The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), led since February 2020 by Executive Director Ghada Fathi Waly, is the lead body in the UN system for international cooperation on drugs and on the fight against transnational organized crime and corruption.
The governing bodies of UNODC are the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), which are functional commissions of ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council of the United Nations), established respectively in 1946 and 1992. The CND supervises the application of the three UN drug conventions and the implementation of international commitments to address the global drug problem, while the CCPCJ is the main UN forum on crime prevention and criminal justice. They meet on an annual basis. Italy is currently a member of both Commissions, with mandates renewed in 2023 until 2027 (CND) and 2026 (CCPCJ) respectively.
Every five years, the CCPCJ prepares the United Nations Crime Congress. The XIV session of the Congress was held in Kyoto from 7 to 12 March 2021. The next session will be held in the UAE in 2026.
UNODC also serves as the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), also called Palermo Convention, and the Additional Protocols against Trafficking in Persons, Smuggling of Migrants and Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms. It also acts as the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), also called Merida Convention. Both conventions have their own biennial Conference of the Parties: COP UNTOC meets in even years in Vienna, COSP UNCAC in odd years in the candidate country to host it (the tenth COSP will be held in December 2023 in Atlanta, USA)
UNODC is currently engaged with Secretariat functions in the elaboration of a new international Convention on the fight against the use of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes (cybercrime).
Finally, the Terrorism Prevention Branch provides technical assistance to the Member States to promote the application of international legal instruments in preventing and combating terrorism.