The United Nations (UN)’s International Day for the Prevention of and Fight Against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) is observed across the globe on 15 November to raise awareness about the emerging threat of TOC.
- The 2025 edition marks the 2nd edition of International Day for the Prevention of and Fight Against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime.
Theme:
2025 Theme: “Follow the Money. Stop Organized Crime”
Focus: The day stresses tracking Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), boosting Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), and cutting crime–corruption links to weaken organized criminal networks.
Exam Hints:
- What? International Day for the Prevention of and Fight Against All Forms of TOC 2025
- When? November 15, 2025
- Edition: 2nd
- 2025 Theme: “Follow the Money. Stop Organized Crime”
- Declared by: UNGA Resolution 78/267 (March 2024)
- First Observed: 2024
- Linked Convention: UNTOC (Palermo Convention, adopted 15 Nov 2000)
Background:
Designation: In March 2024, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 78/267 designated 15th November each year as the International Day for the Prevention of and Fight Against All Forms of TOC.
Proclamation: UNGA proclaimed to commemorate the adoption of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), also known as Palermo Convention, of 15 November 2000.
- It recognized that preventing and combating TOC is essential for achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
First Observance: The International Day for the Prevention of and Fight Against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime was first observed on November 15, 2024.
About Transnational Organized Crime(TOC):
ToC: It refers to criminal activities run by structured groups across borders for financial or material gain, operating through global supply chains, corrupt systems, digital payment routes, shell companies, dark-web communication, and cross-border smuggling corridors.
Types:These include human trafficking, migrant smuggling, drug and arms trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering, wildlife and cultural property trafficking, environmental crimes, and terrorism financing, enabling criminal networks to operate across borders and exploit vulnerable communities.
About Palermo Convention:
Overview: It is the central legal framework, providing legal definitions of organized criminal groups, rules for extradition, mutual legal assistance, joint investigations, witness protection, international data and intelligence sharing, and control of international trafficking networks.
Supplementing Protocols: It includes Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants, and Protocol on Firearms Trafficking.
About United Nations General Assembly (UNGA):
President – Annalena Baerbock
Headquarters – New York, the United States of America (USA)
Establishment – 1945
