Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice: legal framework
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, also known as the Palermo Convention, is the main global instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime. It was approved by the UN General Assembly on 15 November 2000, when it was opened to Member States for signature, and entered into force on 29 September 2003. The Convention is further supplemented by three protocols which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition. It should be noted that countries must become parties to the Convention itself before they can become parties to any of the Protocols.
The Convention represents a major step forward in the fight against transnational organized crime and signifies the recognition by Member States of the seriousness of the problems posed by it, as well as the need to foster and enhance close international cooperation in order to fight transnational organized crime.
Member States that ratify this instrument commit themselves to taking a series of measures against transnational organized crime, including the creation of domestic criminal offences such as participation in an organized criminal group, money laundering, corruption and obstruction of justice. The Convention also provides for the adoption of measures to facilitate extradition proceedings, mutual legal assistance and police cooperation, as well as promotion of training and technical assistance for building or upgrading the necessary capacity of national authorities to offer an efficient response to organized crime.
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
Approved by General Assembly resolution 55/25, the protocol entered into force on 25 December 2003. It is the first global legally binding instrument with an agreed definition on trafficking in persons. The intention behind this definition is to facilitate convergence in national approaches with regard to the establishment of domestic criminal offences that would support efficient international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons cases. An additional objective of the Protocol is to protect and assist the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect for their human rights.
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air
This Protocol was adopted by General Assembly resolution 55/25 and entered into force on 28 January 2004. It deals with the growing problem of organized criminal groups who smuggle migrants, often at high risk to the migrants and at great profit for the offenders. A major achievement of the Protocol was that, for the first time in a global international instrument, a definition of smuggling of migrants was developed and agreed upon. The Protocol aims at preventing and combating the smuggling of migrants, as well as promoting cooperation among States Parties, while protecting the rights of smuggled migrants and preventing their exploitation.
Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition
This Protocol was adopted by General Assembly resolution 55/255 of 31 May 2001 and entered into force on 3 July 2005. The Protocol, which is the first legally binding instrument on small arms that has been adopted at the global level, aims at promoting, facilitating and strengthening cooperation among States Parties in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
By ratifying the Protocol, States make a commitment to adopt a series of crime-control measures and implement in their domestic legal order three sets of normative provisions. The first one relates to the establishment of criminal offences related to illegal manufacturing of, and trafficking in, firearms on the basis of the Protocol requirements and definitions. The second relates to a system of government authorizations or licensing in order to ensure legitimate manufacturing of firearms, setting it apart from illicit trafficking. The third one relates to marking and tracing of firearms.
Access the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime webpage to read the convention's full text in the six UN official languages (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, English and Russian), as well as the list of States Parties. It is also possible to follow working groups' progress and access supporting documents for the implementation of the convention's articles in different countries.
The Criminal Code of Argentina is available at the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance's website on legislative information (in Spanish).
The Brazilian Justice Ministry's website contains a list of Brazilian legislation (In Portuguese) related to its action in various areas, including public safety, implementation of criminal sentences, money laundering and judiciary reform.
Brazil is a party to numerous multilateral agreements on criminal justice and crime prevention. The Justice Ministry keeps a list of all such agreements on their website (in Portuguese), including:
The Congress of Chile Library provides a compilation on criminal justice (in Spanish), including regulations on the treatment of defendants, parole, pardons and alternative sentencing. It also offers a selection of laws and decrees on public safety, with the referrals between 1990 and 2008 (in Spanish).
The independent Dutch website The World Law Guide brings together laws of several countries, among which it can be found the criminal laws of Paraguay (in Spanish).
The independent Dutch website The World Law Guide brings together laws of several countries, among which it can be found the criminal laws of Uruguay (in Spanish).