VIENNA, 22 MAY – The 30th Session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) met in Vienna from May 17 to May 22 to discuss several resolutions to advance crime prevention, criminal justice, and the rule of law. Seven of them were adopted including one, introduced by Italy and the United States, to strengthen international cooperation against migrant smuggling.
The meeting, chaired by the Italian Permanent Representative to the international organizations in Vienna, Ambassador Alessandro Cortese, welcomed representatives of 125 member states, 15 intergovernmental organizations, about 50 NGOs and other UN entities. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, in which members participated both in-person and online. The CCPCJ is the principal policymaking body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice.
The Italy-US resolution received unanimous consent. Goal of the document is to contrast criminal organizations that illegally exploit the migrant crisis through the adaptation of national laws, judicial cooperation, and the development of effective financial investigations. The resolution expresses the strong commitment of the international community to strengthen the protection of the right to life, the right not to be subjected to torture and inhumane treatment, and the rights of migrants.
Opening of the 30th session, the Italian Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia underlined the “special significance of the 30th anniversary of the Commission, which brings to mind the work of Judge Giovanni Falcone, whose innovative vision paved the way for the elaboration of the so called “Palermo Convention.” Cartabia then highlighted how the “Falcone Method” has launched a new perspective in the fight against organized crime, moving from an individualistic and repressive vision to a profound structural analysis of this phenomenon. Judge Falcone, who spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian Mafia, was killed in 1992 in a car bomb attack near Palermo. His “Method” has been universally recognized as a revolutionary investigative technique that emphasizes: looking at the big-picture before analyzing small details; identifying and dismantling the economic relations between criminal organizations; and making strategic use of “pentiti” (gangsters that collaborate with a public prosecutor in exchange for protection from the former bosses) to better understand criminal actions.
The legacy of Falcone “was very visible in two important moments of the work of the Commission,” Antonio Balsamo, legal advisor of the Italian mission in Vienna, told the AdnKronos news agency. This was evident through “developing and implementing complete strategies to prevent and fight organized crime,” an effort co-organized by Great Britain and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as the adoption of the Italian-US resolution. (@BrittanyBryantF)
