BM (10) RP 3 E

Original: ITALIAN

 

 

 

“COMBATING TRANSNATIONAL

 

 

 

One of the objectives of our Committee is certainly to counter corruption and organised crime, as both phenomena are detrimental to the functioning of democracy and the rule of law. Corruption is a contributing cause – is, indeed, often the primary cause – of violations of human rights and of the rules of democracy, when it impedes for example the correct and legal work of police forces and the judiciary, which have the duty to protect the rights of the citizens.

 

According to detailed studies carried out all over the world, including in participating States of the OSCE, the number of human rights violations is highest where corruption is greatest, because systematic corruption thrives when the institutions supposed to enforce human rights fail to work as they should.

 

As members of Parliament we therefore have to ask what are the constraints that prevent states from fighting corruption and organised crime. One of the constraints is the malfunctioning of the rule of law and the failure to respect the separation of powers. This prevents states from tackling crime effectively and therefore citizens’ rights are not protected as they should be.

 

 

Consequently, it is important to reaffirm the centrality of the OSCE in the fight against organized crime and corruption, particularly because the OSCE has put the interdependence of security, development and respect for human rights as a cornerstone of its mission.

 

The correlation between respect for fundamental freedoms and corruption is particularly well illustrated by the Corruptions Perceptions Index (CPI) compiled by Transparency International (TI), and the indices of the World Bank Institute on respect for the rule of law. According to the CPI, which classifies the countries of the world according to the degree to which corruption is perceived among public officials and politicians, corruption is defined as "the abuse of entrusted power for private gain". The highest score of corruption is 0, and lowest is 10. The indices of the World Bank Institute are based on: accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law and government effectiveness; their highest score is 0 while the lowest is 100.

 

According to these studies 18 OSCE countries have the highest rates of corruption and the lowest rates of respect for democracy and the rule of law and, among those, the most serious cases are: Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, all former Soviet countries where democracy and the respect of the rule of law took root later than in other parts of the OSCE area. 10 OSCE countries have a quite high level of corruption and a quite serious dysfunctional form of democratic Government, whereas another 19 OSCE countries have a medium level of corruption and the respect for democracy and the rule of law is imperfect, although acceptable.

 

Among all OSCE countries there are two “special cases”, Bulgaria and Romania, where a high level of corruption is associated with a good level of governance and democracy; one of the reasons for this situation is that the authorities don’t promote and adopt preventive anti-corruption policies and practices. Only 7 OSCE countries have both a low level of corruption and high level of respect for the rule of law and democracy.

 

The recent political crisis in Kyrgyzstan is an important example of how political corruption and its perception can disrupt the functioning of a State’s institutions. The April demonstrations against the government of Kurmanbek Bakiev - that have provoked violence, killings and the take over of institutions through means that are beyond democratic processes - were motivated by allegations of widespread Governmental corruption and illegalities.

 

Overall, according to the "Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2009", the sectors of society in which corruption levels are highest are: political parties (68%)1, civil servants (63%)2, parliament (60%)3, the judiciary (49%)4 and media (44%). This makes it necessary to combat corruption in the sphere of politics, including during electoral campaigns, in public administration and in the judiciary.

 

Transparency International's report, “The Global coalition against corruption”, finds that the ability of States to fight corruption and organised crime is diminished where the rule of law and its fundamental principles, especially the principle of the separation of powers, do not function properly. This implies that systematic corruption goes hand-in-hand with the malfunctioning of institutions that are supposed to enforce citizens' rights.

 

The entry into force of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of the Council of Europe of 1999 - ratified by 42 OSCE participating States – is an important step in dealing with these issues, as is the formation of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) which, among other things, is responsible for monitoring the enforcement of the Convention.

 

Two areas in particular demonstrate both the need to fight organized crime, but also the challenges from a human rights perspective: trafficking in human beings and cybercrime.

 

 

Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, which is a serious crime and a grave violation of fundamental human rights that reduces its victims to a state of dependence by means of threats, violence and humiliation. This trafficking is also a highly profitable trade for organised criminals to whom it offers the chance of high earnings for a limited amount of risk,

 

In February 2009 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime produced a "Global Report on Trafficking in Persons", which declares that the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is for the purposes of sexual exploitation, and that the victims are mainly women and girls, and that 20% of the victims of human trafficking are children.

 

According to the OSCEOffice of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, hundreds of thousands of women, children and men are trafficked from or through OSCE participating States every year for the purposes of exploitation. Whereas the number of arrests, court cases and sentences of those responsible for the trafficking remains low, the number of victims continues to rise.

 

According to the Report of Save the Children “Development of a child rights methodology to identify and support child victims of trafficking”, Italy is one of the most important countries of destination and of transit of child victims of international trafficking. The main targets of trafficking for the purpose of exploitation in prostitutionin Italy are adolescent girls and those just come of age, from Nigeria and Cameroon and from Eastern European countries, mainly Romania and Moldova, but also Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Albania, Serbia and Croatia.

 

Relevant action within the OSCE region on this field includes:

 

 

The fight against human trafficking must be carried out keeping in mind that its priority is the protection of the trafficked human beings, not the protection of the borders of countries. A worrying trend is developing in Europe and in the OSCE area in the fields of the fight against illegal immigration and trafficking in persons, with the criminalization of irregular migrants. Also the policy of restriction the access to international protection for asylum seekers must be monitored with attention as noted for example by the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment on the visit to Italy published on April 28, 2010

 

 

The extraordinary advances of information technology have obvious implications for the development of "traditional" organised crime, as they move into the field of “cybercrime.” IT systems and networks undoubtedly mark a step forward in the development for society, but they can also be used to render it more vulnerable. Terrorist groups, paedophiles, networks peddling pornography involving minors, smugglers of arms, drugs and humans, and money launderers are exploiting these new means of communication to expand their illegal activities.

 

The fight against cybercrime must be carried out while fully respecting basic human, civil and political rights, starting with freedom of expression on the internet. The recent China-Google case shows that Governments can try to limit the activities of private operators on the internet, not only to prevent or fight crimes, but also to censor and ban the diffusion of legitimate criticism of a Government’s policies on the internet.

 

When looking at actions against cybercrime, it is important to consider a decision of the European Court of Human Rights from December 2008 which stated that:

 

 

The dangers of this phenomenon have been recognised, and work has been undertaken including through the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime of 2001 - ratified by 28 OSCE participating states.

 

 

We must avoid the risk of attempting to fight corruption and organised crime at the expense of the respect for democratic principles. A State that takes this misguided route will not only fail to defend the rights of its citizens, but will put them in even greater jeopardy. Moreover, malfunctioning and unjust judiciaries and police forces that focus on spectacular operations of repression of organized crime and corruption without making sure that legal principles are fully respected, only apparently contribute to building a better society, even when these operations are effective. In fact, when the seeds of uncontrolled and unaccountable State powers are planted, the fruits of injustice and corruption are certain to grow again.

 

When voices and concerns by politicians are raised about the need to combat organised crime and corruption for the threat they pose to internal or international security, politicians need to do more than simply condemn criminal organisations or propose to increase the criminal penalties for the crimes: they also need to ask questions about the capacity and willingness of states and of their political systems to take concrete action.

 

In fighting corruption, it is not enough to introduce harsher punishments or threaten the use of the death penalty. What is needed are institutions that work, beginning with an efficient and independent judiciary.

 

In order to achieve this goal we should not forget what particular and unique role the OSCE has played in promoting the respect for human rights over the decades, including through the creation of institutions that have a unique expertise in this field. In particular, monitoring of the electoral processes of OSCE countries (unfortunately not of all of them), has proved to be an innovative tool to limit political corruption. This notwithstanding, the annual report of Transparency International on Corruption, as well other reports, show that corruption in the political arena is still rampant in many parts of the world, even in the western or European countries that have a longer tradition of democratic institutions.

 

This means that the work of the OSCE in the field of monitoring the electoral competitions must be strengthened and reinforced in order to establish some sort of constant and permanent monitoring of the democratic functions of OSCE States.

 

According to the 2009 Europol Report on Organized Crime, terrorism and other forms of organized crime are a serious challenge to national security in the OSCE area, and clearly represent a violation of human rights. Nonetheless, while fighting terrorism, organized crimes or extremism, some States of the OSCE have violated some basic human rights, such as the right to a fair trial, the right to defence, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and right to participate in elections; this is clearly demonstrated by cases reported and listed by NGOs such as Amnesty International, Freedom House and Human Rights Watch and others.

 

Addressing Security and Economic questions and challenges needs more clear and permanent cooperation by the international community, and the creation of adequate institutions with a democratic mandate to develop this kind of work. At the same time permanent international cooperation to ensure the respect of the rule of law and democracy is essential and the OSCE has to reaffirm its role and leadership in this field, because it can greatly contribute to the strengthening not only of the human dimension of every society, but also of security.

 

In fact, security is not granted just by the absolute absence of crimes due to the fear of a tyrant and of harsh repression, but by the reasonable expectation that when a crime is committed, there will be an efficient police force and a judiciary that is able to punish the criminals in a fair way that does not target an entire society for the faults of few.