06 July 2004 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert congratulated Ambassador Victor Garcia III, permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations office in Vienna, for being elected as president of the inaugural meeting of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (COP-UNCTOC) being held in Vienna, Austria.

“Once again, the Philippines has been chosen to lead an international gathering that will seek to provide direction to the efforts of the world community, in this case, in the war against transnational organized crime,” Secretary Albert said. “I am sure that under the capable leadership of Ambassador Victor Garcia III, the Philippines will be able to fulfill this mandate during the UNCTOC meeting in Vienna.”

Ambassador Garcia is currently presiding over the inaugural meeting of the UNTOC, and is assisted by the members of the inaugural session bureau, comprised of representatives of Algeria, China, Cyprus, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nigeria, Norway and Slovakia. The meeting began on 28 June and will last until 9 July 2004.

“I understand, from Ambassador Garcia’s preliminary reports, that the conference experienced ‘birth pangs’ during its first few meetings. That delegations were reluctant to table ideas for the elaboration of the UNCTOC’s mechanisms. But the secretariat, led by the Philippines, immediately addressed this situation by providing a ‘food-for-thought’ paper that stimulated and structured discussions and thus paved the way for the submission of well-thought out ideas from the delegates,” Secretary Albert said. “The Philippines has thus far been commended for its leadership and skillful steering of the COP meetings.”

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) entered into force on 29 September 2003, after receiving its fortieth ratification. The Organized Crime Convention came into force in only two-and-a-half years, followed by the entry into force of the Protocols against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants. – END