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Poaching and wildlife trafficking have a devastating impact on communities, on the environment and on security. Poachers and other criminals are driving elephants, rhinos, tigers and many other species to the verge of extinction, around the globe. Criminals are destroying local livelihoods, upsetting fragile ecosystems and hindering social and economic development. They are fuelling violence and corruption, and undermining the rule of law."
Yury Fedotov
Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Wildlife and forest crime is a rapidly growing industry, yielding enormous profits for the criminal networks, ranking alongside trafficking in drugs, arms and people. It affects us all, with quick profits leading to devastating losses of wildlife in the future. Animals are being killed for body parts or for the exotic pet trade. Trees are cut down and forests are destroyed to make furniture or other wood products. The impact of the crime is global, although the illicit trade is predominantly in and between the regions of Africa and Asia.
Wildlife and forest crime includes the taking, trading, importing, exporting, processing, possessing, obtaining and consumption of flora and fauna (animals, birds, fish, plants and trees) in contravention to national and international law.
The total value of the illegal trade in wood-based products, usually from and within East Asia and the Pacific, is worth an estimated US$17 billion. Southeast Asia is home to seven per cent of the world's old-growth forests and many unique trees, and the region is suffering heavily from a rapid rate of deforestation, much of it illegal. The illicit wildlife trade is generating a further US$2.5 billion from East Asia and the Pacific alone. The devastating impact of this crime can be seen in the numbers of animals decimated by the crime.
A global response is essential to effectively tackle this transnational crime which moves its illicit commodities across thousands of kilometres and many borders. Poverty exacerbates the crime, as desperate people turn to illegal means of obtaining the means to survive. But ultimately crime does not promote social and economic development, trapping many countries in an endless circle of greed, exploitation and economic despair. Countries must work together to introduce measures that decrease demand, address problems in existing legislation, strengthen law enforcement and judicial systems, share best practices on detection and prosecution, and gather data.
Time is not on our side: wildlife and forest crime is growing in size and scope, some animal species are being driven to extinction, the environment is being destroyed. In his message for World Wildlife Day on 3 March the Executive Director of UNODC Yury Fedotov, called for wildlife crime to be recognized as a serious crime under the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime: " I also urge the international community to acknowledge that this is an intergenerational crime and that the offences committed today are denying the heritage of this beautiful planet to future generations. Everyone becomes impoverished because of this activity. To confront this crime we need to join a global partnership united by the same belief: it's time to get serious about wildlife crime."
How does it impact development?
Wildlife and forest crime is not only having a devastating impact on wildlife and forests, but also on people and their livelihoods. It undermines the efforts of rural communities and indigenous peoples to manage their natural resources in a sustainable way. Vulnerable communities are exploited by the criminals and may become involved due to their perilous economic situation.
Fragile ecosystems are destroyed and habitats degraded which can lead to a loss of revenue from tourists. It threatens biodiversity and could lead to endangered species becoming extinct.
Wildlife crime threatens national and regional security, weakens the rule of law and corrupts officials. The criminal proceeds undermine legitimate businesses, lead to a loss of tax revenue and weaken criminal justice systems, by taking advantage of a lack of legislation and regulation.
Wildlife and forest crime is particularly acute in developing countries as under-resourced governments often lack the capacity to regulate the exploitation of their natural resources.
What is the United Nations doing to tackle it?
As the illegal trade in wildlife has increased in its scale and nature, more international attentional has been drawn to tackling this issue. A global response is necessary as illicit trafficking in wild fauna and flora is transnational, supplying consumption that often takes place thousands of kilometers from the source and transits several countries.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)'s Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime (GP) is trying to link existing regional efforts into a global system. The programme is working with the wildlife law enforcement community to ensure that wildlife crime, illegal logging, and related crimes are treated as serious transnational organized crimes.
UNODC provides technical assistance to strengthening capacity to prevent and combat the crime on a regional, national and local basis.
UNODC also works with other international organizations and agencies as part of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), which brings together a wide range of expertise. The ICCWC partners are the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat, INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Bank and the World Customs Organization.
The ICCWC aims to increase the risk of detection and punishment for the perpetrators of wildlife crime so that they face a formidable and coordinated response. It works with the wildlife law enforcement community to help bring those engaged in wildlife crime to justice.
The ICCWC Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit, developed by UNODC provides comprehensive guidance in analysing administrative, preventive and criminal justice responses to wildlife and forest crime. The Toolkit is available in English, French and Spanish.
There is seemingly no end to tragic reports of migrants losing their lives on desperate voyages to safer havens. These perilous journeys undertaken by hundreds of thousands of women, men and children are mostly facilitated by criminal smuggling rings." -Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Every day across the world, people are risking their lives to escape poverty, lack of opportunity, natural disaster, persecution, conflict or political instability. When a better or safer life cannot be secured within their own country, crossing the border appears as the best, if not the only option for themselves and their families. In a world where, for various reasons, the possibilities to migrate legally are often not available, this demand creates a profitable illicit market.
Migrant smuggling generates huge profits for criminals who know there is little risk of detection or apprehension. It is a crime that fuels corruption and empowers organized crime. Profit-seeking criminals exploit the lack of legal opportunities available to migrants and take advantage of their situation by offering services at great cost, including transport but also document fraud. They often lend migrants stolen passports with photos that resemble them, falsify travel or identity documents or help them obtain genuine passports or visas based on fraudulent supporting documents that they provide.
Because these services are illegal, migrants are left vulnerable in the hands of the smugglers. Afraid and intimidated to approach authorities for help, many migrants are mistreated during the smuggling process and are forced to endure severe conditions. They may be abused on the way to their destination or abandoned en route without resources. They may fall victims to extortion and exploitation by their smugglers and to terrible, often life-threatening conditions. Thousands of people have drowned at sea or perished in deserts. Refugees and asylum seekers, as well as vulnerable migrants especially unaccompanied minors and pregnant women, can be among those who pay a high price for smuggling services.
One of the biggest challenges with this crime is that it is easily adaptable to the shifting circumstances of supply and demand, as well as to different criminal justice capacities in countries of origin, transit and destination. Efforts largely focus on apprehending and deporting individual migrants and less attention is paid to dismantling the organized criminal groups involved. Although better migration management is part of the solution, it should be complemented by legislative measures that criminalize migrant smuggling, protect the human rights of the migrants, explore the opening of legal channels of migration and access to protection, and enshrine the principle of non-refoulement for refugees under which they should be protected from being returned or expelled to places where their lives or freedom could be threatened. These measures go hand in hand with the need to build the capacity of national authorities. This helps them to identify migrants in need of assistance and refugees, as well as to effectively investigate and prosecute the organized crime networks masterminding the smuggling operations, including through complex financial investigations. Those who make the real profit must be caught and prosecuted. The organized crime groups themselves must be dismantled and criminal profits confiscated. If not, they will continue to operate, adapting their methods and routes to changing circumstances. Strengthening border controls alone may actually lead to increasing demand for smuggling services to enter the countries irregularly.
The smuggling of migrants is a transnational crime that takes place across borders and across regions. As long as States do not join forces to address it, smuggling businesses run little risks of disruption. To tackle this crime effectively, there must be police and judicial cooperation between origin, transit and destination countries as well as financial investigations, targeting the profits of smuggling rings, and a rigorous stance against corruption.
[Facts and figures taken from IOM and UNHCR sources, 2014 - click to enlarge]
How does migrant smuggling undermine development?
Migration is a positive force for development. Yet, when migration is organized illegally by criminal groups for profit, its effect may be outweighed by the negative impact of transnational organized crime and corruption.
In countries of origin, migrants and their families are often pushed further into destitution by profit-seeking smugglers who may or may not deliver the services they sell. Sometimes entire families and communities pool their resources to help a key income-earning family member migrate. Migrants may face debt-bondage, or become victims of human trafficking. Their families may be extorted by criminals colluding with smugglers and ill-treating the migrants to force their families into paying a ransom for their release. Smuggled migrants are also less likely to send remittances to their families once they reach their destination.
What is the United Nations doing to combat migrant smuggling?
The primary goal of the United Nations in combatting migrant smuggling is to promote global adherence to the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and assist States in their efforts to effectively implement it while ensuring the rights of migrants and refugees are protected.
UNODC's Global Programme against the Smuggling of Migrants was designed to support Member States and criminal justice institutions in preventing and prosecuting these crimes, and protecting the rights of people who fall prey to the criminals who commit them. The Global Programme aims to strengthen countries' criminal justice responses to the crime of migrant smuggling, while upholding the rights of the migrants, and to promote police and judicial cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination.
UNODC also develops standard-setting tools to develop legislation, to train investigators and magistrates and to assess the criminal justice response to the smuggling of migrants. UNODC's efforts complement the actions of partner United Nations agencies and other international and regional organizations to address irregular migration challenges, in particular migrant smuggling, comprehensively. For example, the Global Migration Group, the UN inter-agency body focusing on migration, seeks to ensure migration is properly taken into account in UN development planning, including for the universal sustainable development goals that will follow on from the Millennium Development Goals that end in 2015.
19 Apr 2015 - A look back at some of the key moments from the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Doha, a vital milestone on the road to sustainable development. ...Read More
18 Apr 2015 - UN News Centre interview with Dr. Anna Alvazzi del Frate, Research Director of Small Arms Survey (SAS) on the links between violence and development.
18 Apr 2015 - UN Radio interviewed a group of young people from all around the world working with the UN during the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Doha, 2015.
16 Apr 2015 - UN Radio Interview with Mr. Dale Waterman, Head of Microsoft Digital Crime Unit for the Middle East and Africa on private-public partnership to combat cybercrime.
16 Apr 2015 - Crime prevention and access to justice go hand-in-hand with eradicating poverty and increasing access to health care, education, water and energy. The 13th United Nations Crime Congress is exploring these links.
15 Apr 2015 - Remarks by Mr. Yury Fedotov, Secretary of the Congress and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the Countering Narcotics Trafficking on the High Seas in the Indian Ocean High Level Event organised by the Maritime Crime ...Read More
15 Apr 2015 - Informal comments by Mr. Yury Fedotov, Secretary of the Congress and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) following the tragic deaths of migrants off the coast of Libya.
This panel discussion examines the human rights dimensions of the application of the death penalty in cases of drug-related offences and terrorism offences, to share experiences from regions in which States invoke the death penalty when confronted
13 Apr 2015 - Interview with the President of the sixty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly during the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Doha, Qatar. Mr. Kutesa spoke on different issues, including the rule of law, the crime ...Read More
At a roundtable discussion on responsible tax earlier this week, a senior tax executive wished out loud for the return of the days when corporation tax was boring.
His comment was light-hearted, but neatly captures the current climate. Corporate tax avoidance is scarcely out of the news. As governments struggle to fund basic services, people everywhere are taking an interest in whether companies are paying a fair share of tax where they make profits. For this tax executive, and many others, what was once seen as pure operating cost and technical accounting is now on the agenda of his board and investors as core business risk.
Fixing rules and shifting attitudes
The solution to corporate tax avoidance in a global economy requires fundamental reform of international tax rules. By itself, however, rule change is not a complete fix. For every set of rules, there will be those who work hard, and pay handsomely, to find the gaps and contort themselves to squeeze through them.
A better tax system, therefore, also demands a change in the attitude and approach to tax taken by companies.
Businesses need to recognise, and accept, that a diverse group of stakeholders now has expectations about tax behaviour that go beyond compliance with a complex web of tax rules, replete with loopholes and policed by under-resourced revenue authorities. As the same senior tax executive went on to say: compliance is no longer enough, if the result is seen to be unfair. Robert Phillips in his new book (on the death of corporate spin) makes the same point: it’s no longer enough for a company to ask only “are we doing what is compliant?” without also asking “are we doing what is right?”
Companies also need to recognise (as their stakeholders do) that paying tax is an investment in the countries in which they operate and that tax planning (just like corporate investments, operational decisions and sourcing strategies) has impacts on society for good, or for bad. Responsible companies, committed to making a contribution to sustainable development, must start thinking (and talking) about these impacts, and managing them for the common good.
Tax responsibility in practice
While tax practice is now clearly part of what it means to be a responsible company, there is little agreement about what a responsible approach to corporate tax looks like in practice. ActionAid has just completed a stock-take and analysis, reviewing 45 sources of proposals for responsible corporate tax practice, produced by a range of interested actors.
ActionAid is an international development organisation and therefore our analysis of existing proposals focuses on what is promising, and what is neglected, that is relevant and important to developing countries.
Read our findings in full in our latest report: ‘Responsible Tax Practices by Companies: A Mapping and Review of Current Proposals’ >>
In consultation with other stakeholders, ActionAid will use the findings of this research as the basis for a Discussion Paper on a Framework for Responsible Tax Practice – to be published soon.
We hope that the research, and the discussion paper to follow, will encourage more companies to engage constructively in an open dialogue about responsible approaches to corporate tax, starting by communicating more clearly with external stakeholders about their tax strategies and practices. The most responsible (and/or savvy) companies are already doing it, because they see that the genie is out of the bottle. Corporate tax behaviour is set to remain a public interest matter and companies must listen to what people have to say.
Tax, unfortunately for some, will never be boring again.
19 Apr 2015 - Justice for all was a critical key to the success of the new sustainable development goals and an invaluable tool to fight criminal activities, terrorism and violence threatening communities around the world, delegates heard as the thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice concluded today [English / French]
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Technology is making tremendous advances against hunger, disease and wasteful uses of energy. But it also empowers organized crime and raises the spectre of crippling cyber-attacks."
- Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General
Cybercrime is an emerging form of transnational crime, and one of the fastest growing. As the Internet has become an almost essential part of our lives, providing information and communication all over the world, so criminals have taken advantage. With some two billion users worldwide, cyberspace is the ideal place for criminals because they can remain anonymous and gain access to all forms of personal information we knowingly, or unwittingly, store online. Threats to Internet safety have spiked dramatically in recent years, and cybercrime now affects more than 431 million adult victims globally.
Cybercrime exists in many forms, the most common being identity-related offences. This occurs by phishing (deceiving Internet users into giving their personal information), malware (unintentionally-installed software that collects personal information) and hacking (illegally accessing someone's computer remotely). Criminals tend to use these methods to steal credit card information and money. Furthermore, the Internet has also becoming a place for crimes related to copyright and intellectual property rights and also offences such as child pornography and abuse material.
Cybercrime has grown easier as technology advances, and perpetrators no longer require great skills or techniques to be a threat. For example, software tools that allow the user to locate open ports or override password protection can be bought easily online. What has not grown easier, unfortunately, is the ability to find those responsible. With the anonymity that cyberspace provides, it is difficult for law enforcement to profile and locate the criminals. What is known, however, is that more than three quarters of cybercrime acts today are linked to organized criminal activity.
Cybercrime has rapidly grown into a business that may exceed three trillion US dollars a year. Without proper regulation, and insufficient capacity in many countries, combating cybercrime has proven difficult. A global effort is needed to provide better protection and firmer regulations because so far cyber criminals have hidden within legal loopholes in countries with less regulation. Perpetrators and their victims can be located anywhere, but the effects are seen across societies, highlighting the need for an urgent and robust international response.
How does cybercrime affect development?
Developing countries lack the capacity to combat cyber-attacks and other forms of cybercrime. It is therefore not surprising that victimization rates are higher in countries with lower levels of development. Criminals also exploit countries' legal loopholes and weak security measures to perpetrate cybercrimes. The lack of cooperation between developed and developing countries can also result in "safe havens" for those committing cybercrimes.
What is the United Nations doing to tackle it?
An open-ended intergovernmental expert group was set up following the 12 th Crime Congress to study cybercrime, and consider how Member States, the international community and the private sector respond to it. By looking at sharing best practices and exchanging information on national legislation, it is hoped existing responses to cybercrime will be strengthened.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) promotes long-term and sustainable capacity building in the fight against cybercrime through supporting national structures and action. Specifically, it draws on its specialized expertise on criminal justice systems to provide technical assistance in capacity building, prevention and awareness raising, and international cooperation, as well as data collection, research and analysis on cybercrime.
What can I do?
One of the simplest ways you can participate in eradicating cybercrime is by learning how to protect yourself online and not be an easy target for cybercriminals. By learning how to protect your identity and information online, you are one less victim vulnerable to the crime. Although online shopping and online banking have become everyday life for many people, always be aware of the trustworthiness of the website. Avoid using public computers for anything that requires credit card payment, and make sure the website you use to make online purchases or do anything with your banking is a fully legitimate and safe business.
Keep your computer up-to-date with the latest security software, choose strong passwords and steer clear of suspicious emails or "special offers" that ask for your personal information often in the form of contests, sales or fake banks.
19 Apr 2015 - UN Radio interview with Mr. Yury Fedotov, Secretary of the Congress and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) following the Closing of the Thirteenth United Nations Crime Congress in Doha, (12-19 April 2015).
19 Apr 2015 - Statement by Mr. Yury Fedotov, Secretary of the Congress and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the Closing of the Thirteenth United Nations Crime Congress in Doha, (12-19 April 2015). ...Read More
18 Apr 2015 - UN News Centre interview with Ms. Nicole Maric, Crime prevention expert at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), on combating drugs and illicit goods trafficking in containers.
16 Apr 2015 - The United Nations Inter-regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) organized an event on the rehabilitation of violent extremist offenders during the 13th UN Congress on crime prevention and criminal justice in Doha. ...Read More
16 Apr 2015 - Interview with Ms. Mona Rishmawi, Chief of the Rule of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch. During the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Doha, Ms. Rishmawi spoke to UN Radio about issues, including children in the ...Read More
16 Apr 2015 - UN News Centre interview with Ms. Anna Paolini, UNESCO Representative in the countries of the Gulf and Yemen on preventing and countering illicit trafficking of cultural property.
14 Apr 2015 - UN Radio interview with Avril Calder, President of the International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates (IAYFJM) on children's right and their protection in the judicial system. ...Read More
15 Apr 2015 - Remarks by Mr. Yury Fedotov, Secretary of the Congress and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at a special event organized by UNODC and the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) on Match-Fixing Cases. ...Read More
14 Apr 2015 - UN News Centre interview with Mr. Jean-Paul Laborde, Executive Director, United Nations Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) on preventing and countering terrorist financing.
13 Apr 2015 - The Committee is an umbrella organization for some 90 NGOs that provide support, protection and shelter to human trafficking victims. In her remarks, Orozco describes the current situation of human trafficking in the country.
In an interview with UN Radio Mr. Fedotov said the 13th Crime Prevention Congress is the most successful.
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