UPSC Prelims 2019 question on Un Convention Against Corruption

Statement by statement

Statement 1 – INCORRECT: The 'Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air' is a protocol under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), not UNCAC.

Statement 2 – CORRECT: The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which entered into force in December 2005, is the ever-first binding global anti-corruption instrument. It obliges the States to prevent and criminalize different corrupt practices, promote international cooperation, cooperate for the recovery of stolen assets and enhance technical assistance and information exchange.

Statement 3 – INCORRECT: The UNTOC was adopted by the General Assembly in 2000 and came into force in 2003. The Convention is the first comprehensive and global legally binding instrument to fight transnational organized crime. There is no specific chapter aimed at returning assets to their rightful owners; that is a feature more associated with UNCAC.

Statement 4 – CORRECT: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is mandated by its member States to assist in the implementation of both UNCAC and UNTOC.