UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime

• A two-day UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime Ministerial Conference was held at Palermo in Italy.
• This Ministerial Conference marks the 20^th anniversary of coming into force of UNTOC Convention.

ABOUT UNTOC

• UNTOC was adopted by UN General Assembly in Palermo in Italy in 2000.
• Therefore it is also known as the Palermo Convention
• It entered into force in 2003.

• It is the first comprehensive and global legally binding instrument to fight transnational organized crime.
• Members: Signatories-147 and Parties-191.
  • India ratified it in 2011.
• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)is the custodian of the UNTOC.
• The UNTOC is supplemented by three Protocols-
  • Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
    • Adopted in 2003, it is the first global legally binding instrument with an agreed definition of trafficking in persons.
    • India has also ratified it.
  • Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air
    • Adopted in 2004, this protocol deals with the problem of organized criminal groups who smuggle migrants, often at high risk to the migrants and at great profit for the offenders.
  • Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition
    • Adopted in 2001, its objective is to promote, facilitate and strengthen cooperation among States in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
    • Countries must become parties to the Convention itself before they can become parties to any of the Protocols.