we continue to suffer adversely as a transit country for drugs.
Pakistan in cooperation with UNODC has successfully launched Country Programme 2010-2014. It is a comprehensive plan of action covering all facets of drug problem including the impact of drug situation in our neighborhood and both the supply and demand reduction measures. UNODC is also in the process to finalize the Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries. We expect UNODC to consult extensively with the Member States of the region to create a sense of ownership of the programme among regional partners.
In addition to our national initiatives, we have actively contributed to the regional and international efforts to stop the outflow of drugs and inflow of precursor chemicals from the neighbouring regions. Pakistan has been part of the “Rainbow Strategy” of UNODC. We have actively participated in the “Triangular Cooperation Initiative” with Afghanistan and Iran to develop regional cooperation to address narco-trade. Pakistan hosted Fourth Ministerial Meeting under the Triangular Initiative in October 2010 in Islamabad. We are confident that the decisions taken at that meeting will go a long way in addressing the issue. Simultaneously, the enormity and scale of the problem calls for a comprehensive assistance including through the provision of requisite technical equipment to the Triangular Initiative Member States in their fight against drug problem.
Mr. Chairman,
We welcome the adoption of Global Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons. In order to successfully counter trafficking in persons, Pakistan promulgated the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance (P&CHTO). The Ordinance also incorporates a role for the civil society to work with the law enforcement agencies for rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking. Similarly a special Anti-Human Trafficking Unit has been set up in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to crack down on criminals and curb the crime of human trafficking.
To cope with issues relating to money laundering and terrorist financing, we have joined the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The Anti-Money Laundering Act-2010 provides a structure to curb illegal financial transactions and created a Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) in the State Bank of Pakistan, which cooperates with other countries to fight against money laundering and terrorists financing.
Mr. Chairman,
Crime, whether international or local, cannot be fought without an effective judicial system. In collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, the Access to Justice Programme in Pakistan has helped in reforming the criminal justice system in particular the prosecutorial, judicial and prison system, and transforming the Police force into an accountable and responsive law enforcement agency.
Secure borders are an added deterrence against international crime, the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) implemented with international help provides the immigration authorities and law enforcement agencies systematic and authentic information to identify travelers moving across our borders. PISCES is an example of how mutually beneficial results can be obtained through international cooperation.
Solution to the problem of international crime lies in an integrated and comprehensive approach with firm long-term political and financial commitments including through capacity building, technical assistance, financial assistance and provision of appropriate equipment. We, therefore, support Secretary General’s request for ensuring a sustainable, predictable and stable funding for relevant UN mechanisms which can serve the need of Member States for requisite technical assistance.
I thank you.