Conclusions of the Event “Justice, Victims, and Civil Society in the Face of the Challenges of Transnational Organised Crime” at the Complutense University of Madrid
On November 5, 2025, the seminar “Justice, Victims, and Civil Society in the Face of the Challenges of Transnational Organised Crime” was held at the Faculty of Law of the Complutense University of Madrid, organised by FIBGAR and the Complutense University. The event took place as part of the project “University Youth Against Organised Crime”, a joint initiative of FIBGAR and UCM aimed at strengthening critical reflection, youth leadership, and the defence of human rights in response to the challenges posed by organised crime from a multidisciplinary perspective. As part of this initiative, over several months until March 2026, a selected group of students will take part in a five-session thematic seminar series led by specialists from Spain, Europe, and Latin America. Through debates, participatory dynamics, and group work, participants will prepare an action document containing concrete proposals to contribute to public debate on organised crime from a human-rights perspective.
The event brought together legal experts, academics, and civil society representatives to discuss the challenges that organised crime poses to justice, democratic governance, and victim protection.
The opening session featured remarks by José Carlos Cano Montejano, Vice Dean for International and Institutional Relations of the UCM Faculty of Law, and Pilar Peiteado Mariscal, Director of the Department of Procedural and Criminal Law. Both emphasised the relevance of holding this event at a university, a space where critical analysis, research, and the training of new generations of legal professionals converge. They stressed that academia is not only a privileged forum for reflecting on organised crime, but also a key actor in building legal and social frameworks capable of tackling it.
Panel 1: Organised Crime: Challenges for Justice and Governance
The first panel, moderated by Professor Elena Conde Pérez, addressed the growing complexity and evolution of organised crime in today’s world. Baltasar Garzón, former judge and honorary president of FIBGAR, recalled that as early as 1993 he proposed including the term “organised crime” in Spanish legislation, emphasising that these networks have since become increasingly sophisticated and that their main tool is corruption. “Organised crime does not seek violence in principle, but rather to go unnoticed”, he noted, pointing to its capacity for adaptation and continuous learning. “In this fight we often arrive too late: it’s like an elephant chasing a leopard. They operate outside the law, we operate within it.” He therefore called for more agile and coordinated investigative tools, as well as comprehensive policies that address the phenomenon across all sectors.
Professor Carolina Sampó, from Fundación Carolina, highlighted that organised crime is defined by the diversification and transnational nature of its activities. She noted that practices such as illegal mineral extraction or human trafficking are often overlooked, as is the central role of corruption, both public and private. “Without private corruption, organised crime could not function”, she warned. Sampó also drew attention to indirect violence, such as extortion and threats, and to the invisible harms that undermine public trust and democratic institutions. When the state fails to guarantee basic necessities such as water, security, or energy, “organised crime provides them and gains social legitimacy”, she explained, citing cases in Latin America and Africa.
Sociologist Armando Fernández Steinko, chair of sociology, analysed the economic aspects of these networks and explained that the central objective of criminal groups is to avoid interception. To achieve this, they operate outside legality and without the possibility of turning to the State to resolve internal conflicts, a structural separation that explains both their resilience and the high levels of internal violence.
Panel 2: Victims and Civil Society in the Face of Organised Crime
The second panel, moderated by Alessia Schiavon, director of FIBGAR, explored the impact of organised crime on victims and the role of civil society.
Carmen Durán Martínez, vice president of FIBGAR, offered a deeply human perspective by recalling her decades of experience as a schoolteacher in Galicia. She recounted how some of her students would suddenly pass away, leaving disoriented families who turned to her for support. From her privileged position of closeness to the community, she witnessed how organised crime affected the most vulnerable individuals and how these impacts, often invisible from the outside, profoundly disrupted family and social life. Durán stressed that education is a fundamental tool for combating the expansion of organised crime, not only because it strengthens young people’s critical thinking and life opportunities, but also because it fosters communities that are more resilient to recruitment dynamics and violence. “We are all victims”, she said, “but especially those who have the fewest resources to defend themselves”. She also highlighted the importance of reinforcing community bonds, listening to those in vulnerable situations, and promoting preventive tools capable of detecting risks before it is too late.
Carlos Brito Siso, criminal law professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, analysed migrant smuggling and the myths surrounding this phenomenon. He explained that not all facilitation networks are criminal: some are family-based or community-based and arise due to the lack of legal migration pathways. Brito proposed a broader reading of the issue, linking it to structural inequalities and recalling the right to migrate recognised in Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He also identified five types of organised criminality, ranging from mafia-type groups to networks operating from within the state or beyond its borders, stressing the need for specific, differentiated responses.
The conference concluded with an open discussion in which participants agreed that organised crime is a global threat with profound implications for justice, the economy, and democracy. Its transnational character requires coordinated strategies among States, judicial institutions and civil society, as well as greater attention to victims and to the invisible harms that organised crime inflicts on public trust and social cohesion.
Sara Zanon, contributor to FIBGAR.
