MPs OK Iran’s Accession to UNTOC, Decision on FATF Put on Hold
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian parliament on Sunday passed a law that allows the country to join the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), but decided to put on hold debates on Iran’s accession to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for two months.
In an open session of the parliament on Sunday morning, the lawmakers approved a bill that allows the government to join UNTOC.
The bill, however, obligates the Iranian administration to observe a series of conditions before joining the convention, also known as the Palermo convention.
Despite the parliament approval, the bill is not still obligatory, because it has to be endorsed by Iran’s Guardian Council.
Adopted by a UN General Assembly resolution in November 2000, UNTOC is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime.
Elsewhere in the Sunday session, the parliament agreed on a request from more than 50 lawmakers that debates on Iran’s accession to the Financial Action Task Force be put on hold for two months.
The MPs decided that dealing with the FATF issue would be shelved until results of negotiations with Europe on saving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) become clear.
Established in 1989, the Financial Action Task Force is an inter-governmental body with the purpose of setting standards and promoting effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.