MYANMAR TO HOST THE SECOND ASEAN MINISTERIAL MEETING
ON TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

The 2nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (2nd AMMTC) will be hosted by Myanmar on 23 June 1999 at the Traders Hotel in Yangon. H.E. Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary (1) of the SPDC will deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting. The one-day meeting will be preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime which is to be held from 21-22 June 1999.

The Ministers are expected to adopt an action plan that is to extend ASEAN member countries' efforts to combat transnational crime from the national and bi-lateral levels to the regional dimension, and strengthen regional commitment and capacity to undertake the expanded task. The action plan is expected to put in place a cohesive regional strategy to fight transnational crime and would encompass, among others, information exchange, cooperation in legal and law enforcement matters and extra regional cooperation as key programme activities. An institutional framework to assist the Ministers to better direct and coordinate regional efforts in dealing with transnational crime is also to consider under the Plan.

The Ministers are expected to consider the establishment of the ASEAN Centre on Transnational Crime (ACOT). The ACOT is envisioned to promote data resource sharing, assist in the implementation of programme activities outlined in the proposed action plan, and be a repository of information on national legislation, regulatory measures and jurisprudence of individual member countries. It is also envisaged that the ACOT will have research capabilities to conduct in-depth analysis of transnational crime activities to recommend appropriate regional strategies to fight these felonious activities.

The Ministers are likely to discuss enhancing cooperation with the dialogue partners and relevant international organisations to effectively deal with transnational crime in the region.

The Second AMMTC is a follow-up to the First Meeting of ASEAN Ministers of Interior/Home Affairs held in Manila on 20 December 1997 where the Ministers adopted the ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime. As espoused in the Declaration, a high-level ad-hoc ASEAN Experts Group Meeting on Transnational Crime convened in the Philippines on 25-26 November 1998, developed an ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime and refined the feasibility study on the establishment of the ACOT for the consideration of the 2nd AMMTC.

ASEAN member countries have been fostering cooperation in combating transnational crime for more than two decades. Initially, ASEAN was concerned with the abuse of narcotics and trafficking in illicit drugs. However, with the expansion and diversification of transnational crime to include terrorism, arms smuggling, money laundering, illegal migration, and piracy, and the highly organized nature of such crimes, ASEAN has stepped up and expanded its cooperative efforts against these crimes. ASEAN bodies currently involved in formulating policies and initiating activities against transnational crime are the ASEAN Chiefs of National Police (ASEANAPOL), the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drugs Matters (ASOD) and the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime.