Today 185 UN member states are parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2000. The multilateral treaty has three supplementary protocols: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition. By ratifying the Convention, states are obliged to develop specific measures against transnational organized crime. This includes adopting frameworks for extradition, creating domestic criminal offenses, promoting assistance for national authorities, and so on. In this way, the Convention has functioned as the primary instrument to fight transnational organized crime and ensure safety among countries.

In recent years, organized crime groups and terrorist organizations have become involved in the theft, destruction, and trafficking of cultural property. These groups profit from the theft of valuable artifacts by selling them to wealthy collectors and museums; in 2020, over 800,000 related items were seized worldwide. The damage that crime against cultural property causes to archaeological sites and national identity cannot be overstated. Some organized crime groups have also started to create forgeries of cultural artifacts to meet the growing demand. However, selling fake items only increases the demand for real artifacts, putting them in even greater danger. The UNTOC is the world’s best tool to fight organized crime groups and therefore has a responsibility to stop this trade. This committee will ask delegates to develop robust solutions that preserve global heritage while cutting off funding from these violent groups.

The issue of cybercrime and national security has been more widely recognized in the past few years. The UNTOC addresses the link between cybercrime on the internet and organized crimes. The increase in illegal online activities is a serious concern, as the internet has made swift and anonymous interactions possible. Crimes are often targeted and have destructive consequences like identity theft, fraud, exploitation of minors, and the distribution of terrorist materials. Criminals profit about USD 1 billion per year off of cybercrimes, mostly through stealing private data and attaining bank and payment information. These crimes threaten national security, exploit individuals, and have other disastrous effects. Due to the complexity of the conflict, strengthening and developing solutions is important to prevent major attacks and crimes and to ensure the safety of people across the world.