NCJ Number
205757
Date Published
March 2004
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This document is a report to the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its 13th session regarding the status of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto.
Abstract
The Organized Crime Convention and its Protocols are the first instruments of global application in their field, and will enable member states to use these instruments as a basis for international cooperation in fighting transnational organized crime more effectively. The Organized Crime Convention entered into force on September 29, 2003, followed by the Trafficking in Persons Protocol on December 25, 2003, and the Migrants Protocol on January 28, 2004. At the time this report was written, 65 member states were parties to the Convention, 50 states were parties to the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, 44 states were parties to the Migrants Protocol, and 14 states were parties to the Firearms Protocol. The long-term goal of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is the universal ratification and full compliance with the Convention and its Protocols. This goal will be accomplished through: 1) in-depth analysis of existing legislation and relevant institutions; 2) provision of assistance to drafters of legislation and national parliaments in updating and/or adopting legislation and regulations required for compliance with the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols; and 3) assistance to governments in the establishment and/or reinforcement of international cooperation mechanisms. The report briefly describes the related activities of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime which include: the production of legislative guides for the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols; a description of regional and subregional meetings, which have provided important opportunities to reflect on regional perspectives related to ratification and implementation issues; a description of technical assistance provided to member states at their request, during 2003, regarding implementation of the Convention and its Protocols; and a description of the treaty event for the Convention and its Protocols. In addition, the report discusses the 13 session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Finally, this report presents the continuing work of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, which include an inaugural session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, to be held in Vienna, Austria, from June 28 to July 9, 2004; and the continued promotion of the Convention and its Protocols through additional regional and subregional meetings. 2 tables, brief questionnaire on basic reporting obligations, the Transnational Organized Crime Indicators 85 and 86 for the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission