• by IPS Correspondents (rome)
• Thursday, November 17, 1994
• Inter Press Service

ROME, Nov 17 (IPS) - A United Nations Ministerial Conference on the problem of organised crime running major firms that do trillions of dollars worth of business throughout the world will be held in Italy, with the participation of 140 countries.

Senior government officials, representatives of non- governmental organisations and a United Nations delegation headed by Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali will discuss the mafia's role in international finances in the Nov. 21-23 meeting to be held in Naples.

In 1992, drug trafficking alone did business to the tune of 308 billion dollars worldwide, only slightly less than the three largest U.S. companies: General Motors, Exxon and Ford, which had combined sales of 330 billion dollars.

Some 170 delegations will participate, including the heads of state from Cyprus, Italy and Guinea-Bissau, the Italian, French, Estonian and Angolan heads of government, 23 Interior Ministers, 37 Justice Ministers and 96 other senior government officials.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told a press conference on Thursday that one of the objectives of the international conference is to reach common ground regarding legislation against organised crime.

The conference will also focus on increased cooperation and the exchange of information between nations, and the creation of an international training centre for security forces, Berlusconi said, adding that "Italy is willing to host the school."

To stress the importance of the meeting for the Italian government, Berlusconi said he would personally preside over the entire three-day conference, adding that "mafias are an alarming and growing phenomenon, above all for developing countries and young democracies."

He mentioned in particular the boom in organised crime experienced by Russia and other eastern European nations which until 1990 formed part of the now disappeared socialist bloc headed by the former Soviet Union.

A "charter of principles" will be drawn up in Naples to send a clear message to "the enemies that this conference means to combat, the negative leaders of those organisations that are so widespread throughout the world," Berlusconi said.

The decision to hold the conference in Naples, 200 kilometres south of Rome, was made "because we want to send a signal to the entire southern region of Italy.

"The south will not pick up economically if organised crime is not fought. There is nothing better than blackmail and pressure by the mafia to scare off investors," Berlusconi said.

The mafia did 60 billion dollars worth of business in Italy in 1990, while a paltry 1.3 million dollars in goods were confiscated by the government.

The Cosa Nostra currently does about 90 billion dollars in business in the United States, according to the Wharton Institute. In 1990, the total was some 52 billion dollars, slightly less than the giant transnational IBM's 65 billion dollar turnover that year.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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