Distinguished Director of UNODC in New York, Ms. Delphine Schantz,<\/p>\n
Distinguished UN Representatives,<\/p>\n
Dear Ambassadors and colleagues, media representatives, friends,<\/p>\n
I am pleased to welcome you all today to the inauguration of this exhibit, which tells a very unique story: the story of Italy\u2019s experience in the fight against transational organized crime and of the international cooperation Italy has promoted in this sector.<\/p>\n
In every story there is always a \u201cwhat\u201d, a \u201cwhen\u201d, a \u201cwhere\u201d, a \u201cwho\u201d, and a \u201cwhy\u201d. Let me start from here.<\/p>\n
The \u201cwhat\u201d is the unprecedented success of the work of two Italian Judges, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, in \u00a0fighting against the Italian mafias, boosting international cooperation in this field, and thus in paving the way to the adoption of the Palermo Convention with the General Assembly resolution 55\/25 of 15 November 2000. As former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said: \u201cThe Convention is a new tool to address the scourge of crime as a global problem [\u2026] If crime crosses borders, so must law enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n
As to the \u201cwhen\u201d, the narration starts in the mid 80s, when the maxi-trial against the mafia organization \u201cCosa Nostra\u201d was held, and covers the events that unfolded all the way until present time. Because regardless of the progress made, organized crime is still alive and the need for our cooperation \u00a0is still urgent. The two bombing attacks where Judge Falcone and Borsellino were assassinated, together with Falcone\u2019s wife and 8 police escort agents, are among the darkest moments in Italy\u2019s recent history. But \u00a0those brutal explosions didn\u2019t just end their lives: they \u00a0also set revolutionary change into motion, marking a breakthrough in the fight against organized crime, and making our determination even stronger. The investigative approach created by the two judges, the so-called \u201cFalcone Method\u201d, did not die with them. This technique is based on an simple rule: follow the money. Today still, monitoring the financial flows allows \u00a0law enforcement agencies to \u00a0track criminal activities \u00a0and identify the links between criminal \u00a0organizations and businesses.<\/p>\n
The \u201cwhere\u201d, is simply \u201ceverywhere\u201d. Transnational organized crime knows no borders, and no State is immune to it. This is why the Palermo Convention has 192 parties, nearly the totality of the world\u2019s countries.<\/p>\n
The \u201cwho\u201d is not only Judges Falcone and Borsellino, but also all the victims of organized crime and all those who, with courage and unwavering tenacity, have dedicated their life to or sacrificed \u00a0it for this cause. Today we pay tribute to them, celebrating their memory and legacy.<\/p>\n