International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime
A/RES/78/267
A/RES/78/267
This authority record treats the observance as a fixed annual date. The same month and day can be reused unless a stronger source changes the rule. Public-holiday or government status is never inferred from the observance name alone.
Overview
The International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime is observed on 15 November. The United Nations General Assembly declared the annual observance through resolution A/RES/78/267, adopted on 21 March 2024.
The day focuses on the harms caused by organized criminal networks and on international cooperation against activities such as trafficking in persons, illicit firearms and drug markets, money laundering, environmental crime and other serious cross-border offences.
Why it matters
Transnational organized crime is not one offence or one organization. It describes serious criminal activity that can cross borders through people, money, goods, digital infrastructure or organizational control.
The observance therefore emphasizes cooperation: effective responses can require criminal justice, financial investigation, victim protection, prevention, international legal assistance and coordination between jurisdictions.
History
Italy served as penholder and introduced the General Assembly initiative on behalf of a group of states. Draft A/78/L.45 became resolution A/RES/78/267.
On 21 March 2024, the General Assembly adopted A/RES/78/267 without a vote, declared 15 November as the annual International Day and invited the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in collaboration with other relevant entities, to facilitate the observance.
UNODC supported the first commemoration on 15 November 2024. Italy explained during adoption that the date recalls 15 November 2000, when the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, commonly known as the Palermo Convention.
How the observance developed
This timeline is assembled only from verified provenance fields. Missing stages are omitted rather than inferred.
Italy-led proposal / penholder, with a multi-state draft group
UNODC identifies Italy as the penholder of resolution 78/267, and UN meeting coverage records Italy introducing A/78/L.45 on behalf of a group of countries.
United Nations General Assembly
UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/78/267
First documented observance
UN and UNODC materials explicitly describe 15 November 2024 as the first/inaugural commemoration.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with other relevant entities
Operative paragraph 3 of A/RES/78/267 explicitly invites UNODC, in collaboration with other relevant entities, to facilitate the observance.
What the evidence establishes
Verified institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Fields that the reviewed sources do not establish remain fail-closed and are available below without competing with the confirmed record.
2 fields not established in reviewed sources
Ways to observe
Learn how the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime supports cooperation in extradition, mutual legal assistance and related enforcement work.
Use victim-centred sources to understand the human impact of trafficking, exploitation and other organized crime without sensationalizing victims.
Review how money laundering and illicit financial flows can allow criminal networks to move or disguise proceeds across borders.
Support evidence-based prevention and reporting initiatives while avoiding vigilante activity or unsafe attempts to investigate suspected crime yourself.
Useful facts
The observance is held annually on 15 November.
The General Assembly adopted A/RES/78/267 on 21 March 2024.
Italy was the penholder and introduced the initiative on behalf of a group of countries.
The resolution invites UNODC, with other relevant entities, to facilitate the observance.
The first commemoration took place on 15 November 2024, and the date recalls adoption of the Palermo Convention on 15 November 2000.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
- Remembrance Civic Context Care.
Evidence & sources
Repeated links from the authority record, institutional provenance and editorial guide research are consolidated here. Badges show how each source is used; a contextual source is never treated as proof of establishment on its own.
United Nations Digital Library — A/RES/78/267 (opens in a new tab)
United Nations Digital Library — draft A/78/L.45 (opens in a new tab)
United Nations Meetings Coverage — Italy introduction / date rationale (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime (opens in a new tab)
UNODC — first 2024 commemoration / facilitator role (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — List of International Days and Weeks (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — Observances: who chooses them and how (opens in a new tab)
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then use reviewed distinctions and related authority records to understand where this observance fits.
Frequently asked questions
When is International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime?
15 November The stored recurrence guidance is: 15 November.
Does International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime fall on the same date every year?
The authority record classifies it as fixed annual, so its month and day are reusable unless stronger evidence changes the rule.
Is International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime an official public holiday?
The authority record verifies it within this scope: United Nations / international observance. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when the supporting authority record explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime?
The reviewed provenance layer identifies United Nations General Assembly as the proclaiming or establishing body. The proposer or originator is recorded separately as Italy-led proposal / penholder, with a multi-state draft group. Current facilitation or coordination is recorded as United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with other relevant entities.
Is International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime international or country-specific?
The record has international or global institutional scope: United Nations / international observance. That does not mean every country treats the date as a public holiday or observes it in the same way.
How is this page verified?
The factual layer is source-backed and keeps its date rule, scope, provenance and editorial guardrails attached to the authority record. This record was checked on 2026-09-05.
When was the International Day against Transnational Organized Crime established?
The UN General Assembly adopted A/RES/78/267 on 21 March 2024 and declared 15 November as the annual observance.
Who facilitates the observance?
The establishing resolution invites the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in collaboration with other relevant entities, to facilitate it.
Why is it observed on 15 November?
Italy’s introduction of the resolution states that 15 November recalls the General Assembly’s adoption of the Palermo Convention on 15 November 2000.
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