FROM BONDAGE TO FREEDOM 68 modern day legal regime on trafficking in persons and covers all aspects of trafficking. Therefore, before going into the Trafficking Protocol one needs to know the important provisions of the Convention on the Transnational Organized Crime, 2000 and their relationship with the above mentioned two protocols. This Chapter, thus, highlights the principal provisions of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, gives the background and analysis of the Trafficking Protocol and also provides an overview of the Migrant Smuggling Protocol. B. Overview of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime aims at promoting international cooperation to prevent and combat transnational organized crime effectively. As the first comprehensive international legal instrument for the fight against transnational crime, this Convention, together with its protocols, provides law enforcement and judicial authorities with unique tools to combat the problem. It is intended to provide greater standardization or coordination of national policy, legislative, administrative and enforcement approaches to the problem of transnational organized crime to ensure a more efficient and effective global effort to control it. C. Provisions of the Convention The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime is referred to as the “parent” agreement. Its principle provisions apply, mutatis mutandis 153, to all its protocols. The Convention is essentially an instrument of international cooperation - its purpose being to promote inter-state cooperation in order to combat transnational organized crime more effectively154. The Convention seeks to eliminate “safe havens” where organized criminal activities or the concealment of evidence or profits can take place by promoting the adoption of basic minimum measures155. The Convention standardizes terminology and concepts, creating a common basis for national crime-control frameworks. These concepts 153 The term “mutatis mutandis” as used in both the Protocols means: “with such modifications as circumstances require” or “with the necessary modifications”. 154 Supra note 3, Art. 1. 155 <http://www.odccp.org/palermo /convensumm.htn>