On 19 October 2026, the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime opened in Vienna at a moment when cooperation across borders is essential. I congratulate Ambassador Orellana on assuming the presidency, and extend congratulations to the vice-presidents and rapporteur on their appointments. Their responsibilities will be central to guiding the conference’s work and enabling a productive exchange among participating states and partners. I also acknowledge Ambassador Peter Burian of Slovakia for his leadership of the previous session and the foundations it established for this meeting.
The conference’s purpose depends not only on formal proceedings, but on a cooperative spirit: a willingness to listen, identify common priorities and translate shared concerns into coordinated action. The scale of participation offers a clear indication of that commitment. More than 2,000 ministers and senior representatives are taking part, alongside over 300 non-governmental organizations from 130 countries. The programme includes 115 scheduled events—twice the number held at the previous session. Such engagement reflects broad recognition that transnational organized crime crosses jurisdictions and affects communities in many different ways. Addressing it requires sustained collaboration among governments, civil society and international partners.
This gathering follows the Abu Dhabi Crime Congress, described as the largest in its history, where member states reaffirmed their determination to strengthen cooperation against crime in the digital age. That resolve provides an important point of departure for the work in Vienna. The challenge now is to carry it forward into practical outcomes: stronger cooperation, effective responses to evolving criminal activity and measures grounded in the protection of people. The conference must ensure that its discussions speak to the realities faced by individuals and communities, including those most exposed to exploitation and harm. With broad participation and a shared sense of responsibility, delegates have an opportunity to turn political commitment into progress that can be sustained beyond this session. Its success will depend on collective effort and on keeping the safety and dignity of people at the centre of the agenda.
Organized crime is not a distant threat confined to headlines or border crossings. Its effects reach neighbourhoods, workplaces, markets and digital spaces: families lose income to fraud, communities face violence, legitimate businesses are undercut, and people are exploited. Over the past 20 years, organized crime has been linked to an estimated 95,000 homicides each year. The scale of harm is compounded by criminal threats that are becoming more complex and sophisticated, crossing jurisdictions and adapting quickly to enforcement and social change.
Technology gives offenders new ways to recruit, deceive and profit. Criminals can use 3D printing to produce firearms, while mobile phones help them contact and recruit people, coordinate trafficking, and facilitate exploitation. Artificial intelligence can be misused to imitate identities, manipulate targets and make deception more convincing. These tools do not replace older criminal methods; they can make them faster, harder to detect and easier to extend across borders. A message or online profile may connect a vulnerable person to a network operating thousands of kilometres away.
Criminal convergence further widens the impact. Groups may combine activities, share routes and resources, and use profits from one offence to finance another. In South America, drug profits can support illegal mining and wildlife trafficking. Across the Sahel, resource exploitation and smuggling can fuel violence. European ports may serve as gateways for illicit trade, while in the Middle East, looted cultural treasures and synthetic drugs form part of a wider criminal landscape. In Southeast Asia, trafficking is connected to scam operations that deceive victims online and exploit people forced to work in criminal compounds. These regional patterns show how crimes that appear separate can reinforce one another, with consequences for public safety, livelihoods, heritage and trust in institutions. Their reach makes international cooperation essential: investigations and prevention efforts must account for networks that move people, money, goods and data across borders.
Drafted a quarter century ago, the Palermo Convention established a shared international foundation for addressing transnational organized crime. Its reach has expanded from 120 signatories to 195 parties, reflecting broad recognition that cross-border crime requires coordinated responses. The Convention was designed not to target one particular threat, but to provide common definitions, require states to establish specified criminal offences, and create frameworks for international cooperation. These include tools for mutual legal assistance, extradition, and collaboration among law-enforcement authorities. By setting shared expectations while allowing implementation through national systems, it gives countries a basis for working together as criminal methods and networks cross borders.
Its influence can also be seen in later multilateral instruments, including the UN Convention against Corruption and the UN Cybercrime Convention, which has attracted around 100 signatures. This legacy demonstrates how common legal frameworks can shape cooperation beyond the Convention’s original field. Yet rules cannot remain static: organized crime adapts to technology, markets, and opportunities, creating new routes and forms of harm. International standards therefore need regular attention so commitments remain relevant, consistent, and workable across jurisdictions. The review mechanism is central to that task. It enables states to assess implementation, identify successes and persistent gaps, and draw lessons to guide improvement.
In the past year, ten reviews were completed at an accelerated pace. At the Vienna conference, participants are considering how to make both the review process and the Convention’s wider architecture responsive to evolving threats while remaining efficient and sustainable. Substantive discussions and resolutions address drug trafficking, environmental crimes, trafficking in cultural property, and firearms. These issues affect public safety, livelihoods, ecosystems, cultural heritage, and security. Their inclusion shows how the Convention’s cooperative foundations apply to distinct harms. Keeping those foundations effective requires sustained commitment, careful review, and adaptation grounded in experience.
UNODC supports international action by grounding policy in evidence and translating research into practical guidance. At the Vienna session, it will present its latest research on organized crime, helping delegates assess changing threats, cross-border effects, and responses that can better protect people. These assessments help governments identify gaps, prioritize resources, and coordinate strategies across jurisdictions, rather than treating connected criminal markets as isolated national problems.
Through operational support, UNODC helps countries plan joint investigations and operations, exchange information, and build law-enforcement capacity. Training and technical expertise can improve evidence gathering and disruption of criminal networks while strengthening safeguards and victim-centered practice. Effective responses also depend on those most affected. The 2025 Global Forum for Human Trafficking Survivors creates space for survivors to inform policy and prevention, recognizing their expertise and agency.
Partnerships extend beyond government. UNODC engages private companies on shared responses to illicit activity, including through initiatives such as the Global Fraud Summit. Collaboration can strengthen prevention and responses to increasingly complex scams. Public awareness campaigns help people recognize risks, report crime safely, and understand how organized crime affects communities. On 15 November, the International Day against Transnational Organized Crime will focus on organized fraud. Events planned in Vienna, New York, Palermo, and UNODC field offices will draw attention to its harms and ways to respond.
The International Day against Corruption on 9 December will highlight how corruption can enable criminal networks and undermine public trust. Over two decades, cooperation under the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime has built common rules, practical tools, and partnerships. The challenge is to preserve and strengthen that legacy, working toward a world where criminals cannot hide, justice can cross borders, and people are safer from crime and exploitation.
