The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) is a multilateral treaty against transnational organized crime. The Convention was adopted by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on 15 November 2000 and it came into force on 29 September 2003.
It is also called the Palermo Convention and its three protocols (the Palermo Protocols) are:
- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; and
- Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.
- Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms
All four of these instruments contain elements of the current international law on human trafficking, arms trafficking and money laundering. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) acts as custodian of the UNTOC and its protocols.