Roundtable on Transnational Organized Crimes: A Whole of Society Approach

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution 78/267 designating 15 November as the International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime. The resolution, adopted by consensus on March 21, 2024, is part of the lead-up to the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) in 2025.

The establishment of this day aims to underscore the profound harms caused by organised crime while shining a spotlight on the ongoing global and national efforts to prevent and combat these threats. This year’s TOC day theme is: Organised crime steals, corrupts and kills. It’s time we pull together to push back. #StopOrganizedCrime. As part of this effort, this year’s observance of the International Day is a call to action to raise awareness, empower communities, promote knowledge sharing, and support policy development, with a special focus on leveraging technology for effective intervention. It also serves as an opportunity and a reminder for Pakistan to turn its attention towards the pressing issue of organised crime within its borders.

About the Roundtable:

In this context, on November 15, 2024, Centre for Governance Research (CGR), Centre for Human Rights (CFHR) and Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) are jointly hosting a Roundtable in Lahore, Pakistan at Universal College Lahore to convene key government and non-government stakeholders and sector experts.

CGR, CFHR and GI-TOC join hands this TOC day with the broader goal of initiating a dialogue and discourse on serious organised crimes across the region, and particularly within Pakistan. This collaborative effort aims to review and strengthen Pakistan’s framework on organised crime. In addition, the roundtable will serve as a platform for unveiling of the 2024 Civil Society Declaration (originally launched at the UNTOC Conference of Parties 2024), emphasizing the role and significance of civil society in combating TOC.

The roundtable will feature a moderated roundtable discussion on critical topics such as the smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons, Pakistan’s existing infrastructure to combat organised crime, and strategies to address the broader challenge of transnational organised crimes. This event will serve as a platform for stakeholders to share insights, engage in capacity-building, and foster greater collaboration to build a more robust response to organised crime in Pakistan.

The 2024 TOC day roundtable will be a hybrid event with both in-person and online participation. This hybrid format is designed to ensure the inclusion of partners from the GI-TOC, UNODC Civil Society Unit and the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.