Posted on 26 April 2013
- Governments meeting to discuss responses
to global crime waves are urging countries
to impose strict penalties for the trafficking
wildlife products like elephant ivory and
rhino horn. Members of the United Nations
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice Friday passed a resolution encouraging
UN member states “to make illicit trafficking
in wild fauna and flora a serious crime”
and to ensure organized criminal groups
are prosecuted.
Under UN rules, serious
crimes should receive sentences of up to
four years in prison or more. In many instances
wildlife smugglers are released after paying
fines significantly lower than the value
of the illegal goods.
“Today the commissioners
took a critical step forward by recognizing
the serious, transnational and organized
nature of wildlife and forest crime. These
crimes are not only putting the survival
of endangered species in peril, but are
also threatening security and sustainable
economic development,” said Wendy Elliott,
leader of WWF’s campaign against wildlife
crime. “We urge governments worldwide to
use every tool available to combat these
crimes, which are also taking human lives.”
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN
During the crime commission
meeting, governments identified links between
the illegal trade in wildlife and timber
products and other transnational organized
crimes such as drug and arms running, human
trafficking, money laundering and terrorism.
The wildlife trafficking resolution was
put forward by the United States and Peru.
Yury Fedotov, Executive
Director of the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, told journalists, "Wildlife
and forest crimes must be treated as serious
crimes with minimum punishments of four
years or more so that full force of deterrence
can be used against criminals. The harder
task, however, will be to curb the demand."
The poaching of elephants
and rhinos has reached record levels across
Africa, but increased law enforcement effectiveness
is also needed throughout the trade chain
and in consumer countries like China, Thailand
and Viet Nam.
Up to 30,000 elephants
are killed each year for their ivory tusks.
In poaching epicentre Central Africa, governments
will meet next week to address the ongoing
security crisis, which is exacerbated by
the proliferation of heavily-armed poachers.
“We are seeing that
the killing of wildlife is increasingly
connected to horrific violence against the
rangers and community-members standing between
these criminals and their targets. It is
long overdue for the punishments to fit
the crimes in these cases,” Elliott said.
Governments also agreed
to a proposal from Norway to address crimes
at sea that impact upon the environment,
including fisheries crimes. Illegal fishing
undermines efforts by governments and responsible
fishers to sustainably manage fisheries.
It also threatens livelihoods, food security
and sustainable development, and costs the
global economy US $23 billion annually.
+ More
Governments take a stand
against fisheries crime
Posted on 26 April 2013
- Vienna, Austria: Governments meeting at
the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice this week in Vienna
agreed to a proposal from Norway, to address
crimes at sea that impact upon the environment,
including fisheries crimes.
Illegal fishing undermines
efforts by governments and responsible fishers
to sustainably manage fisheries. It also
threatens livelihoods, food security and
sustainable development and costs the global
economy US$23 billion annually.
Despite the severity
of these problems, governments often lack
adequate laws to put offenders out of business.
In many countries, even serious fisheries
offences only warrant a fine and are not
regarded as crimes. And despite industrial
fishing today being a globalised business,
fisheries crimes have not previously been
regarded as an issue warranting international
law enforcement cooperation.
"With illegal fishing
depleting fish stocks, especially in developing
countries and on the high seas, often with
impunity and in broad daylight, this move
by the international community to take the
problem seriously is long overdue",
said Jessica Battle, Global Ocean Governance
Programme Manager, WWF International.
"Now, we need to
see individual governments, especially as
flag states, take legislative action to
criminalise serious offences and to effectively
enforce the law. The future food supply
and wellbeing of coastal communities across
the world is at stake."
WWF is advocating for
serious fisheries offenses to be criminalised
and crimes adequately punished to effectively
deter fishers and fishing companies from
engaging in crimes. This involves upgrading
national laws but also international cooperation
by fisheries, judiciary, customs and police
agencies.
