Helsinki Commission hearing focuses on organized crime and corruption (04/09/00)

Helsinki Commission hearing focuses on organized crime and corruption

by Chadwick R. Gore

WASHINGTON - "Widespread corruption in countries of the OSCE threatens their ability to provide strong independent legal regimes, market-based economies and social well-being for their citizens. Corruption is stymying economic reforms in these countries and impeding efforts to improve the status of disadvantaged groups," said Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.).

"In the absence of effective civil rule of law, mafia have flourished through their corrupt connections, gained power over whole sectors of economies and derailed legislative reform agendas inimical to their interest," he added at the March 23 hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission.

The hearing, the second in a series, examined the impact of organized crime and corruption in southeast Europe and Central Asia, and both regional and international efforts to address this threat. As the United States has a strategic interest in promoting democratic reform and stability in southeast Europe and the former Soviet Union, the Helsinki Commission has pressed for greater involvement by the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe in efforts to combat corruption.

"This commission has pushed for a greater recognition of the threat of organized crime and corruption in the OSCE and supported efforts to develop an OSCE strategy to combat them. The U.S. delegation to the annual meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly last year in St. Petersburg, Russia, co-led by myself and Sen. [Ben Nighthorse] Campbell, called for the convening of an OSCE ministerial meeting to develop strategies to combat these threats. I particularly appreciate the leadership of the co-chairman on this initiative. At the OSCE PA,we also introduced a resolution condemning the cross-border trafficking in women and children which, along with drugs and weapons, is a major industry for organized crime entities. Our commission worked closely with the State Department to ensure that combating crime and corruption was on the agenda of our heads of state during the OSCE Istanbul Summit last November."

Co-Chairman Campbell (R-Colo.) said, "Organized crime and corruption directly bear upon U.S. security, economic and political interests at home and abroad. ...Twenty-five years after the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, there is perhaps no single greater threat to the core OSCE principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law than organized crime and corruption. The United States and the OSCE have vested interests in effectively combating organized crime and corruption. I intend to continue to play an active role in developing concrete recommendations to advance within the framework of the OSCE."

Witnesses at the hearing included Rob Boone, assistant secretary for narcotics and international law enforcement affairs, U.S. Department of State; James K. Weber, deputy assistant director, Investigative Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation; John Tennant, deputy assistant administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; Adrian Karatnycky, president, Freedom House; and, Nancy Lubin, president, JNA Associates Inc.

"This is a matter in which the initiative of the commission under your leadership, as well as that of your parliamentary colleagues from other OSCE nations, has been of decisive significance," said said Mr. Boone.

"Corruption was, as we all know, a staple of the Communist regimes in the former Soviet bloc. So it should not surprise us to learn that 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, corruption is still very much a part of everyday life in this region," said Mr. Tennant. "But let me emphasize that corruption is in no way limited to Europe and Eurasia. This is at root a development issue, borne mostly of inadequate or weak democratic institutions. Therefore, we cannot treat the symptom of corruption without also addressing the illness of, among other things, an overly centralized, bureaucratic and ineffective system of governance."

Mr. Karatnycky underlined: "The fight against corruption is popular in the West and with the publics of the region. As a result, all sorts of regimes - including some of the most corrupt - undertake highly publicized efforts to root out corruption and graft. Yet, in a context in which the rule of law is absent and the judiciary is under the control of an authoritarian ruler, justice frequently is perverted."

"We must be careful not to view the struggle against corruption as somehow divorced from economic and political reform. In particular, we should refrain from collaboration in government anti-corruption activities in those post-Soviet regimes in which opposition is suppressed, the media are censored and controlled, and the executive authority is subsequent to the judiciary," he cautioned "In many of these countries, the struggle against corruption is frequently a means of settling score with political opponents. Thus, U.S. cooperation in the anti-corruption efforts of such regimes, effectively corrupts our own standards of respect for the rule of law."

Ms. Lubin pointed out: "The general system of crime and corruption in Central Asia is so complete one cannot tell what is official and what is not. There is little appreciation in Washington of the real environment. Thus, there is trouble in implementing well-conceived programs from Washington in the area."

When asked whether the U.S. should deal with corrupt governments and engage them programmatically, both Mr. Lubin and Mr. Karatnycky felt the United States must deal with these countries at all levels, but does not have to embrace them and give a stamp of approval. "It's not if, but how, we engage them," said Ms. Lubin.

The full text of the testimony given at the Helsinki Commission hearing is available at http://www.house.gov/csce/.

The 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit Charter recognized the multi-dimensional threat posed by corruption, and the OSCE Permanent Council is currently examining ways of contributing to efforts to combat corruption.

In addition, the eighth annual meeting of the OSCE Economic Forum, scheduled for April 11-14 in Prague, will examine the impact of corruption on institution-building and the rule of law in the context of post-conflict rehabilitation. During its annual meeting in Bucharest on July 6-10, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will focus on "OSCE Challenges in the 21st Century - Good Governance: Regional Cooperation, Strengthening Democratic Institutions, Promoting Transparency, Enforcing the Rule of Law and Combating Corruption."

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