Chairperson, globalisation has had many positive impacts on the world. It has brought together various economies, trade regimes and different geographical regions. In addition, it has brought about technological development, communication networks and the creation of the global economic village. It has also had a positive impact in the fight against organised crime through the use of technology and information systems and the working together of the international community.
On the downside, globalisation has led to an increase in organised crime, drug trafficking and cross-border terrorism. The many advances in technology and other areas meant to have a positive impact on the global village are used by organised crime to further their own causes, which have many negative results.
With the advent of globalisation, organised crime cannot be dealt with on a single-country basis. It requires both global and regional responses. It requires closer collaboration of law-enforcement agencies throughout the world and region.
Organised crime threatens the national security of countries and has no respect for national borders. It is transitional in nature. Organised crime includes areas such as illegal immigration and human trafficking, the trafficking of illegal firearms, cross-border smuggling, drug trafficking, and economic crimes, amongst other crimes.
Organised criminal elements often focus their attention on weaknesses in the public sector as it cannot sustain itself without collaboration from authorities. The South African government takes this seriously and is taking strong steps to root out corruption within society, the state and the private sector.
In its election manifesto, the ANC identified the fight against crime and corruption as one of its priorities for the coming five years. The establishment of the Hawks will play a major role in the fight against organised crime.
In the SADC region, the Southern African Development Community Police Chiefs Co-ordinating Organisation has started to play a more important role in the fight against crime. It recognises that there is an interrelationship between the different forms of organised crime. This body has become more integrated within the SADC processes.
Interpol plays an important role within both South Africa and the region. It has representation both within our country and in the rest of the region. Together with Interpol and the use of their databases and information systems, many breakthroughs have been made in the fight against crime. In fact, just this week, the National Police Commissioner, Bheki Cele, has been attending an Interpol meeting. This clearly indicates South Africa's commitment to global co-operation in the fight against crime. South Africa has become an important area in terms of drug trafficking, both as an end user and a transport hub as a final destination to other countries. This is becoming increasingly evident as we see the arrest of South Africans abroad in possession of drugs either destined for South Africa or en route to other countries.
It is becoming more evident that there are links between drug trafficking and the elicit trade in motor vehicles, which requires a stronger focus on the links between drugs and other criminal activities. There are other countries within the region that are also regarded as important areas for drugs by those who are involved in drug trafficking.
Regional protocols are important in the fight against drug trafficking and other forms of organised crime, but so too are joint operations between the law-enforcement agencies of the region. There are challenges around the implementation of the various protocols which exist. In particular, there are varying levels of capacity, and this calls for greater co-operation across the region.
At an operational level there have been a number of successful operations. For example, there has been Operation Rachel, which was a joint initiative between South Africa and Mozambique to recover weapons left behind after the war. There is recognition that each country within SADC needs to address the availability of illicit weapons in their countries and put in place processes to deal with this. A further joint operation between South Africa and Mozambique led to the closing down of methopholine factories - this is the product that is used to produce Mandrax.
On the international front, a recent joint operation between South Africa and the United Kingdom led to the seizure of around R500 million worth of drugs as well as to the arrest of a number of suspects. These examples highlight the importance of working together in the fight against crime. They further stress the importance of regional and international co- operation by law-enforcement agencies.
There is also a strong need for co-operation in terms of training and the sharing of specialised knowledge on how to detect the movement of drugs. Drug trafficking is also dependent on money-laundering. This requires a comprehensive regional approach to curb money-laundering.
There is a body of information which links some drug trafficking to international terrorism. It suggests that it uses drugs to fund its activities.
Countries which are not affected by international terrorism can be susceptible to becoming havens for international terrorists. However, we must be careful that we do not allow this to throw countries into states of paranoia. It is important that these are treated on a case-by-case basis.
The nature of our borders is also a challenge. In addition, the porous nature of borders within the region poses a further challenge.
There must be a focus on securing borders within both our own country and the region as a whole. By this, one does not mean that we should retreat into a laager mentality. Our borders must allow for legitimate movement between countries. However, attention has to be paid to curbing the illicit movement of organised criminal elements through the borders of the region. The steps which are being taken by our government to redeploy the SA National Defence Force to patrol our borders and the setting up of a single border agency form part of this strategy.
There is a need for greater co-operation between government departments within our own country and with those of other countries in the region to combat organised crime, transnational crime, human trafficking, illegal arms sales, terrorism, and money-laundering.
The use of technology in border areas can play a positive role in the fight against crime. This has been proved at O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg where the use of scanners and CCTV cameras has led to breakthroughs in curbing criminal activity. There is also a need to roll out the use of such technology to our land border areas. The region also needs to look at how such technology can be used.
The use of intelligence by South Africa has been prioritised. Because of the nature of intelligence, it is a sensitive area for joint co-operation. This is an area which needs strengthening in the region as a whole.
There are a few challenges which do need to be addressed: There is no comprehensive definition of organised crime in the region; there are varying degrees of capacity in the countries of the region; co-operation needs to be strengthened to enhance operations in the SADC region; organised criminals are not limited in their activities by natural borders are the police as; there is a need to strengthen the sharing of information owing to the highly sophisticated networks and technology used in organised crime; there is a need to focus on tackling the priority crimes in the SADC region which may differ from those affecting countries elsewhere in the world; and the Palermo Convention and its protocols require universal ratification and implementation.
Greater emphasis needs to be placed on the effective use of declarations, conventions and protocols of regional governments and international organisations or institutions. South Africa is committed to the creation of a better country, a better region, a better Africa and a better world through co-operation and the sharing of responsibility in the global fight against organised crime, in particular drug trafficking, illegal arms sales, human trafficking and cross-border terrorism. I thank you. [Applause.]