Global Situation of Transnational Organized Crime, the Decision of the International Community to Develop an International Convention and the Negotiation Process (From UNAFEI Annual Report for 2000 and Resource Material Series No. 59, P 475-794, 2002, -- See NCJ-200221)

• NCJ Number: 200242
• Author(s): Dimitri Vlassis
• Date Published: October 2002
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Japan

Annotation

This document discusses the effort to develop an international convention addressing transnational organized crime.

Abstract

The work of the United Nations to strengthen international cooperation against organized crime dates back 25 years. The issue has been debated and analyzed by successive congresses on the prevention of crime and treatment of offenders. This debate and its results reflect the changing perceptions and comprehension of the problem over several decades. It is viewed as a series of steps or a sustained course in the direction of raising awareness among policy- and decisionmakers and challenging the conventional thinking about crime prevention and criminal justice matters. During the Eighth Congress in 1991, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was established. It was determined that one of the priority themes guiding the work of this body would be national and transnational crime, organized crime, economic crime, and the role of criminal law in the protection of the environment. The direct governmental involvement in setting the agenda helped give new impetus to the importance of international action against organized crime. The ensuing Naples Political Declaration and Global Action Plan emphasized the need for urgent global action against organized transnational crime, focusing on the structural characteristics of criminal organizations. The plan emphasized the need for the international community to arrive at a generally agreed concept of organized crime. The negotiations were long and difficult. The United Nations Declaration on Crime and Public Security called upon states to take measures to improve their ability to detect and interdict the movement across borders of those engaged in serious transnational crime and to protect their territorial boundaries. In 1998, it was decided to establish an open-ended intergovernmental ad hoc committee for the purpose of forming a comprehensive international convention against transnational organized crime. The Ad Hoc Committee was officially established and held its first session in 1999. It finalized the text of the Protocols Against Trafficking in Persons and Against Smuggling of Migrants in 2000. 25 footnotes