Enhancing transnational crime combat in the Indochinese Federation

Enhancing transnational crime combat among VN, Laos and Cambodia

12/23/2010
VOV News/VNA (Hanoi)

More than 100 chief judges and judges from the Supreme People’s Courts of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and their border provinces are attending a two-day conference that opened in the central coastal city of Nha Trang on December 22.

The conference, the first of its kind, is being held under the initiative of the Vietnam Supreme People’s Court (VSPC) in order to share experiences and put forward solutions to enhance cooperation in combating cross-border crimes.

At the first session, themed “Increasing the effectiveness of cooperation in crime prevention and control” and chaired by Chief Judge of the Lao Supreme People’s Court Khammy Saynhavong, participants were briefed on the complicated situation of drug and social order crimes and human trafficking.

According to deputy judge of the VSPC criminal court Hoang Thi Kim Oanh, among more than 1,580 cases of women and children trafficking detected in Vietnam in the 2004-2009 period, 11 percent of the cases were trafficked to Cambodia and 29 percent to Laos.

The conference agreed to enhance cooperation among the three countries’ courts in combating and trials of transnational crimes.

They emphasised the need for local border courts to share experiences and organise fact-finding tours and seminars on professional skills for judges and courts’ cadres.

Cambodian PM highlights development links to peace and security

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen highlighted Tuesday that development of a country or a region is strongly linked to the existing peace and security.

In his opening address of the 7th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and the 4th ASEAN plus Three Ministerial Meeting as well as the 1st ASEAN plus China Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime, Hun Sen said, "development cannot be sustained in the absence of peace and security."

"Security situation can have a great influence on development," he said at the two-day forum of interior ministers from the 10-member states of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)and their three dialogue partners from China, Japan, and South Korea.

The forum is held in Siem Reap province, northern Cambodia.

In a statement released by Cambodia as a host of the forum, it said the countries of ASEAN share many common perspectives, and many common challenges.

"The relationship within ASEAN has always been characterized by understanding and cooperation. Together, within the ASEAN framework, ASEAN Member States (AMS) have faced many challenges and accomplished many things," the statement said.

It added that today, ASEAN Member States face many challenges within their region. Chief among these is the problem of transnational crime. AMS realizes that this is not Cambodia's problem alone. This is all ASEAN Member States face.

On Tuesday, Hun Sen admitted that terrorism and transnational crime still remain a big challenge for ASEAN region and individual country.

"Within this spirit, our anti-transnational crime dialogue today is both timely and urgent as we have clearly seen the impact of transnational crime on global and regional growth," he said.

"Fighting transnational crime, therefore, requires joint effort among all of us. In this connection, the gathering of ASEAN ministers of security and anti-crime affairs can be regarded as a joint search of solutions for transnational crime, which has threatened the people's life, social security, and economic development," he added.

Founded in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Singapore, Cambodia sign MOU to combat transnational crime

DPM Wong Kan Seng with DPM and Minister for Interior, H.E. Sar Kheng at signing of MOU.

13 March 2008
By Lee Khai Yan
Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its Cambodian counterpart to combat transnational crime.

The MOU was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng in Phnom Penh on Thursday.

The agreement provides a framework to better understand the challenges of combating transnational crime. It also signals closer bilateral cooperation in the exchange of expertise and information.

Other areas covered include terrorism, cyber crime, drug trafficking (narcotics and psychotropic substances) and forgery of travel documents.

DPM Wong leaves Cambodia for Singapore on Thursday.