U.N. convention against organized crime Ratified by Barbados

The Government of Barbados has ratified the U.N. Convention on Transnational Organized Crime as well as three supplementary protocols dealing with human trafficking and firearms.

Parties to the Convention accept "the obligation to criminalize participation in an organized criminal group, money laundering, corruption and the obstruction of justice," the Barbadian government said in a statement.

Joseph Goddard, permanent representative of Barbados to the United Nations, handed over the instrument of ratification at U.N. Headquarters in New York.

Barbados also ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children; the Protocol against Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition.

The Convention's aim is to promote cooperation between states to prevent and fight international organized crime more effectively.

The pact is composed of 41 articles outlining a framework to eliminate safe havens for criminal organizations, protect witnesses and stop money laundering.