14-18 October 2024, Vienna, Austria – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) participated in the Twelfth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (COP12 UNTOC), organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in Vienna.
Amb. Peter Schatzer, PAM Permanent Observer to the UN in Vienna, Amb. Jean-Paul Laborde, PAM Roving Ambassador and Senior Advisor on countering terrorism and transnational organized crime, and Dr. Joerg Weber, PAM Senior Advisor, represented the Assembly at the event.
Convening every two years, the 2024 Session of the Conference gathered Parties to the UNTOC to promote and review the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols. The Session additionally kicked off a month of observance for the first-ever “International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime”, which will occur on 15 November.
During the Opening Session and the General Discussions, Member States presented their experience in applying the provisions of the Convention and its Protocols, and stressed the need for increased technical assistance by UNODC.
Among the new trends in criminal activities, several interventions highlighted the misuse of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies – exemplified, among other cases, by the creation of explicit content involving minors, and international online scam operations – as well as a surge in online drug trafficking through darknet markets, where between 5% and 10% of drug sales are reported to occur.
PAM delegates also attended the Ministerial Event dedicated to the International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime, held on 14 October 2024, and the opening of the exhibition, entitled “Cooperation in the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime – Italy’s Experience”.
PAM representatives also participated in several side events, and many others were followed online by PAM researchers, including on how to address transnational organized crime through better border management, and how to strengthen regional collaboration to combat human trafficking.
With the framework of the UNTOC, and building on the excellent cooperation with the UN Security Council-CTED, UNOCT, and UNODC, PAM has been implementing relevant initiatives to combat transnational organized crime:
PAM launched an Awareness Campaign Against Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Smuggling, at its 18th Plenary Session, last May in Braga, which has been granted the use of the logo of the UN international campaign against trafficking, coordinated by UNODC, the “Blue Heart Campaign”. The contents related to the PAM Campaign are available on the following link: https://pam.int/pam-launched-a-campaign-against-trafficking-in-persons-and-smuggling-of-migrants/
Moreover, the Assembly, with the support of its Centre for Global Studies (CGS), is actively working on research and analyses on how to address and fight against the malicious use of AI and Emerging Technologies by terrorist and criminal groups. //