13.7: International Efforts to Address Transnational Crime

Transnational organized crime cannot be addressed by individual nations acting alone. As organized criminal networks have become globalised, efforts to combat them requires a coordinated transnational response. Such efforts can be traced back to the middle of the 19^th century when Britain, France, Russia, Prussia and Austria signed the Quintuple Treaty in 1841 in a multilateral effort to suppress the slave trade. Heretofore efforts aimed at the abolition of slavery had been primarily unilateral or bilateral. Subsequently the International Agreement on the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic was signed by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland in 1904, and in 1910 this agreement became a Convention and permanent governmental bodies were established to suppress trafficking. Further extensions to the scope and membership of the Convention occurred later in 1921 and 1933 – the latter providing for the prosecution of persons who recruited adult women for prostitution abroad, even with their consent. And in 1949 the UN General Assembly adopted the powers and functions of the 1921 and 1933 Conventions (UN, 2007). Numerous other conventions and agencies have also been established by the UN, including the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. In 1988 the UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was introduced. In recognising the links between illicit drug traffic and other organized criminal activities, the Convention aimed at strengthening and enhancing effective legal means for international co-operation in suppressing the international criminal activities of illicit drug trafficking.

Further international efforts are directed at enforcement. In 1923 the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) was founded to provide a vehicle for the exchange of information and assistance between police forces, and currently has 188 member countries. The Group of Seven (G7) created the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 1989 to combat money laundering and in 1999 established the Lyon Group to increase international cooperation against transnational crime. The United States, through its Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security, are also involved in efforts to improve the international investigation of crime. For example the Federal Bureau of Investigation has an Office of International Operations that enables FBI agents to be stationed in more than 50 countries where they help train domestic law enforcement personnel and investigate drug trafficking offences. The Office facilitates the on-going exchange of information with foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies and reciprocal assistance in criminal and other matters.

More recent UN efforts include the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in 2000 (the Palermo Convention), which came into force in 2003. States that ratify this instrument commit themselves to taking a series of measures including:

• The passing of legislation facilitating the prosecution of some domestic criminal offences (participation in an organised criminal group, money laundering, corruption and obstruction of justice)
• The adoption of new and sweeping frameworks for extradition, mutual legal assistance and law enforcement cooperation
• The promotion of training and technical assistance for building or upgrading the necessary capacity of national authorities.

The Convention is further supplemented by three Protocols, which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (also known as the Trafficking protocol—adopted in 2000, and in force since 2003); the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (adopted in 2000 and entered into force in 2004; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition (adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2005).

The Trafficking Protocol is a global, legally binding instrument that, by 2018, had been signed by 117 countries and 173 parties. It defines trafficking as:

the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. (UN, 2000, Article 3)

Providing a common definition of trafficking across national jurisdictions is important and should allow increased international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting the trafficking of persons. The Protocol is also designed to improve the human security of those who often fall prey to trafficking by guaranteeing the respect of their human rights.

In 2010 the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 2016 the UN Security Council adopted its first resolution on human trafficking (2331), which called on member states to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle criminal networks by utilizing anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, and counterterrorism laws. It also emphasized the importance of international cooperation in law enforcement and strong partnerships with the private sector and civil society.

Then in 2017 the UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration reaffirming commitments to implement the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The Political Declaration includes a directive to examine the progress achieved and the continuing challenges for international organizations and officials at the national, regional, and global levels. The Political Declaration also strengthens the capacity of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to collect information in order to connect and harmonize anti-trafficking efforts across UN programmes and policies.

Other efforts to combat human trafficking include joint initiatives between the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Together they launched the book Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians in April 2009 (IPU & UNODC, 2009). The book covers international laws and good practices developed to combat human trafficking. It also offers guidance on how national legislation can be brought into line with international standards. It outlines measures to prevent trafficking, prosecute offenders and protect victims, and also contains advice on how to report on human trafficking and how to encourage civil society organisations to combat human trafficking.

Nevertheless, state authorities often view the trafficking of people as a migrant problem, rather than as an issue of wider criminal significance. Such a stance results in trafficked people being deported as illegal immigrants rather than as being seen as victims of a crime requiring state investigation. The prosecution of those involved in transnational crime networks is also fraught with difficulty. It carries risk or reprisal for those giving evidence – either from state authorities who view their presence as illegal or from the traffickers themselves. Thus the under-reporting of trafficking and its associated criminal activities, such as sexual violence and other human rights abuses, is very likely.

The United Nations’ Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects was adopted in 2001. It provides a non-legally binding framework for states to adopt various measures to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons at the national, regional and international levels. In assessing the programme of action the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) noted the progress made in establishing a variety of mechanisms and norms and the considerable resources states, international organizations and NGOs had invested to support its implementation. However, the ICRC was unable to say whether the Programme of Action had saved lives on the ground or led to an overall reduction in the availability of illicit arms and believed that “more binding and comprehensive measures are sorely needed” (ICRC, 2005, n.p.). ^[2]