The Effectiveness of International Cooperation in Combat Transnational Crime - Essay Example

? Discuss the major problems in dealing with international crime and discuss current policies/laws to combat TCOs. Evaluate the effectiveness of international cooperation in combat transnational crime. Also discuss if US-Mexico border prober poses a national security threat Introduction In the era of globalization and advanced technical knowhow international crime which is widely known as terrorism has assumed tremendous rates of increase. This has resulted in a problem of tackling such high rates and advanced international crime. The major reason has been identified as inadequate intelligence due to underutilization of all possible in intelligence instruments and techniques to punish these international criminal offenders. Various American laws and enforcement have been directed towards collecting information on international crime and prevent attack publics. But there is no doubt that terrorist attacks are still the major threat imposed on America’s safety (The White House, n.d.). The problem is that these terrorists are not recognizable and it more like fighting with shadows. America has chiefly tried to make these terrorists financially weak. Lots of efforts have been put up for this. In recent times Terrorism has come up as global threat (The White House, n.d.). Transnational crime and existence of such crime organizations has imposed a threat of security in the recent years across the border region of Mexico and America. This is mainly because Federal Government has neglected the threats before form these organizations (Center For International Policy, 2011). Thus the international criminal law structure and various other reasons have made it difficult to deal with international although measures have been taken to combat TCOs and in due course of time negligence has made US Mexico border a threat to national security. The paper tends to explain this issue through various arguments and detailed descriptions. International crime like terrorism have extended and changed significantly with time. Years back international crime was only an external threat. But ease of illegal entry has given these criminals an opportunity to plan attacks sitting in the target country. Their sole motive is creation of sufficient violence and bloodshed to grab mass attention and this will fulfill their particular cause. While majority of countries are opposing such international crime, some countries have reportedly provided have supported these criminals by providing refuge, weapons and other such assistance (Report of the National Commission on Terrorism, n.d.). This has been a serious problem in combating international crime. Major problems in dealing with international crime: It is a real difficult task to deal with criminals across borders. Tourists are the foremost targets of international crime. This is mainly because they cannot identify the criminal or its race properly. Secondly it may help a lot to destroy cultural ties between two countries. Tourists are also attacked with the thought that they may not well verse with the local law or may not lodge a complaint in foreign country (Rubino, n.d.). Currently each and every country is suffering from rise in international crime and it is becoming very difficult to suppress the increasing rates. Globalization of business has facilitated their international movement. They are also getting more opportunities for activities like money laundering and other related financial activities. Europe especially the Western part is widely chosen for these criminal activities so that they could conveniently performed reaping the advantages of the country’s modern infrastructure and telecommunication facilities (International Crime threat Assessment, n.d.). Justice against international crime is given at a huge cost. The tribunals for international criminals mostly turn out to be very expensive. In recent times such a trial cost has risen to $ 200 million for a year. The Security Council is already thinking about ending this tribunal (Gilbert, 2006, 393). Everlasting reliance on domestic courts has been a serious problem and it has permitted to increase the incidence of international crime. It has also produced a frustration among civilians and people who simply assume that punishing international criminals is totally out of their reach. As per the law of convicting international criminal an individual has to depend on the domestic courts in order to punish an international criminal (Gilbert, 2006, Preface). The increase in corruptions as well as number of corrupted officers has directly helped in spreading international crime. This corruption has also made difficult to tackle such a crime. International criminals extensively depend upon these corrupted politicians to perform those illegal activities (Federation of American Security, chapter 3, n.d.). They are also facilitated by easy access to valuable information that causes immense damage to the country. The criminals perform their activities with ease and are also protected under the shadow of these corrupted politicians. International crime has been influential on this political class which is undoubtedly depreciating the integrity of democracy and its related institutions (Federation of American Security, chapter 4, n.d.). International justice is denied or delayed due to the very nature of international crime. As soon as an international criminal I arrested, international criminal law and procedural obligations come in between. The prisoner needs to be transferred and cross border permissions are also necessary for convicting an international criminal. The prosecution of international crime has become a complex matter. Hence prevention of international crime is possible only with overall international assistance and in such cases countries should provide mutual aid (Partin, 2011). A great deal of problem arises in dealing with transnational criminals and their concerned organizations because they are not treated as a threat to security under the international criminal law. They are treated more as an economic problem. This is mainly because their operations and activities are much different than that of other international criminals like the terrorists. These transnational criminals are known to possess high proficiency and can resist the intelligence techniques of the national defence and security agencies. The change in business legitimacy and increased interdependency with the ongoing globalization has in fact helped these transnational criminals to a great extent to develop and strengthen their organizations. Promotion of international trade leading to more international transactions and more demand for leisure related products have acted in favor of these criminals (Williams, 1994, 36-113). The problem is that TCOs do not face the national government directly. They believe in continuing their offence smoothly under the shadow of corruption and in some cases violence. Moreover some areas In United States has lack proper lawful environment like the others. This lawlessness has given an opportunity to drug dealers to carry on with activities and also escape punishments (Manwaring, 2006). Current policies/laws to combat TCOs: The transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) as well as other gangs like Mafias, Illegal Drug sellers and terrorists are troubling United States and other major countries of the world to fulfill their sole motive of enjoying commercial profit. They also want control over large territories in order to enjoy freedom in their illegal activities and also movements (Manwaring, 2006). In November 2000 the government adopted an instrument called United Nations Convention against Transitional organized crime to combat TCOs. The sincerity of this organization is found to be noticeable. States have given extensive support to these organizations in their mission of eliminating transnational criminals. The legal framework has been reformed so as to give these organizations some sort of assistance. Effective training is also now being imparted to national securities. There also has been improvisation in the area of technicalities. The center also helps the victims who have suffered from human trafficking to obtain their basic human rights. The protocols underlying this organization began working towards punishing and suppressing those international criminals who were concerned with human trafficking, especially trafficking of women and children. It began its operations in 2003.The organization had closely looked upon the domestic crime and disturbances in order to facilitate its operations internationally. This has made prosecuting and identifying these international trafficking criminals much simpler. The protocol concerned for smuggling has also stood up against such illegal activities and have checked considerably the smuggling routes via sea, air and even those carried on roads. These happened to be the first organization to trace out relevant information on smuggling immigrants. Illegal manufacturing of weapons have also come down and checked since its concerned protocol started operations on 2001. It has also put in efforts to eradicate trafficking of firearms and was the first one to do so in July 2005. The protocol has been divided into three forces with the purpose of minimizing international crime. The first establishes criminal offences related to manufacturing as well as trafficking. The second part is concerned with licensing of firearms. Another part is given the responsibility to trace out firearms (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, n.d.). A report published in 2010 has informed that the TCOs are now performing their operations in collaboration with other powerful allies. They could be identified as those corrupted officials present in the government. Terrorists and other related criminal organizations were more into deadly stuffs like kidnapping in order to raise money through ransom. This was their strategy for funding their criminal offences. To fight against this issue, White House has laid considerable support to partner countries regarding administration so as to strengthen their fight against international crime. More attention had also been diverted to protect financial markets from such criminal activities. Efforts were also laid to build up and strengthen existing public private collaboration so as to eradicate organized transitional crime. The elimination of the organized criminal networks is only possible if they do not get their necessary means for maintaining such an organization. For this purpose the basic infrastructure of those transnational criminals and their organizations need to be damaged (Brennan, 2011). US Mexico border region: A national security threat: Drug dealers have pledged a war against America and more than 22,700 people have lost their lives in this drug related violence in Mexico. The number of casualties due to drug related violence is much greater than the number of people losing their lives due to other disasters such as terror attacks. An innocent couple had lost their lives in such a violence ridden afternoon. A large number of Americans have been addicted towards drugs which has fuelled the motives of drug sellers in Mexico. They have not realized yet that they are inviting their deaths through such drug consumption. In Mexico consumption and sale of Marijuana has been more compared to others illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin. Americans have been victimized by drug traffickers for their monetary profits. Americans’ increased consumption and demand for Marijuana have spread violence in the US Mexico border region. In recent times Columbian drug markets are producing less because they see more profit making opportunities and consumers in Mexico. Mexico, recently has become the epicenter of drug trafficking and this mad US border a threat towards security of the entire nation. US Mexico border related incidence of crime have also increased drastically. Only 241 criminal offences of kidnapping have been reported in 2008. The number is far more than that observed in 2004 when it was just 48. Although most of the marijuana sellers hail from Mexico, some of them are purely of American origin. The addiction towards drugs has noticeably increased among the American teenagers and youths. 40% of the high school students are known to have tried drugs like marijuana. In due course of time these drug dealers have become quite advanced and powerful. They have adopted new techniques and tactics to expand their business. (Drug Enforcement Administration, n.d.). With rising incidence of crime in the US Mexico border region the government began to take active measures to minimize such crime from 1995. Previously it has neglected this issue in spite of repeated alerts (Center For International Policy, 2011). National Security has become the topmast priority for the governments of both US and Mexico particular after the 9/11 attacks after which the incidence of international crime has increased. It has become a necessity to fight against international crime and related criminals like terrorists to maintain national security of both the countries. Increased number of people migrating from Mexico to America without proper documents has in turn increased international crime such as smuggling especially in the border region and has also raised issues of national security. Negligence in the past has also increased the probability of more security threats in the future. Moreover the unilateral strategy that has adopted by the governments of both the countries to check upon the security in the border region has not yielded significant outcomes. Such disturbances in the border region have caused deaths of a large number of migrants. The US force for border patrol has taken up the Border Security Initiative to prevent loss of lives especially when they are crossing the Arizona desert region (Magdalena, 2003, 14-16). Conclusion: In the era of globalization and advanced technical knowhow the incidence of international crime have increased and also become more powerful with the help of global networks and modern infrastructure. It has been very difficult to deal with the transnational criminals and tackling their crime organizations owing to the very nature of international criminal law. Several other factors such as governmental corruption and high cost of international criminal trials have spoiled the efforts of eradicating international crime. The government have established many laws and implemented policies to combat transnational criminal organization. The main aim has been to weaken their financial base so that they cannot get those substances essential for their organized crime. Meanwhile mainly due to negligence and ineffective unilateral strategy adopted by the governments of both the countries international crime like smuggling and drug dealing in the US Mexico border region. Many migrants have lost their lives owing to drug related wars and disturbances in the border area and the border region is now posing a threat to national security. Thus it has been very difficult to deal with the growing international crime in the presence of the current international criminal law structure and several other contributing factors and this has spoiled the measures adopted by government making US Mexico border region a national security threat. References: 1. Brennan, John. “Remarks at White House Release of Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime”. Paper presented at the announcement of the Obama’s administration’s new Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. The White House, South Court, July 25, 2011. 2. Magdalena, Carral. “Migration and Security Policy Post 9/11: Mexico and the Unites States”. Paper presented at the second North American Meeting of the Trilateral Commission. New York. November 14-16, 2003. 3. 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