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ForewordThe present publication contains the travaux préparatoires (official records) of the negotiationsof the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (GeneralAssembly resolution 55/25, annex I) and its three supplementary Protocols, the Protocol toPrevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, theProtocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (resolution 55/25, annexesII and III, respectively) and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Traffickingin Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition (resolution 55/255, annex).The purpose of the publication is to track the progress of the negotiations in the openendedintergovernmental Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention againstTransnational Organized Crime, which was established by the General Assembly by itsresolution 53/111 of 9 December 1998, with terms of reference supplemented by theAssembly in its resolution 53/114 of 9 December 1998, and requested to finalize the drafttexts and submit them directly to the Assembly for adoption (resolution 54/126). It isintended to provide a comprehensive picture of the background of the Convention and itsthree Protocols and, by presenting the evolution of the texts, to provide the reader with anunderstanding of the issues confronted by the Ad Hoc Committee and the solutions itfound. Thus, the publication is intended to provide a better, in-depth understanding of theConvention and its Protocols.The Ad Hoc Committee began its work on 19 January 1999 and held 12 sessions. Atits tenth session (Vienna, 17-28 July 2000), the Ad Hoc Committee approved the draftconvention and decided to submit it to the General Assembly for adoption pursuant to resolution54/126 of 17 December 1999. At its eleventh session (Vienna, 2-28 October 2000),the Ad Hoc Committee approved the draft protocol to prevent, suppress and punish traffickingin persons, especially women and children, and the draft protocol against the smugglingof migrants by land, sea and air and decided to submit them to the General Assemblyfor adoption pursuant to the same resolution. At its twelfth session (Vienna, 26 February-2 March 2001), the Ad Hoc Committee approved the draft protocol against the illicit manufacturingof and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition anddecided to submit it to the Assembly for adoption pursuant to resolutions 54/126 and 55/25of 15 November 2000.The introduction to the present publication provides a historical account of the UnitedNations work and initiatives to strengthen international cooperation against organized crime.It includes a presentation of the preparatory work carried out prior to the establishment ofthe Ad Hoc Committee, which laid the foundations for the work of that body. Thus, thereader will find in chronological order detailed references to the Naples PoliticalDeclaration and Global Action Plan against Organized Transnational Crime; the draftUnited Nations framework convention against organized transnational crime submitted bythe Government of Poland to the General Assembly in October 1996; the work of theopen-ended intergovernmental group of experts, established pursuant to General Assemblyresolution 52/85 of 12 December 1997, at its meeting in Warsaw from 2 to 6 February1998; the work of the informal group to assist the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee,especially at its meetings held in Rome on 17 and 18 July 1998 and in Vienna on 5 and6 November 1998; the work of the informal preparatory meeting of the Ad Hoc Committeeheld in Buenos Aires from 28 August to 3 September 1998; and the work of thev