UNITED NATIONS, :Pakistan has called for collectively combatting transnational organized crimes that continue to impede the rule of law, economic development and achievement of the global agenda for sustainable development.
“To effectively address organized crimes, we must adopt holistic approach that tackles the root causes, promotes social inclusion, and ensure equal access to justice for all,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the General Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues.
Speaking in a debate on crime prevention and criminal justice and countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes, he said that climate change, with its devastating impacts, provides new opportunities for organized criminal groups to infiltrate vulnerable legal systems.
Other forms of transnational organized crimes, particularly money-laundering, cybercrime, corruption, human smuggling and trafficking, continue to pose formidable challenges for the countries, the Pakistani envoy pointed out.
Aamir Khan also expressed concern over the increase in hate crimes, Islamophobia and other provoking acts that incite intolerance and violence based on race, ethnicity, religion, or belief.
“We emphasize on the importance of mutual respect on for religious and cultural beliefs.”
The use of ICTs (information and communications technologies) for criminal purposes facilitates and enables several other types of crimes including illicit financial flows and corruption, posing a substantial challenge to global security, he said.
Aamir Khan also added that the exponential proliferation of disinformation through online platforms and social media has exacerbated social discord, competing nationalisms, discrimination, hate speech, stigmatization, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and related intolerances.
On the world drug problem, the Pakistani envoy called cannabis legalization for non-medical purposes by some countries as “counter productive”. has accelerated the daily use and possible negative health impacts. We believe this approach is counter-productive.
That approach, he said would give rise to increase in drug demand, “igniting the supply chain and have a direct fallout on our region and the world.”
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