Between February 3 and 4, 2020, The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, is joining the UNCTAD Illicit Trade Forum in Geneva. The initiative is organized by UNCTAD in collaboration with the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT). UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly which aims to support developing countries to access the benefits of a globalized economy more fairly and effectively.
The forum commenced yesterday morning with the opening statements of Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General of UNCATD and Mr. Jeffrey Hardy, Director General of TRACIT. The two-day forum comprises four main working sessions, addressing the following topics:
- The impacts of illicit trade on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
- Understanding the size and shape of illicit trade;
- The role of the private sector in combatting illicit trade; and
- Illicit trade and illicit financial flows.
Mr. Filippo Musca, Acting Director General of the Institute, together with Mr. Tobias Freeman, Senior Legal Officer, delivered this morning a presentation on the Mechanism for Combating Illicit Trade (M-CIT) within the third session. Launched in November 2018, M-CIT is an Institute’s research and policy development project aimed to mitigate the harmful consequences of illicit trade by driving a systematic approach to it by all stakeholders.
More specifically, M – CIT’s objectives are to:
- formulate international recommendations for governments and businesses in developing more holistic, cross-sectoral approaches to combating illicit trade;
- propose an innovative methodology for assessing compliance with the recommendations;
- support governance bodies and policy-makers to drive a systematic approach to illicit trade across sectors and borders.
The Institute welcomes these initiatives and looks forward to contributing to the ongoing work of the UNCTAD illicit trade forum.
