An agreement between the OAS and Fundación para la Democracia seeks to tackle transnational crime

The new agreement marks a new step in the joint work between States and civil and legal associations around the world to contribute to the fight against crime. A new step toward strengthening democracy, rights and transparency.

Transnational crime has become a central topic of discussion in the fields of human rights violations and world peace. That is why a new agreement signed between the Organization of American States (OAS) and Fundación para la Democracia Internacional (FDI) takes on particular relevance. The agreement is aimed at joining forces to combat crime at the international level, from a perspective of defending human rights. The partnership between the Foundation and the international body adds a new step to the joint work of various entities together with member States, providing tools to face the challenge. 

The agreement was reached through the mediation of the OAS Department against Transnational Organized Crime (DTOC). Strengthening justice, security and the guarantee of basic rights will be the pillars guiding the actions to come. According to the head of the Foundation, Guillermo Whpei, it is a first step toward “a better future.” For its part, the Organization will collaborate with the Argentine entity in developing programs and tools that promote institutional ethics, democracy and transparency. 

The relationship between international organized crime and the struggle for human rights has been gaining centrality for years. Entities such as the United Nations, the aforementioned OAS and the European Union have issued multiple statements and legal frameworks to place this issue on the geopolitical agenda. 

According to the Institute of International Relations (IRI) of the National University of La Plata, Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) is a phenomenon that violates the human rights of thousands of people around the world. In a 2025 review on this subject, the institute noted that in 2020 and 2021, European Union states seized an estimated more than 4 trillion euros in economic profits from  TOC. It is also estimated that in recent years, the economic assets generated by organized crime have been equivalent to between 3% and 7% of annual global Gross Domestic Product.

The United Nations has declared November 15 as the International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime. These phenomena unfold across multiple fields, from drug trafficking to the arms market, from human trafficking to institutional corruption in the highest political and social spheres. The well-known UN Palermo Convention of 2000 was the milestone that established the international legal framework against transnational crime in this century. It set out the main protocols and criteria for addressing this problem from a global and humanitarian perspective.   

Organized cybercrime: a contemporary threat

The 2025 Global Organized Crime Index, prepared and published by the organization Global Initiative, highlighted the recent growth of “non-violent” forms of crime, referring to cybercrime and financial fraud. These manifestations of transnational organized crime, carried into the digital realm, represent a new challenge for efforts to protect people’s rights and integrity. At the same time, drug trafficking remains one of the most pervasive forms of organized crime.

In October of this year, some 65 countries signed the first United Nations treaty to combat cybercrime. This was a fundamental step for this phase of the fight against organized crime worldwide. Among the main concerns surrounding this problem, according to the UN, are financial crimes and violations of privacy through the trafficking of images. According to the international body’s estimates, cybercrime is forecast to generate costs of more than 10 trillion dollars a year this year. 

Transnational crime in different parts of the world

According to data from the aforementioned Global Initiative Index, the countries that top the global criminality ranking, on a scale of 1 to 10, include Myanmar (8.8), Colombia (7.8), Mexico (7.6), South Africa (7.4), Brazil (7) and Russia (6.9).

In regions such as Latin America, the term “criminal governance” has been coined to describe situations in which organized crime escalates to the point where illicit structures become embedded in the States themselves. It is estimated that 1 in 9 Latin American citizens live in an area affected by some form of criminal governance. In addition to the effects of violence and human rights violations, these phenomena profoundly affect the legitimacy and transparency of democracy itself in each place.