Vienna, 21 October - The Sixth Session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime closed Friday. Over a five day period, the Conference brought together more than 800 delegates, 107 States Parties and 6 signatories. Progress was made in a number of resolutions including the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms; the smuggling of migrants over land, sea and air; and the provision of technical assistance under UNTOC.
On the margins of the Conference, States Parties and civil society participated in over 20 side-events discussing such issues as trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, firearms and the protection of cultural property, among many others.
States Parties were, however, unable to reach consensus on one resolution on a peer review mechanism for the UNTOC. The review mechanism would have seen countries, which have ratified the UNTOC, reviewed over a five year cycle to see how they are meeting their obligations under the Convention. Although there was broad agreement on a number of issues, and discussions were active and ongoing until the end, the question of how the review mechanism would be funded proved to be unbridgeable.
For further information contact:
David
Dadge
Spokesperson, UNODC
Telephone: (+43 1) 26060-5629
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-5629
Email: david.dadge[at]unvienna.org
