The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime is applicable to all forms of serious crime of transnational nature committed by organized criminal groups. More than two decades after its adoption it is among the most ratified international legal instruments.
Organized crime thrives worldwide, affecting governance and political processes, and weakening the advancement of the rule of law. It encompasses, inter alia, illicit trafficking of firearms, drugs, protected species, cultural property, or falsified medical products and, among its most severe manifestations, human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants. It also includes the laundering of proceeds of crime and obstruction of justice. Moreover, with all forms of organized crime shifting ever more to being dependent on or incorporating online aspects, including the use of virtual assets, its reach and capability of harm is increasing.
Organized criminal groups are flexible in changing or expanding their illicit businesses for profit. They misuse vulnerabilities and crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturns, natural disasters, and armed conflicts exploiting them for their own purposes…