The Internationalization of Transnational Crime: The Roleof the United Nations

The growingattention paid to transnational crime by the United States and Europe wasmirrored by efforts of the United Nations. The United Nations as an institutionwas facing myriad challenges by the 1990s, as the collapse of the U.S.S.R. andthe emergence of new states increased its membership significantly and alteredits priorities. The United Nations sought a more pronounced role in the newworld order that was emerging. In the post-Cold War era the United Nationssighted an opportunity to strengthen its lead role in obtaining globalcooperation and collaboration toward alleviating poverty and hunger, promotingdevelopment, addressing human rights issues, and organizing otherquality-of-life initiatives. For the United Nations, the growth oftransnational crime represented a threat to its objectives, as well as anopportunity for the international body to take a lead in this area.

Theinstitutional mechanisms of the United Nations in the area of criminal justicewere enhanced throughout the 1990s. As early as December1990, the General Assembly adopted treaties on extradition, mutual assistanceon criminal matters, and the transfer of criminal proceeds. In 1991, the U.N.Secretary-General convened a ministerial meeting in Versailles, France, tocreate a new U.N. criminal justice and crime prevention initiative. The newprogram was adopted by the General Assembly in December of that year, to begoverned by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ).

The CCPCJ aimedto foster more direct coordination among high-level government officials ofdifferent countries to address growing transnational criminality. At theCCPCJ's first session in 1992, it was determined that transnational crime wouldbe a key theme of the Commission's work. The involvement and subsequent deathof Italian magistrate Giovanni Falcone at the hand of organized crime in Italyfurther galvanized the efforts of the CCPCJ.

A keyinitiative of this agency's activity was the World Ministerial Conference onTransnational Organized Crime, held in Naples in 1994. The conference wasattended by more than 2,000 high-level government officials from 142 countries.The aim was to discuss the challenges posed by transnational crime, as well ashow to cooperate to meet those challenges. At the conference's conclusion, the“Naples Political Declaration and Global Action Plan against TransnationalOrganized Crime” was adopted. The declaration was subsequently adopted formallyby the General Assembly one month later.

Following theNaples declaration, transnational crime received an ever-increasing amount ofinterest on the part of governments around the globe. At the United Nation's50th anniversary ceremony of June 1995, U.S. President Clinton urged the UnitedNations to promote cooperation in fighting transnational crime and called for ajoint declaration on international crime. The Clinton administration reaffirmedits commitment to combating transnational crime again in 1996, defining it as anational security priority.

By the secondhalf of the decade, a U.N. draft convention on transnational crime was in theworks. In 1997, the U.N. General Assembly established an intergovernmentalgroup to begin writing the document. By November 2000, within 3 years, the U.N.General Assembly had adopted the U.N. Convention against TransnationalOrganized Crime. The convention aims to address four key areas:criminalization, international cooperation, technical cooperation, andimplementation. In sum, in well within a single decade, transnational crime hadceased to be an infrequently discussed academic concept and had become apractical security priority that engaged the world's most importantinternational body.

The Scope of Transnational Crime Today

Despite thedisagreements that exist over the definition of transnational crime, organizedor otherwise, what is clear is that the phenomenon encompasses a wide array ofcriminal activities. In an attempt to delineate better the nature oftransnational crime, in 1994, the United Nations established 18 categories oftransnational crime—a list topped by money laundering and terrorism. Morerecently, Reuter and Petrie have succinctly categorized the principaltransnational criminal activities as follows:

1. Smuggling—commodities,drugs, protected species;

2. Contraband (goodssubject to tariffs or quotas)—stolen cars, tobacco products;

3. Services—immigrants,prostitution, indentured servitude, money laundering and fraud.

Although thereis a wide array of transnational activities, certain categories have receivedmore interest than others. The activities that seem to have garnered the mostattention are smuggling activities—drug smuggling, arms trafficking, smugglingof nuclear material and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), traffickingin persons, and money-laundering services.

Before the1990s, drug trafficking was practically one of the only transnational crimeactivities that received considerable attention from both law enforcementofficials and the public. The war on drugs had been declared before the fall ofthe Berlin Wall. However, changes in the international system have made drugsmuggling an ever-greater threat for nation-states, and a more profitableenterprise for criminal organizations. The zones of production have become morenumerous, and distribution has become more sophisticated. There have beengrowing signs of links between drug trafficking and other forms of crime,notably arms smuggling.

The traffickingof arms is another key area of transnational crime. The end of the Cold War hasresulted in many groups within post-Communist states, and elsewhere, engagingin the illegal sale of arms. The Yugoslav wars in the 1990s provided alucrative market for arms smugglers. Arms traffickers exploit the breakdown inpolitical institutions both in the country of origin and in the country wherethe arms are destined. Attempts by groups to circumvent arms embargos imposedon rogue states have also been a problematic issue in recent years.

Another area ofrising concern today is the smuggling of nuclear materials and WMDs, which islinked to rising concern over terrorism. The smuggling of nuclear materials,either sponsored by rogue states or orchestrated by terrorist groups, hasbecome a central concern for law enforcement. There has been an increase indiscoveries of nuclear smuggling activities by law enforcement officials inGermany, Hungary, and other states that border the former U.S.S.R., as it hasbeen discovered that nuclear materials are often purchased from Russiangovernment-controlled institutions, highlighting the inadequate control byauthorities over these institutions.

Another area ofparticular concern is the trafficking in persons. The widening of the gapbetween rich and poor countries in recent years, advances in transportationtechnology, and the greater permeability of borders, particularly in Europe,have made illegal trafficking in humans a key transnational crime issue.Trafficking has increased, particularly of women and children from poorercountries, many of whom hope for a better life abroad but are duped and soldinto slavery or forced into prostitution. Trafficking in people has risen inthe 1990s especially among migrants from Southern and Eastern Europe and fromthe Far East.

A key criminalservice underpinning the above activities is money laundering. Money launderinghas grown considerably, owing to the better information and communicationtechnologies that have emerged within the world's financial systems. Moreover, thefreer movement of people and goods across borders, the lack of coordinationamong law enforcement agencies in different countries, banking secrecy, and thediscrepancies among nation-states in terms of financial regulation andlegislation regarding money laundering have also contributed to theproliferation of tax havens and money laundering.

Furthermore,although there has been a great deal of discussion of the destabilizing effectsof money laundering, it is a phenomenon that is still poorly grasped and anarea for which there is little certain empirical evidence or statistical data—allthis in addition to poor training for staff carrying out research.

In sum, the challengesposed by transnational crime are many, not least because numerous forms oftransnational crime have bourgeoned in recent years. The response ofpolicymakers and law enforcement agencies to the growing threat oftransnational crime has enjoyed some successes, but much more can be done.

Conclusion

Transnationalcrime as a concept offers a lens through which we can better discuss andanalyze cross-border criminal activity. Although the phenomenon was rarelydiscussed in the 1980s, the emergence of transnational crime in the 1990s as asecurity issue resulted from both changes to the international system andchanges to domestic attitudes toward security and crime in both Europe and theUnited States. The result has been the growing acceptance among countries thattransnational crime poses significant security challenges to nation-states. TheNaples declaration and, more recently, the U.N. convention that addressedtransnational crime have further institutionalized transnational crime as asecurity issue of paramount importance.