United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime

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United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.svg
  Signed and ratified or acceded
  Only signed
  Non-party
Type Organized crime; international criminal law
Drafted15 November 2000
Signed12 December 2000
LocationPalermo, Italy
Effective29 September 2003
Condition40 ratifications
Signatories147
Parties192
Depositary Secretary-General of the United Nations
LanguagesArabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish

The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC, also called the Palermo Convention) is a 2000 United Nations-sponsored multilateral treaty against transnational organized crime.

Contents

History

The convention was adopted by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on 15 November 2000.

The Convention came into force on 29 September 2003. According to Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of Palermo, the convention was the first international convention to fight transnational organized crime, trafficking of human beings, and terrorism. [1]

In 2014, the UNTOC strengthened its policies regarding wildlife smuggling. [2] Botswana signed the Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2014 to comply with UNTOC on the human smuggling protocol. [3]

In 2017, as Japan prepared the organization of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, it faced the issue of not being fully compliant with the UNTOC, thus jeopardizing its eligibility to organize those events. [4]

In February 2018, Afghanistan introduced a new penal code which made the country's laws UNTOC-compliant for the first time. [5]

Description

UNTOC's three supplementary protocols (the Palermo Protocols) are: [6]

All four of these instruments contain elements of the current international law on human trafficking, arms trafficking and money laundering. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) acts as custodian of the UNTOC and its protocols. [7]

The UNTOC is the main legal international instrument to fight organized crime, but its efficiency depends on each member's ability to implement the organization's framework. [8] As an example, the UNTOC requires a minimum sentence of four years imprisonment for transnational organised criminal offences. [9]

Parties

As of September 2024, it has 192 parties, [10] which includes 187 United Nations member states, the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, the State of Palestine, and the European Union. The six UN member states that are not party to the convention are (* indicates that the state has signed but not ratified the convention):

In June 2018, the Iranian Parliament approved the bill to join UNTOC, but 10 days later Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, called the bill "unacceptable" and blocked its progress. [11] [12] In January 2019, the bill was still being debated between the Parliament and the Guardian Council. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People smuggling</span> Illegal transportation of people

People smuggling, under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</span> Intergovernmental organization

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations Office at Vienna, adopting the current name in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Maria Costa</span>

Antonio Maria Costa is an Italian economist. He lives in Vienna and Brussels.

The Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000. It is also referred to as the Smuggling Protocol. It is one of the three Palermo protocols, the others being the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition.

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children is a protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. It is one of the three Palermo protocols, the others being the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transnational organized crime</span> Organized crime across national borders

Transnational organized crime (TOC) is organized crime coordinated across national borders, involving groups or markets of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal business ventures. In order to achieve their goals, these criminal groups use systematic violence and corruption. Common transnational organized crimes include conveying drugs, conveying arms, trafficking for sex, toxic waste disposal, materials theft and poaching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking</span> Trade of humans for exploitation

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation.

Child migration or "children in migration or mobility" is the movement of people ages 3–18 within or across political borders, with or without their parents or a legal guardian, to another country or region. They may travel with or without legal travel documents. They may arrive to the destination country as refugees, asylum seekers, or economic migrants.

The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) is a multi-stakeholder initiative providing global access to expertise, knowledge and innovative partnerships to combat human trafficking.

Algeria ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in March 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in New Zealand</span>

Human trafficking is a crime in New Zealand under Section 98D of the Crimes Act 1961. In 2002, the New Zealand Government ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, a protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). New Zealand participates in efforts to combat human trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region, and has a leadership role in the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Human Trafficking and related Transnational Crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Heart Campaign</span> Anti-trafficking program by the UNODC

The Blue Heart Campaign is an international anti-trafficking program started by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Established in 1997, the UNODC supported countries in implementing three UN drug protocols. In 2000, after the UN General Assembly adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, the UNODC became the “guardian” of that protocol and assumed the functions of fighting against human trafficking. The Blue Heart Campaign was launched in March 2009 by the Executive Director of the UNODC, Antonio Maria Costa, during his address to the World's Women's Conference meeting in Vienna. The campaign's symbol is a blue heart. The Blue Heart Campaign uses its website, as well as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr to communicate goals, objectives, and news with the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms</span> Treaty on anti-arms trafficking

The Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition is a treaty on anti-arms trafficking including Small Arms and Light Weapons that is supplemental to the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. It is one of the so-called Palermo protocols.

The secretariat for multidimensional security of the Organization of American States is a part of the General Secretariat, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. The Secretariat for Multidimensional Security has a mandate to promote cooperation between Organization's Member States, Inter-American and international organizations, as well as with entities such as the United Nations and its subsidiaries, in order to analyze, prevent, confront and respond to security threats.

Human Trafficking or "trafficking in persons" is the recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for mainly the purposes of forced labor or prostitution. Other reasons for human trafficking are the removal of organs, forced marriage, and other exploitations. South America is one of the biggest source and destination locations in the world and has struggled with the issue for many years. The ILO estimates that of the 20.9 million victims of human trafficking in 2012, 1.8 million were from Latin America. There are many factors that cause human trafficking, like a high demand for domestic servants, sex laborers, and factory workers, the existence of already established trafficking networks that often take advantage of young women and children, corruption in the governments and local law enforcement agencies, a governmental disinterest in the issue and a lack of opportunity for women in South American regions where trafficking occurs. People exploited in human trafficking are often impoverished, members of indigenous peoples, unemployed, victims of abuse, illiterate, substance users, homeless, or involved in gang activity. Research by the United States Department of State has also found that LGBTQ+ people are vulnerable to human trafficking. By far, sex trafficking is the leading type of human trafficking, making up 79 percent of all human trafficking. This is then followed by forced labor at 18 percent. About 20 percent of trafficking victims are children. Primary destinations for trafficking and illegal immigration are the United States, Spain, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Canada. Globalization, capitalism and societal attitudes facilitate and reduce the barriers to human trafficking.

Maritime drug smuggling into Australia refers to the smuggling of illicit drugs into Australia by sea. While much contemporary Australian media coverage has focused on smaller, more personalised smuggling cases such as the Bali Nine, maritime drug smuggling often allows criminal groups to move illicit drugs and substances into Australia at a much greater scale. This has happened through a variety of ways, including via cargo ship, yacht, and fishing vessels. Key departure locations for drugs aimed to be smuggled into Australia include China, India, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, with much of the drugs trafficked via countries and territories in the South Pacific, in close proximity to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 2240</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2015

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2240 (2015) was adopted by the UN Security Council on 9 October 2015. Fourteen members of the Council voted in favor, while only Venezuela abstained. The resolution aims to address human insecurity at sea and is an example of how the UN Security Council uses its power in the maritime domain to enhance maritime security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime</span>

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), sometimes shortened as Global Initiative, is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in Geneva. The organisation is composed of a network of law enforcement, governance and development practitioners, who share the objective of developing innovative strategies and responses to organized crime. In July 2020, the network counted 500 experts.

Seychelles is a small island nation with a vast maritime territory, consisting of 115 islands and a 137-million-square-kilometre (53-million-square-mile) Exclusive Economic Zone. The prevalence of drugs in the country is high and the country is experiencing a heroin epidemic, with an equivalent to 10% of the working force using heroin in 2019. Due to its location along a major trafficking route, drugs can easily be trafficked by sea to the Seychelles.

Fisheries crime describes the wide range of criminal activity that is common along the entire value chain of the fishing sector. It often occurs in conjunction with Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), but next to illegal fish extraction include for example corruption, document fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, kidnapping, human trafficking and drug trafficking. The issue recently received increased attention in the UN, Interpol, and several other international bodies.

References

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  2. trafficking to become a ‘serious crime’ under UNTOC [ permanent dead link ], Worldecr.com, 20 February 2014 (accessed on 18 August 2019)
  3. Tshepo Mongwa, Botswana Makes Progress, Allafrica.com, 12 September 2018 (accessed on 18 August 2019)
  4. Japan and an Anti-Crime Bill, Nytimes.com, 1 June 2017 (accessed on 18 August 2019)
  5. Afghanistan: UN mission welcomes new penal code, urges measures to protect women from violence, Un.org, 22 February 2018 (accessed on 18 August 2019)
  6. "UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AND THE PROTOCOLS THERETO" (PDF). UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME. 2004. p. V. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  7. "United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) | veritaszim". www.veritaszim.net. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. Laura Adal, Organised crime in Africa / Weak laws make tackling organised crime harder, Enactafrica.org, 8 November 2018 (accessed on 18 August 2019)
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  10. UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime: Treaty status
  11. Palermo Bills Suspended, Radiofarda.com, 25 Juily 2018 (accessed on 30 July 2019)
  12. Iran's Watchdog Rejects Bills To Join U.N. Crime Conventions, Radiofarda.com, 15 July 2018 (accessed on 30 July 2019)
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