Vienna (Austria) - 28 November 2022 – Addressing transnational organized crime requires a comprehensive and multi-stakeholder approach. Through Resolution 9/1 of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), State Parties recognized the important role played by non-governmental organizations, academia and the private sector in fighting organized crime. To support collaboration between governments and non-governmental stakeholders on UNTOC implementation, the UNODC Civil Society Unit (CSU) builds the capacity of these stakeholders on the Convention and its Review Mechanism through the Stakeholder Engagement for UNTOC (SE4U) project. In this context, the CSU in collaboration with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) and with the support from the U.S. Department of State, organized a three-day workshop on “Stakeholder Engagement in the Implementation of the Review Mechanism of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime: Instruments and Processes”.
This was the seventh workshop, since the start of the SE4U project in 2019 and the first that includes experiences and lessons learned from Constructive Dialogues and Pilot Initiatives. More than 70 participants from 45 countries registered for the interactive workshop, out of which 40 participated and engaged actively.
The event kicked off with the networking session as well as a session on ‘UNODC Data Explained’ which provided information on how UNODC collects data on different types of organized crime. The second day focused on the introduction to the UNTOC Self-Assessment Questionnaire which is the instrument State Parties use to review themselves. The session also featured presentations on the SE4U project and useful tools developed by GI-TOC, as well as sharing experience and lessons learned.
Mirella Dummar Frahi, chief of UNODC Civil Society Unit stressed that knowledge of the UNTOC, its review process and entry points, allows participants to better engage with Member States in the overall fight against Transnational Organized Crime in their countries through the Review Mechanism.
The benefits of civil society engagement in the UNTOC review process were described by Ian Tenant from GI-TOC who mentioned that while contextualizing the implementation of UNTOC, providing analysis and expert opinion on organized crime trends and bringing the experience of communities affected by organized crime to the fore, civil society can also highlight such issues as human rights and gender that might not be directly referenced in the Convention.
Civil society experts Tariq Khosa from the Center for Governance Research Pakistan, Angie De Luna from A21 Mexico, Phillipa Roberts from Hope for Justice (UK), and Ishaan Shah from Stolen Dreams (UK) shared their experiences in engagement in the review process through Constructive Dialogues and Pilot Initiatives in Mexico and Pakistan.
On the final day participants took part in three breakout groups, where they reflected and exchanged opinions on aspects of the self-assessment questionnaire that are relevant for their work and discussed on how they can engage with their governments in those areas and what UNODC can do to better support them. Participants talked about challenges and limitations they experience in approaching focal points and governments, but also shared examples of good practices and how they are engaging in UNTOC implementation in their countries and shared proposals on how to collaborate with their governments. Among the recommendations to UNODC was the creation of civil society regional networks to facilitate all stakeholders in sharing experiences and staying connected with all relevant participants.
Participants agreed that joint engagement through UNTOC Review Process among governments and non-governmental stakeholders will help achieve comprehensive and sustainable progress in the fight against transnational organized crime. The SE4U project will continue to prepare non-governmental stakeholders for constructive and meaningful contribution to the UNTOC review process in 2023.