Judge Falcone celebrated in Vienna 24 years after murder

(AGI) Vienna, May 23 - The Permanent Mission of Italy to the International Organisations in Vienna is celebrating the memory of Judge Giovanni Falcone on the 24th anniversary of his murder, with a ceremony and a portrait in relief. The judge was killed by the Mafia on May 23, 1992 in the so-called Capaci massacre. The memory and insights of Falcone are still a source of inspiration for the main international cooperation initiatives against organised crime, beginning with the Palermo Convention of 2000. The memorial ceremony, organised by the UN two weeks ago in the Austrian capital, was attended by the Minister of Justice Andrea Orlando, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Benedetto Della Vedova, National Anti-mafia prosecutor Franco Roberti, and Judge Falcone's sister, Maria. It was she was who donated the portrait in relief of Judge Falcone, which will hang at the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the guardian of the Treaty. The strength and topicality of the ideas of the anti-Mafia judge were the recurring theme, starting from Orlando who recalled how international cooperation, using the available tools, in particular the Palermo Convention, is key to the fight against organised crime. Italy's commitment, recalled Della Vedova, is a priority and a constant, and is also expressed in targeted actions involving developing countries. Indeed, the presence of powerful criminal organisations with local roots is still an obstacle to sustainable growth in various regions of the world. The link between the economic and financial dimension, and organised crime, one of Falcone's most brilliant and pioneering insights, is one of the keys to understanding and combating criminal phenomena. This fight involves increasing the complexity of investigations, a point on which Prosecutor Roberti focussed. The fight against organised crime, said Professor Falcone in a touching recollection of her brother, cannot be left exclusively to the efforts of the State, but requires the broader involvement of civil society. In it, she said, lies the strength to promote the cultural change needed to defeat the mafia for good. (AGI) .
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