In December 1998, the United Nations General Assembly (in its Resolution 53/111) established an open-ended and ad-hoc intergovernmental committee to develop a comprehensive international convention against transnational organised crime. Two years later, following eleven sessions and the participation of more than 120 states, the committee concluded its work with a solemn document that came to be known as the ‘United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.’ Adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000, it was subsequently open for signature at a High-Level Intergovernmental Meeting convened in the city of Palermo,Italy, in December 2000.
