On September 29, the Italian Government – in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – hosted a Ministerial Conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime Convention, signed in Palermo on November 15, 2000, and entered into force on September 29, 2003.
In the Sicilian city, the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi welcomed 16 Ministers and 32 delegations from countries of the large-Mediterranean-area, to renew their commitment against Organized crime and in particular against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants.
The event was held inside the Ucciardone prison’s bunker courtroom, where the first anti-mafia maxi-trial was celebrated: a symbolic tribute to those who have lost their lives fighting organized crime and in particular to those persons, such as Judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, whose work and sacrifice paved the way for the adoption of the Convention.
In a full day of work, delegations had fruitful exchanges on the legal and judicial instruments, national actions and challenges to tackle organized crime, on the phenomena of trafficking in persons and migrants smuggling and on the way ahead.
The Conference was closed by the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Ghada Waly and the Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Alfredo Mantovano.
