Combating Crime and Corruption: U.S. Partnership With the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at WorkAmbassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United NationsRemarks in the United Nations Trusteeship Council Chamber New York City December 15, 2005 Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished colleagues, it is an honor to be invited to speak before you today. Since 1997, when the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime was established, we have watched it evolve into a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime. With over 20 offices spanning the globe, UNODC is playing a critical role in a number of areas, from its important analytical work gathering facts on the ground, to encouraging member states to ratify and implement important treaties, to actual on the ground projects enhancing the capacity and ability of member states to counter illicit narcotics trade and combat crime and terrorism. I am particularly delighted to speak to you today, though, to honor the work you have done to combat corruption. Yesterday, as you are aware, the Convention Against Corruption entered into force. The diligent and thoughtful work that UNODC has done to make this day possible is a testament to the much deserved praise the office has received. A key factor in this success has been the ability of UNODC under the leadership of Mr. Antonio Maria Costa to work cooperatively not only with member states, but other international organizations and UN agencies as well. There is no doubt that corrupt activities tied to criminal organizations and the drug trade are mutually reinforcing. UNODC’s close relationship and ability to work with law enforcement agencies around the world is critical to the success it has achieved. By mutually recognizing the value that other agencies can offer to work together to solve a problem, and not viewing it through the narrow prism of turf, UNODC and many of its partners have demonstrated what cooperation can accomplish. As successful as UNODC has been, though, much more remains to be done. This is why I would like to reiterate a key point addressed by Mr. Costa in his remarks to the General Assembly this past September, when he issued a call for action, noting that, and I quote: "governments, institutions, and individuals need to do more than just voice a political commitment to drug control and crime prevention. Resolutions here in New York, like the Conventions we brokered in Vienna, are only helpful if they trigger concrete initiatives." We firmly agree with that assessment and believe strongly that the Convention against Corruption which entered into force yesterday is a step in that direction. In the short time I have before you today, I would like to discuss what the United States is doing to take concrete action to achieve our shared goals. We hope to hear ideas from you as well at this important conference on ways we stamp out corruption and criminal behavior which has wreaked havoc on so many countries and countless individuals. Corruption With regard to corruption, the United States has and will continue to take a policy of zero tolerance. As President Bush has noted, the stakes are very high. In his own words, the President noted how corruption hinders sustainable development, erodes confidence in democratic institutions, and facilitates transnational crime and terrorism." Fortunately, there is some good news to report stemming from our cooperative efforts. In the past ten years, we have witnessed a marked and positive change in attitudes about the problem of corruption and how to approach it. Fifteen years ago, countries allowed tax deductibility for bribes paid to foreign officials; today, no country would think of this and all OECD nations are working together to prosecute bribery. Fifteen years ago, countries were reluctant to even talk about corruption and considered it solely a domestic problem; today there are a plethora of gatherings and multilateral mechanisms specifically created to address the problem of corruption. Indeed, 15 years ago, some countries erroneously argued that corruption was actually acceptable in certain cultural situations; no one would argue that today. The entry into force of the Convention Against Corruption shows just how far we have come, though clearly, there is still more work that remains to be done. The World Bank estimates that over $1 trillion is paid in bribes each year to corrupt government officials. The impact is significant. Initially, corruption facilitates drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering and illicit international money transfers, which can be used to support mechanisms for international terrorists. But the toll on an impoverished nation is even more devastating and real. Money that could have been spent improving a country’s health, energy or other infrastructure is frittered away for personal enrichment. As reported by UNODC, Former President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, for example, is believed to have looted the country of some $5 billion -- an amount equal to the country’s external debt at the time. The deleterious effects of corruption are compounded by causing investors either to flee or never show up in the first place. We are all familiar with what is commonly know as Gresham’s Law "bad money driving out good money", which is why we must continue to reward countries that achieve tangible results in building institutions related to good governance and rule of law. As Secretary Rice noted, the philosophy of the United States is one of "offering incentives for honest and transparent behavior." It was with this philosophy in mind that the United States created the Millennium Challenge Account. As President Bush has noted, "good government is an essential condition of development, [the MCA] will reward nations that root out corruption, respect human rights, and adhere to the rule of law." The United States is proud to be a voluntary sponsor of so many UNODC projects to help educate and develop skills and tools to combat international crime, corruption, narcotics trafficking and terrorism at the national and local levels throughout the world. Some of these projects include the Global Program against Money Laundering which includes the development of Financial Intelligence Units and expertise of regulators, law enforcement, and the judiciary. Another project we are proud to sponsor is UNODC’s work to develop model bilateral agreements for countries to utilize when dealing with the disposal of confiscated proceeds of a crime. One of the most important projects the United States is helping to voluntarily fund is UNODC’s effort to help educate countries on the importance of signing and ratifying the UN Convention against Corruption. With its entry into force, UNODC should be proud of the work it began with the adoption of the Convention against Corruption in New York, Nov. 2003 and its signing by almost 100 countries, including the United States, in Merida, Mexico, Dec. 2003. The results are impressive. To date, the Convention has 140 signatories and 38 parties. The United States is proud to have actively participated in the negotiation of the Convention, including its important provisions on the recovery of stolen assets. President Bush submitted the Convention to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification this autumn. We have consulted extensively with the private sector, including the business and legal communities, and we hope the Convention will enjoy widespread support. We encourage the U.S. Senate provide its advice and consent to ratification of this important Convention at an early date. And we look forward to continuing our work with UNODC in its efforts to help educate others about the importance of the Convention we are here today to celebrate. It is important to use today's events to highlight and bring awareness to the problem, and then take this awareness and turn it into action. These actions must be comprehensive as well, including enforcing laws against those who commit corrupt acts, ensuring broad participation in anticorruption efforts, and establishing regulatory and other measures such as auditing, and financial management controls to prevent corruption from happening in the first place. Only when we adopt a comprehensive view of the problem, can we begin to develop comprehensive solutions. Frankly, though, we must also make sure that our own houses are in order -- and that includes the United Nations itself. We must not and cannot allow the Oil-for-Food scandal to be swept under the rug. It is never pleasant to shine a light on one’s own institution and discover corruption, but if the United Nations is to be an instrumental force in fighting corruption, it should not be guilty of the charge itself. The United States is vigorously pursuing prosecution of and bringing to justice those U.S. companies implicated by the Volcker Commission's independent inquiry. Federal and local authorities have already indicted a number of people and companies that allegedly participated in illegal activities relating to the Oil-For-Food Program. The U.S. believes it is the duty of law enforcement agencies in nations around the world to pursue people and companies in their countries that did the same. The best deterrent to future corrupt complicity in the circumvention of sanctions regimes is to prosecute vigorously those many people and entities that profited financially from the corruption of the UN Oil for Food Program. U.S. Efforts to Combat Illicit Drugs Let me now turn to discuss other areas in which the United States and UNODC are working so closely together. When corruption of government officials is allowed to flourish, we see government officials and agencies turn a blind eye to the scourge of illicit drugs--a scourge that impacts not only the individual lives of drug users, but the economies and societies of countries where drugs are grown or manufactured. Allow me a moment to discuss our work with UNODC in this area. With specific regard to combating trade in illicit drugs, the United States is adopting a comprehensive strategy targeting not only the supply side of the equation, but the demand side as well. We are also constantly re-examining trends in drug production and use to respond to new realities. A disturbing development within that past decade, for example, has been the rise of manufacture and use of synthetic drugs, or amphetamine-type stimulants, such as methamphetamines. Free from the constraints imposed by having to grow particular plants, methamphetamine production has skyrocketed in years given that its non-harmful precursor chemicals are not controlled and readily are available at grocery and drug stores. The United States, in close tandem with UNODC, and the International Narcotics Control Board, are working to counter this threat. Just two weeks ago, the Permanent Mission of the United States in Vienna hosted an important conference to work on countering this threat, bringing together UNODC, interested representatives from Missions in Vienna, as well as counter-drug policy makers from the U.S. Government, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy ONDCP), the State Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA), as well as European Commission counter-drug experts.
With regard to tackling the supply side of the drug problem, the strategy of the U.S. Government is to disrupt the market for illegal drugs -- and to do so in a way that both reduces the profitability of the drug trade and increases the costs of drugs to consumers. In other words, we seek to inflict on this business what every legal business fears -- escalating costs, diminishing profits, and unreliable suppliers. We are beginning to see results. Like UNODC, the U.S. believes strongly in a comprehensive approach to solving the drug problem. One example of this has been the success of Plan Colombia. With the help of UNODC and other international groups, we are working to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs and strengthen democracy. By nearly any measure, our efforts in Colombia, together with those of the Colombian Government, have achieved remarkable successes. Seizures and eradication are at record levels. In 2004, Colombia, working closely with the United States, sprayed over 136,000 hectares (more than 300,000 acres) of coca and over 3,000 hectares (some 7,000 acres) of opium poppy. The 114,100 hectares of coca under cultivation at the end of 2004 represented a 33% reduction from the peak-growing year in 2001 when almost 170,000 hectares of coca were under cultivation. Colombia is on a pace to aerially eradicate more than 140,000 hectares by the end of 2005, another record-breaking year. Seizures of cocaine and HCL in 2004 were a record 178 metric tons that followed record years in 2002 and 2003. Kidnappings, massacres, and murders are down significantly. The economy is improving and for the first time in recent memory, many Colombians believe that a lasting peace may actually be achievable. These results are being replicated in other countries as well, and I am pleased to state that overall, after years of steady increases, cocaine production in the Andes continues to decrease. Overall, coca cultivation in the entire Andean region has decreased by 26% from 2001-2004. Opium cultivation has decreased by 65% since 2001. We know this a sensitive issue for some and can create friction at times. It is for this reason that the United States also takes seriously too our commitment to both drug crop eradication and helping to offer alternative forms of sustainable development. UNODC currently estimates that some 4 million people depend on the cultivation of illicit drug crops for their livelihood. Contrary to what some critics have suggested, however, the raising of such crops condemns these individuals to a life of poverty. The idea that drug lords are helping impoverished farmers is absurd. Take, for example, the case of Afghanistan. UNODC reports that annual gross profits to opium farmers, equal only $1,800 per farming family, while traffickers made more than $2.14 billion in gross profits this year. It was with this in mind that President Karzai remarked recently at UNODC headquarters that, "Opium is giving the people of Afghanistan a bad name, and criminalizing our culture, while fattening the bank accounts of other people in other places." More broadly, UNODC’s own research supports this view. As it notes, "Although the drug trade often helps them cope with food shortages and the vagaries of other agricultural markets, economic dependence on illicit crops is not sustainable in the long-term. Forming an enclave in the national economy and excluded from mainstream development, the cultivation of coca bush and opium poppy leaves farmers in the hands of unreliable middlemen…. Moreover, farmers are continuously confronted with the threat of forced eradication of their illicit crop by the government, which exacerbates their precarious socio-economic condition. Given suitable alternatives, most families would gladly switch to other sources of income." But we must not shy away from the challenges ahead. We know that there is still significant work to be done in Afghanistan. While U.S. estimates indicated a marked decrease in poppy cultivation during the last growing season, the 2005 crop yield remains the second largest on record after last year's unprecedented harvest. The U.S. remains concerned and early reports potentially suggest that next year's crop numbers will show a strong rebound. Moreover, as UNODC was the first to publicize widely, there is evidence that Afghanistan is now becoming a major supplier of cannabis as well. We are not sitting idly by though. We have a 5-pillar counternarcotics strategy that includes improving rural economic opportunity with alternative livelihood programs and working with our coalition partners and the Government of Afghanistan to develop and implement a revised, democratic system of laws and methods of imposing fair, balanced justice. In addition to our efforts to promote democracy, rule of law and economic development in Afghanistan, we are pleased to be working with UNODC and their pioneering efforts to promote and improve regional cross-border cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbors in Central Asia. For those unaware, UNODC is implementing a regional project for strengthening law enforcement capacities and cross-border cooperation between Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan was formulated. The project aims to build institutions, develop strategies and improve drug and crime control measures and is focused on the Murghab Province in Tajikistan, the Andijan Province in Uzbekistan, and the Osh Province in Kyrgyzstan. These types of initiatives exemplify why UNODC has developed such a good reputation in capitals around the world, particularly in the last few years. Human Trafficking Corruption, and how it fosters criminal activity and bolsters criminal organizations around the world, must be tackled for another reason as well. One of the great unseen tragedies we have seen unfold in recent years is the growing trade in human smuggling and trafficking. We applaud the work of UNODC to help educate people on the important distinction between smuggling and trafficking, while highlighting that both activities often result in abuse and exploitation of those involved. While data by definition are hard to come by, UNODC reports that organized crime syndicates, such as the Yakuza, the Triads, and the Mafia amass close to $7 billion annually from the economic and sexual slave trade. This disproportionately impacts young women and children, many of whom are often abused, raped, and at incredible risk of contracting HIV. The U.S. takes this growing epidemic seriously. We are well aware of the devastating human toll this inflicts, but also the potential implications for national security, given the possibility for clandestine terrorist travel. For these combined reasons, in 2004, the United States established the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, designed to integrate our government’s enforcement and other response efforts, and work with other governments to address the separate but related issues of alien smuggling, trafficking in persons, and criminal support of clandestine terrorist travel. We applaud the work of UNODC to establish a series of technical cooperation projects in those countries whose citizens are most at risk. The database UNODC is developing will be critical in helping us collect the best information possible that can be used by policymakers to combat this growing tragedy. Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to thank the courageous work of the over 500 staff members of the UNODC and join you in celebrating the entry into force of the UN Convention Against Corruption. The praise your organization and leadership has received is well deserved and also well documented. It is worth pointing out that UNODC relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments, for over 90 percent of its budget. In fiscal year 2005 alone, the United States provided over $25 million in voluntary contributions for UNODC’s work, or approximately 20 percent of all voluntary contributions received by UNODC. This is a testament to your proven track record of achieving results in a competitive world of NGO financing. The United States is proud to have been a leader in the negotiation and promotion of ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption and to be a voluntary contributor to so many UNODC projects because we recognize that it is a good investment of our resources. We look forward to continuing this fine and close working relationship with UNODC and the important work you do. Released on December 15, 2005 |
 | |||
|
