What is the Convention on Organized Crime?

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From illegal mining and wildlife crime to migrant smuggling and online scams, human trafficking and more, transnational organized crime can be found in every corner of the world.

As UN Secretary General António Guterres noted: “The activities of transnational organized crime take many forms, but the consequences are the same: weakened governance, corruption and lawlessness, open violence, death and destruction.”

If the 12^e The session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) starts next week and will learn more about the Convention and how the world is standing up to these crimes.

The basics

UNTOC, also known as the Palermo Treaty, is the only global, legally binding instrument by which governments commit to act and cooperate against organized crime.

It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 2000 and entered into force in September 2003. With 192 states parties, it is one of the most ratified treaties in the world.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) serves as the secretariat of UNTOC.

Why is UNTOC important?

Transnational organized crime threatens lives. Whether it concerns victims of human trafficking, people murdered by violent gangs, individuals consuming counterfeit medicines or others, organized crime endangers our safety and rights.

It endangers livelihoods. Hard-earned income can be siphoned off through corruption, extortion, or extortion. Crimes that degrade the environment and the trafficking of cultural property destroy irreplaceable natural resources and heritage, reducing tourism revenues and other forms of income generation.

Transnational organized crime undermines the economy also. Tax evasion, money laundering and illicit financial flows hinder economic development. “Illegal financial flows are not abstract numbers,” Mr Guterres said. “It involves billions of missed development opportunities, lost livelihoods and worsened poverty.”

Finally, cross-border organized crime endangers peace and security by fueling conflict and weakening state institutions and the rule of law.

What does UNTOC cover?

Transnational organized crime groups are constantly evolving and adapting to new situations, technologies and opportunities. UNTOC is therefore designed to be flexibly applied to existing, new and emerging crimes.

Examples of these crimes include drug trafficking, crimes that damage the environment, and the trafficking of cultural goods, waste, fuel, and other goods.

UNTOC is further complemented by three thematic protocols targeting specific areas of organized crime, namely trafficking in human beings, smuggling of migrants and the illicit manufacture and trafficking of firearms. These protocols have led many countries to develop laws and institutions for the first time to address these crimes.

How is it implemented?

The treaty is legally binding, meaning that states that ratify the treaty commit to implementing its provisions at the national level.

By definition, countries cannot fight cross-border organized crime alone. An innovation of UNTOC is the range of measures it contains to enable and facilitate international cooperation, including extradition, joint investigations, mutual legal assistance and more.

States meet every two years at the UNTOC Conference of Parties (COP) to improve their capacity to combat organized crime, review the implementation of UNTOC and set the anti-crime agenda for the future.

States have also designed the UNTOC Review Mechanism, a peer review process that helps States evaluate how they implement the Convention and the Protocols and identify and address needs to improve related responses.