The 122nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Cognizant of the fact that while globalization fosters many positive advancements, interdependence between States and the opening of borders, it also has a negative effect, that of facilitating transnational organized crime, in particular drug trafficking, illegal arms trafficking, trafficking in persons, cross-border terrorism and money laundering, and that this requires the implementation of relevant international and domestic legal instruments,

Recalling that 2010 marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and of its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,

Recalling United Nations General Assembly resolution 63/194 of 18 December 2008 (Improving the coordination of efforts against trafficking in persons) and Human Rights Council resolution 11/3 of 17 June 2009 (Trafficking in persons, especially women and children),

Also recalling the resolution of the 118th IPU Assembly (Cape Town, 2008), on The role of parliaments in striking a balance between national security, human security and individual freedoms, and in averting the threat to democracy,

Recalling the resolutions on combating terrorism adopted by the IPU at its 108th Conference (Santiago de Chile, 2003) and its 111th (Geneva, 2004), 115th (Geneva, 2006) and 116th (Bali, 2007) Assemblies,

Aware that drug trafficking is one of the principal illicit activities worldwide, that it constitutes a serious threat to the global community, and that, when compounded by drug abuse, it is not only harmful to the stability and integrity of the world, but also adversely affects the health of human beings and the security of families, communities and society at large, and hinders development plans and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in different countries,

Convinced that any effort to effectively combat the trafficking of agriculturally produced drugs must incorporate a reduction in the amount of land cultivated for that purpose, and that this goal implies the implementation of incentive programmes for alternative crop cultivation,

Aware that trafficking in persons is a modern form of slavery and a human rights violation affecting men, women and children worldwide, that certain practices, negative attitudes and maltreatment of trafficked victims persist and that the well-being of these vulnerable groups is further threatened by the global financial and economic downturn and new forms of transnational organized crime,

Recognizing that migrant smuggling is often facilitated by organized crime networks, generating huge profits for the smugglers while exposing irregular migrants to serious personal risks and making them vulnerable to trafficking in persons,

Recognizing the nexus between drug trafficking, corruption and other forms of organized crime, including trafficking in persons, trafficking in arms, cybercrime, cross-border terrorism, money laundering and the financing of terrorism,

Considering that illegal arms trafficking contributes to conflict, the displacement of persons, crime and terrorism, thereby undermining global peace, safety and security,

Recalling that in its resolution 64/48 of 2 December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene an international conference on the arms trade treaty in 2012 to elaborate a legally binding instrument on the highest possible common international standards for the transfer of conventional arms,

Mindful that the phenomenon of cross-border terrorism continues to represent a substantial threat to peace and security in the world, and continues to endanger political institutions, economic stability and the welfare of nations,

Recognizing the significant challenges faced by law enforcement and judicial authorities in responding to the ever changing means used by transnational criminal organizations, including the increasing use of the Internet, global positioning system (GPS) techniques and other geographical information systems, to avoid detection and prosecution,

Appreciating the positive roles of the IPU, governments, non-governmental organizations and international organizations in joint parliamentary activities to combat transnational organized crime, such as drafting stringent legislative measures to combat the financing of terrorism and cross-border terrorism, and implementing the parliamentary measures set forth in the joint IPU-United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) publication, Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians,

1. Fully affirms the strong determination and clear commitment of IPU Member Parliaments to strengthen and harmonize drug-related laws, regulations and additional measures, pursue strong regional cooperation to combat drug trafficking. within the framework of international cooperation, with international legal instruments on drugs, and enhance the technical capability of law enforcement and judicial authorities;

2. Reaffirms the strong determination of IPU Member Parliaments to strengthen laws against corruption and transnational organized crime and calls upon States that have not yet done so to consider ratifying or acceding to the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto as a matter of priority and to fully implement their provisions;

3. Also reaffirms its unwavering commitment to ensure that all aspects of laws on drugs and organized crime are in full conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

4. Also reaffirms its unwavering commitment to intensify efforts to counter the illicit cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, abuse, transit, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, especially heroin, cocaine and its derivatives, amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), the diversion of precursor chemicals, misuse of pharmaceutical medicines and preparations as well as drug-related criminal activities, through a balanced, comprehensive, sustainable and gender-sensitive approach;

5. Agrees to develop and strengthen partnerships and cooperation mechanisms for combating drug trafficking on the international, regional and bilateral levels, and to ensure that these mechanisms are effective and achieve their goals;

6. Decides to intensify joint parliamentary efforts to share best practices and experiences in combating drug trafficking and developing national laws that comply with international standards and uphold the rule of law;

7. Calls on countries where agriculturally produced drugs are made and consumed to cooperate with a view to developing and implementing assistance programmes for the farmers concerned in order to encourage them to turn to alternative crop cultivation in economically viable conditions;

8. Encourages parliaments to mainstream gender equality concerns in all legislation and oversight practices (including the formulation, enforcement and monitoring of laws and budgets) to ensure that women and children are protected from all forms of abuse and that they are provided with legal, medical and other forms of assistance; 

9. Invites IPU Member Parliaments to ensure that international cooperation actions and measures are enhanced and strengthened by way of technical assistance to agents in charge of combating organized crime;

10. Calls on IPU Member Parliaments to foster dialogue and cooperation with a view to developing and harmonizing efforts to combat the production, abuse and trafficking of illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines, and the misuse of drugs, noting that enhanced technological capabilities enable counterfeiters to produce drugs and packaging that can barely be distinguished from the original product;

11. Calls on parliaments to urge their respective governments to tighten controls of goods passing through their territory;

12. Urges IPU Member Parliaments to support tax exemption and other initiatives in respect of products grown or produced by alternative development projects on lands formerly devoted to the production of illicit drugs, and for individuals and private-sector companies that contribute to such projects or other drug control activities, in compliance with World Trade Organization rules and regulations, as incentives to combat the drug menace;

13. Encourages IPU Member Parliaments to support national efforts against illegal arms trafficking and, where appropriate, strengthen national laws in this regard;

14. Also encourages IPU Member Parliaments to support and participate in the development of a comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms, building on arms transfer principles already established in existing regional and multilateral arms control agreements;

15. Invites the IPU to seriously discuss the possibility of harmonizing laws on trafficking in persons in each country to ensure compatibility and seamless cooperation in order to combat trafficking in persons;

16. Also invites IPU Member Parliaments to be more proactive in combating trafficking in persons and other forms of exploitation such as child pornography, by drawing up and implementing a comprehensive work plan and laws that are consistent with international standards, criminalize trafficking and other forms of exploitation and include prevention, protection and assistance measures;

17. Calls on IPU Member Parliaments to heighten public awareness, including through enhanced cooperation with civil society, to promote cooperation in the fight against trafficking in persons, to tackle the root causes of the problem such as poverty, gender inequality, oppression, lack of human rights protection, and lack of social or economic opportunities, and to enhance awareness by the competent authorities of the need to preserve the human rights of trafficked victims and their families, taking into account the special needs of women and children;

18. Calls on parliaments to encourage governments to tighten entry and exit controls of children and to monitor adoptions and the activities of associations and non-governmental organizations working with minors;

19. Encourages IPU Member Parliaments, in line with the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to support the establishment up of mechanisms to monitor the human rights impact of anti-trafficking laws, policies, programmes and interventions;

20. Also encourages States to protect the victims of trafficking in persons by establishing rehabilitation programmes that also comprise medical and psychological care, social and legal assistance, education and training;

21. Calls on the IPU to provide its Member Parliaments with recommendations and best practices for the establishment of a special parliamentary committee on combating trafficking in persons, and for the appointment of a national rapporteur or equivalent mechanism to monitor the development and implementation of national measures to combat trafficking in persons, and to monitor and evaluate the implementation of relevant national action plans once they have been put in place;

22. Urges IPU Member Parliaments to ensure that all measures taken to combat terrorism are in line with their respective State’s international obligations, in particular international human rights standards, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, notably to ensure protection of the rights of victims of terrorism and of the individual right to privacy;

23. Calls on IPU Member Parliaments to take into account, in exercising their legislative and oversight functions, the fact that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality or ethnic group, and hence profiling based on any of these factors should not be used by national and transnational agencies in their efforts to combat terrorism;

24. Invites IPU Member Parliaments to strengthen their respective legal systems in accordance with the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism with a view to combating money laundering and financing of terrorist activities and to ensure that all measures taken are in line with their respective State’s international obligations;

25. Calls on States to take all the necessary measures to combat terrorism, in particular by preventing their territories from being used for cross-border terrorist acts and by swiftly bringing to justice the persons or entities in their territory that participate in these acts;

26. Calls on States to adhere to all relevant United Nations resolutions, conventions and international agreements and to take measures to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism in all its manifestations and forms;

27. Invites the United Nations to consider convening an international conference on the fight against terrorism, with a view to evaluating progress in meeting international commitments, analysing the impact of new forms of terrorism, and determining whether existing national legislation does indeed meet international humanitarian and human rights standards;

28. Calls for universal ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and invites parliaments to support the effective functioning of the newly established UNCAC review mechanism;

29. Also urges national parliaments to adopt legislation providing more stringent penalties for corruption and organized crime, and to apply standards of good governance, accountability and transparency in public institutions with a view to combating corruption;

30. Urges the IPU to promote international cooperation to combat financial safe havens in the form of extradition agreements, confiscation and forfeiture of assets, social sanctions, mutual legal assistance, and good governance in order to combat money laundering;

31. Invites IPU Member States to undertake a thorough evaluation and screening of officials in charge of public institutions with a view to preventing their involvement in activities related to transnational organized crime;

32. Recommends the establishment of enhanced mechanisms for international cooperation, particularly among intelligence services and systems, in the fight against organized crime, while, at the same time, affirming that information shared in the course of these cooperative efforts should be used only for the purpose for which it was originally provided and in the light of each country’s specificities;

33. Invites IPU Member Parliaments from donor countries to promote development cooperation programmes aimed at upgrading criminal justice systems in countries vulnerable to organized crime;

34. Also recommends that the fight against transnational organized crime be strengthened and intensified so as to foster lasting solutions through the promotion of human rights and equitable socioeconomic conditions;

35. Invites parliamentarians to make use of the technical services and expertise provided by UNODC in specialized workshops and training courses, and to call on the United Nations General Assembly in cases related to crime prevention, international drug control and the fight against terrorism.

---

^* The delegation of Iran (Islamic Rep. of) expressed a reservation on operative paragraph 8 in relation to the concept of "gender equality".

---

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 122nd Assembly and related meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union" in PDF format (file size approximately 649 Kb). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

HOME PAGEIPU ASSEMBLYMAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITYIPU STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTS