A/RES/58/135
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Welcomes the entry into force of the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, and notes the number of signatures and ratifications
of the three Protocols to the Convention, which is likely to lead to the expected
entry into force at an early date of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Protocol
against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;
Commends the Centre for International Crime Prevention of the United
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Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for its work in promoting the ratification of the
Convention and the Protocols thereto, including, in particular, the preparation of
legislative guides designed to facilitate the ratification and subsequent
implementation of those instruments, and invites the Centre to finalize the
legislative guides and to disseminate them as widely as possible;
Welcomes the organization by the Secretary-General, in cooperation with
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the Centre and the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat, of the treaty event
“Focus 2003: treaties against transnational organized crime and terrorism”, held at
United Nations Headquarters from 23 to 26 September 2003, in accordance with
General Assembly resolution 57/173 of 18 December 2002, welcomes the
participation of Member States in that event, and urges Member States that have not
yet done so to deposit their instruments of ratification or approval of or accession to
the Convention and the Protocols thereto, in order to ensure the widest possible
participation in those instruments and thus to maximize their effectiveness;
Also welcomes the financial support provided by several donors to
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promote the entry into force and implementation of the Convention and the
Protocols thereto, and encourages Member States to make sufficient voluntary
contributions to the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund, as
well as contributions in direct support of activities and projects of the Centre,
including through contributions to the institutes of the United Nations Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme network, for the provision of technical
assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition for the
implementation of those international legal instruments;
Requests the Centre, in its capacity as secretariat of the Conference of the
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Parties to the Convention, to undertake all activities necessary to ensure the efficient
preparation of the inaugural session of the Conference of the Parties, in 2004;
Also requests the Centre, within existing regular or extrabudgetary
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resources, in preparing to provide services to the Conference of the Parties, as
mandated, to develop a guide containing elements that would be useful to States
parties in meeting their reporting requirements to the Conference of the Parties and
to undertake a study on the functioning of extradition and mutual legal assistance
through existing mechanisms, including bilateral, regional and multilateral
agreements or arrangements;
Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Centre with the
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resources necessary to enable it to promote, in an effective manner, the
implementation of the Convention and the Protocols thereto and to discharge its
functions as the secretariat of the Conference of the Parties in accordance with its
mandate;
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