Final Declaration by the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministers' Meeting
Declaration by the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministers' Meeting
Rome, Italy
May 29-30, 2009
During the G8 ministerial meeting of Justice and Home Affairs, held in Rome on 29th and 30th May 2009, we, the Ministers of Justice and the Home Affairs, discussed a number of issues of common interest in the field of justice and home affairs. The current E.U. Presidency and the European Commission, Interpol, UNODC and UNICRI attended the meeting as well.
We focused our attention on issues of strategic importance related to fighting international terrorism and transnational organized crime, identifying the attack to illicit assets as a crucial tool for more effective enforcement strategy.
We discussed the increasing phenomenon of piracy at sea.
We have examined the phenomenon of human trafficking and illegal immigration, by analyzing the possible intervention strategies and considering the issue of integration of immigrants.
We also discussed some very topical issues ‐ cybercrime and countering child pornography. As regards child pornography, we intended to emphasize its importance by adopting a stand‐alone ad hoc declaration.
We then analyzed the issue of urban security, as a new “global security issue”, which our countries are increasingly called to deal with.
CONCLUSIONS
Counterterrorism
We, the G8 Ministers of Justice and the Home Affairs, strongly reaffirm our condemnation of terrorism and will continue to combat it in accordance with the principles of the rule of law.
We are also aware that, despite the efforts and successes reported by the international community, terrorism is still one of the most serious threats to international security.
The threat assessment shows that international terrorist groups maintain a significant offensive capability, and show considerable organisational flexibility in adapting their structures and operational models to contexts of reference.
The ability of radicalization and recruitment of international terrorism is a cause of great concern.
To counter these phenomena, the best defence is prevention. To this end, we need to broaden and share our knowledge on the recipients of radical preaching and the channels used to spread fundamentalism.
This requires monitoring gathering places and new media, such as the Internet.
The counter‐terrorism co‐operation between G8 countries is essential and it is important to continue to strengthen co‐operation with well‐established instruments, such as the joint threat assessment and the exchange of knowledge and best practices.
The key objectives of international co-operation lie in blocking the channels of terrorist financing, also by studying the new forms of funding terrorist activities, as well as reducing the vulnerability of critical infrastructures, impeding the use of cyberspace for terrorist purposes and preventing CBRN terrorism.
We have stressed the importance of making preventive measures compatible with the respect for fundamental human rights, taking into account the indications expressed by international Courts.
We agreed on the importance of supporting the process of strengthening the protection of human rights in third countries, well aware of the fact that the fight against terrorism can also be enhanced through a wider adherence to internationally recognized standards of protection of fundamental rights.
In order not to waste the wealth of knowledge accumulated during the info-investigative activities and to achieve a sustainable balance between security and rule of law, we agreed to analyse how to make a wider use of investigative findings and intelligence in court cases.
Transnational Organized Crime
Transnational organized crime undermines the rule of law and affects the economy. The analysis of the threat posed by transnational crime has registered a global expansion of drug trafficking, arms smuggling and trafficking in human beings, while money laundering has increased and forgeries and violations of intellectual property have proliferated.
We reaffirm the need to pay attention to the possible connections of transnational crime with international terrorism.
We expressed concern about the recent upsurge of piracy at sea, which our countries are determined to fight. We examined in particular the complex aspects related to jurisdiction.
We, the G8 Ministers of Justice and the Interior, consider transnational organized crime a threat to national security and a threat to international stability.
Today, this threat is more spread out and more complex than in the past. As a result, it is ever more necessary to strengthen further international cooperation as a priority for an effective fight.
The international community has taken an important first step in that direction with the Palermo Convention and the annexed Protocols, and a further implementation of them should be encouraged.
As G8 Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs, we recognize the important contribution made by UNODC, UNICRI and INTERPOL in preventing and combating transnational organized crime and their roles in support to the States.
A key‐point of our considerations is that we have agreed that in order to dismantle transnational organized crime one of the most effective means is to attack the illicit assets, which it controls.
It is important that these large assets, scattered all over the world, can be attacked by law enforcement agencies in a preventive manner, wherever they are and whoever is the front owner.
Based on positive national experiences, we have agreed to consider allocating resources diverted from organized crime for the sake of social utility and, in particular, for security. This would provide substantial funds to States to combat crime and, furthermore, it would have a significant impact on gaining social acceptance of the need to live life
within the constraints of legal rules (“culture of legality”) and in restoring our citizens’ confidence in the institutions.
We agreed to deepen the legal, operational and management aspects of the subject and, to this end, we appointed experts to conduct the necessary analysis.
As regards the issue of piracy at sea, we are leaving it to the experts to examine issues relating to jurisdiction.
Child Pornography
Sexual exploitation of children, even before being a heinous crime, is a violation of rights.
As Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs, we firmly condemn all forms of sexual exploitation of children, including sex tourism, and regard child pornography on the web as a particularly detestable form of cybercrime.
The G8 co‐operation in this area is well established and it allows us to combat this despicable phenomenon effectively.
We consider it important to develop further the G8 initiative on the “International Most Wanted” website and appreciate the projects in this area by the experts of the Roma‐Lyon Group. These include efforts to stop child sex tourism, as well as the recent International Symposium at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill on the sexual exploitation of children, which are initiatives that strengthen our capacity to prevent and combat this phenomenon.
The continuous advances in technology offer more scope for improving international co‐operation in regulatory and operational terms.
We believe, in particular, that significant advances could result from the creation of the G8 blacklist of sites containing child pornography, aimed at blocking navigation to paedophile sites. The blacklist could be run by international organizations.
Further progress would be achieved through a wider membership of the Virtual Global Taskforce, shared and specialized software and online undercover investigations.
We therefore instruct the experts in the Roma‐Lyon Group to study the various aspects underlying the implementation of the above‐mentioned devices for international collaboration.
Recognizing the importance of bringing together our efforts to combat child pornography online and offline, we have adopted a stand‐alone Declaration on child pornography, entitled “The Risk to Children Posed by Child Pornography Offenders”.
Cybercrime
The hazardous nature of cybercrime is increasing in tandem with the pace of technological progress.
One alarming development is the world increase in identity frauds, which threatens intellectual property rights. Given the current international financial crisis, it also increases the risk of illegal subtraction of capital via the Internet.
An emerging phenomenon is that of the so‐called “social networks”, which, given the huge number of people involved, could become a useful tool for the performance of illegal activities. It is therefore an important issue for the development of international co‐operation against cybercrime.
To cope with these threats, it is essential for the States to give a technologically advanced response, and to strengthen the existing forms of international co‐operation.
As regards the phenomenon of social networks, we, the Ministers, believe that it is essential to improve forms of collaboration between the private providers of social networks and law enforcement agencies, in order to increase the “tracking” capacity of States.
Furthermore, a real obstacle to our countering activities is represented by electronic communication services protected by robust encryption systems, especially VoIP services, which are ever more spreading.
We therefore give a mandate to the experts of the Roma‐Lyon Group to identify the solutions needed if we are to strengthen international law enforcement co‐operation and to promote forms of partnership between the government and the private sector providing this type of services.
The G8 countries support the improvement of co‐operation in the field of cybercrime investigations. To this end, multi‐phased initiatives are useful, such as “the organization of cross‐border investigations on cybercrime”, the implementation of which will lead to more effective information exchange and facilitate operational co‐operation between law enforcement authorities in investigations on this phenomenon.
The Ministers recognize the importance of enhancing investigation instruments in this field, such as the “Training Conferences” of the Contact Points of the 24/7 network, and we welcome the proposal of Italy to organize another session.
In terms of legislation, it is also necessary to assess whether the existing international legal framework is adequate to the needs of the fight against cybercrime, including the issue of sanctions.
We, therefore, give a mandate to the experts in the Roma‐Lyon Group to explore these new profiles as well.
Human Traffiking, Illegal Migration, Integration of Legal Migrants
As Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs, we strongly condemn human trafficking as a violation of fundamental human rights and we are determined to fight criminal organizations that operate in this field making enormous profits and to prevent possible connections with terrorist organizations.
We reaffirm our common commitment to combat illegal immigration, which feeds the transnational criminal organizations and hampers the integration of legal migrants.
We express concern over the current international financial crisis, which threatens to increase the migratory pressure towards the more industrialized countries.
To address these two phenomena, it is necessary to strengthen international co‐operation, taking stock of our previous considerations and experiences and improving the means of prevention and fight against them.
Particular attention should be given to countries of origin and transit of migratory flows of people.
The G8 is committed to encouraging the widest possible ratification and implementation of existing international agreements (UN Protocols against human smuggling and illegal immigration) and to support initiatives of technical assistance to third countries to help them acquire the capabilities required for the full implementation of these instruments.
Legal immigration must be accompanied by measures to foster the integration of immigrants into the society of destination.
This is why we consider positive the exchange of experiences and best practices on policies for the management of legal migration and integration.
Urban Security
The issue of urban security is gaining importance in national policies and has a direct impact on domestic security and on the quality of people’s lives.
This is a problem shared by developed countries and developing countries.
Urban insecurity affects especially the most vulnerable brackets of society and hampers the integration of immigrants.
Furthermore, urban decay can feed connections between street crime and organized crime and provide a favourable environment for the development of different forms of violence.
It should not be overlooked that because cities are the new vital centre of activity of global society, they are also a target for terrorist attacks.
On the issue of urban security, we have compared our respective experiences, and for the first time in the G8, we have agreed on the usefulness of developing international co‐operation in this field.
We are also aware that urban security is a complex problem, not limited solely to a matter of law enforcement.
As a result, the management of security in cities requires a joint effort of all institutions and, in particular, of local authorities which play a major role in this field.
We also found that the involvement of the civil society in security policies has positive effects on the control of the territory and helps to spread the “culture of legality” and to bring citizens closer to the institutions.
In this field, we consider useful for the G8 to adopt an outreach approach towards third countries in co‐operation with relevant international stakeholders.
We give the mandate to the experts of the Roma/Lyon group to investigate the dynamics of urban insecurity, including its possible links with more serious forms of crime and to consider appropriate arrangements for international co‐operation.
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