Focal Points are the governmental officials coordinating the participation of the State in the review. Each country can appoint only one focal point per each review in which it participates. Focal points can be changed along the process but there can only be one focal point per country per review at any given time. In each step of the review process, the focal point clears the final submission drafted by governmental experts, certifying that the final output of each step is agreeable to his/her country.
Governmental experts contribute substantively to the review process responding to the questionnaires during its own review, providing feedback and drafting the lists of observations and summaries. All experts are also involved in a constant process of consultation and dialogue with the experts of the other countries during the process.
Observers have access to the content of the reviews but cannot modify it. Their access to the reviews in REVMOD is “read only”. Often this type of access is granted to personnel from Permanent Missions.
What is the procedure to nominate Focal Points, Experts and Observers?
The nomination of Focal Points, Experts and Observers shall be communicated through a Note Verbale to be sent viaEmail to untoc.review@un.org, indicating the name, title, email, phone number and role of the nominated participants.
What is the procedure to replace Focal Points, Experts and Observers?
Changes/replacements of Focal Points, Experts and Observers can be submitted throughout the process. These changes shall be communicated through a Note Verbale to be sent via email to untoc.review@un.org, indicating: the name, title, email, phone number and role of the nominated participants. The Note Verbale should also indicate which users will no longer participate in the review process.
The Note Verbale with the nominations was sent to the Secretariat via E-mail. What next?
Upon receipt of the Note Verbale, the Secretariat will register the participants in REVMOD, and send them the activation links. Through this link, Focal Points, Experts and Observers will be able to create their profile in REVMOD and submit it for approval.
Is it possible to have more than one Focal Point from the same country in the same review?
No, there can only be one Focal Point per country in each review.
What is the role of the Permanent Missions in the context of the Review Mechanism?
Resolutions 9/1 and 10/1 of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crimedo not envisage a direct role for Permanent Missions in the context of the Review Mechanism. However, the Secretariat still values the cooperation with Permanent Missions, as it is extremely important to keep an open channel of communication with States parties. In this sense, some States have added to their list of authorized users for REVMOD personnel from their Permanent Mission, usually (but not only) – with the role of “observers” – which means that this user will have access to the whole content of the review in view-only mode.
Moreover, Permanent Missions can play a key part in supporting the Secretariat, in particular to facilitate communication with the capital to follow-up on the nomination of focal points and governmental experts and to act as key interlocutors for the review mechanism in the absence of a focal point and/or in case of an unresponsive focal point.
What is the URL to access REVMOD?
REVMOD can be accessed through the following URL: http://revmod.unodc.org/
I tried to activate my REVMOD account through the email I have received, but the link is expired. How should I proceed?
Links will expire automatically after 10 days. If your link does not work, please, send an email to unodc-revmod@un.org, and we will resend the REVMOD activation email to you. Always check your spam folder to ensure that you can timely access the link.
I have submitted my REVMOD profile for approval. What are the next steps?
The Secretariat will cross-check the information you have included inyour profile in REVMOD against the Note Verbale received from the Permanent Mission and will either approve it or ask for clarification, as appropriate. Upon approval of the profile, you will have access to the reviews you were assigned. You will also be notified per email once your profile is approved.
I am not able to set up my password – the system does not accept any of my options. What are the password requirements?
The password shall contain at least 3 capital letters, 3 small letters, 3 numbers and 3 special characters. A password sample could be: PASSWORDpassword123!?#
I cannot remember my REVMOD password, how do I change it?
Contact us at unodc-revmod@un.org and you will receive a link to set-up a new password.
How do I change my email address in REVMOD? Is it possible?
Yes, it is possible to change the email. However, in order to proceed with such change, the Secretariat needs a new Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission indicating the new email address.
When does a country review start?
According to Resolution 10/1 the reviews in the first review phase are to be staggered over three consecutive years, with their start dates as follows:
1 December 2020 for the first group,
1 November 2021 for the second group and
1 November 2022 for the third group.
However, only once the three countries involved have appointed their focal points, the Secretariat will call for apreliminary consultation meeting (online) to facilitate the agreement on deadlines and language(s) for the specific country review. In most of the cases, the preliminary consultation marks the official start of a review, which will be used to establish the deadlines for the steps of the review.
When does the next thematic cluster start?
According to resolution 9/1, the Review Mechanism is structured on 4 thematic clusters of articles based on their subject matter. The sequence of thematic clusters is as follows: Cluster I (Criminalization and Jurisdiction), Custer IV (International cooperation, mutual legal assistance and confiscation), Cluster III (Law enforcement and the judicial system) and Cluster II (Prevention, technical assistance, protection measures and other measures). Currently all reviews are in the first thematic cluster on criminalization and jurisdiction.
According to the indicative timeline (see Appendix of resolution 9/1), each thematic cluster shall last 2 years each. Once a cluster/phase is completed, the next one starts - following the same steps as the previous one. However, the advancement to the next cluster is not automatic - it is conditional upon the completion of 70 % of the reviews foreseen at the beginning of the previous phase, unless the Conference decides otherwise (resolution 9/1, par. 10) at its next regular session in October 2024. More information on the timeline can be found here.
Are the answers to the self-assessment questionnaires public / publicly accessible?
As a general rule, the responses to the self-assessment questionnaire are not publicly available.
However, according to Paragraph 41 of the Procedures and Rules, States may decide to make their responses public. Should you wish to publish them, please contact us via E-mail at untoc.review@un.org.
How can I know if a country has nominated a focal point and who the person is?
To facilitate this information, the Secretariat has created dedicated “Country profiles” on the UNTOC Review Mechanism website – here. Each country has an individual page which summarizes the main information concerning its participation in the UNTOC review mechanism such as:
Details of the review process for a given country;
Details of the focal point and institution (if nominated);
Ratification information; and
National legislation and caselaw (available in the SHERLOC portal).
I did not receive any communication regarding the preliminary consultation. What does that mean?
It means that the Secretariat has not yet received the nominations of Focal Points from at least one of the countries involved in the review.
One of the reviewers has not yet nominated a Focal Point. Can the country under review start working on the questionnaire in the meantime?
Yes.The self-assessment questionnaire is available for the representatives of the country under review as soon as they have access to REVMOD, independently from the preliminary consultation.
The Focal Point of the country under review is invited not to“vote to close” the Step A (in other words, not to submit the questionnaire for review) before the preliminary consultation has taken place, asa decision about the language(s) the review will be conducted in would first need to be made.
Can I fill in the questionnaire outside REVMOD?
The questionnaire, negotiated and adopted by the Conference of the Parties in its resolution 10/1, is available here. While the preparation of the answers to the questionnaire can be done offline, it is important that the final submission is done using REVMOD, the software that UNODC developed for the specific purpose of the review process and that was adopted by UNTOC-COP resolution 10/1.
If you face problems in uploading the answers in the system, please contact us at unodc-revmod@un.org.
No, there is no word limit. However, States parties under review are invited to bear in mind considerations to accessibility of the provided information and aim towards clear and concise answers.
Yes, all questions are to be considered as mandatory.
Relevant information/ legislation needs to be submitted in one of the working languages of the review and can be included in REVMOD through:
- Attachment (only relevant excerpts of legislation)
- Links in the text box to national sources/ databases
- Links in the text box to UNODC’s SHERLOC Portal
One of the reviewers has not yet nominated a Focal Point – hence, no preliminary consultation took place and we have not yet agreed upon deadlines. However, there is a deadline in REVMOD. What does this deadline mean?
The deadline you can see in REVMOD in the above situation, is based on the indicative timelines of the review process included in Annex I of resolution 10/1. Considering that one/more of the participating States Parties has not yet appointed its focal point, the official deadlines of the review have not been formalized yet. Once the three countries have appointed their focal point, the Secretariat will contact you for the preliminary consultation and, in that context, a different deadline willbe agreed and saved in REVMOD.
I would like to request an extension ofthe deadline(s). How should I proceed?
The UNTOC Review Mechanism is an intergovernmental process, governed by precise Procedures and Rules. Should one of the countries involved wish to revise the originally agreed timeline, they are invited to timely contact the counterparts and ensure that any change is duly reflected in the appropriate section for the Preliminary Consultation in REVMOD.
Is there a word limit for the answers to the self-assessment questionnaire?
No, there is no word limit for the self-assessment questionnaire.
Is there a minimum standard or a word limit to be considered when drafting the written inputs of a country review (i.e. the written feedback or the lists of observations and its summaries)?
In drafting their written inputs, States parties should consider the following word limits foreseen by the Procedures and Rules:
For the written feedback the reviewing States parties are encouraged not to exceed 10,500 words; while
The summaries of the lists of observations should not exceed 1,500 words in total.
In general, when drafting the written feedback, the reviewers may wish to consider the opportunity to analyze the answers provided by the State party under review and consider drafting a first set of successes/ good practices and challenges they may have encountered in the implementation by the State party under review. The identification of successes and challenges will be further discussed at the stage of drafting the lists of observations.
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Would you like to suggest the inclusion of additional questions or the consideration of further aspects?
Please reach out to the Secretariat at untoc.review@un.org
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