UN members greenlight landmark protocol to target environmental crime
A landmark global protocol designed to tackle environmental crime is in the works following years of lobbying by a coalition of South American and African nations.
Members of UNTOC, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, greenlit a resolution to develop new measures targeting illegal mining, wildlife trafficking and other environmental crimes.
Brazil led the proposal, and its Indigenous leaders were joined by counterparts from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in advocating for the measures.
They secured more than the required two-thirds majority vote, with 83 UNTOC members in favour, 27 abstaining, and 12 — including the US — voting against. A committee will now work up a draft protocol to present at the next biennial UNTOC gathering in 2028.
Mark Jones, head of policy at UK-based charity Born Free, said the move “sends a powerful message that governments recognise the scale, seriousness and interconnected nature of environmental crime.”
Alice Pasqualato, environmental crime global policy specialist at American NGO The Wildlife Conservation Society, called it a “landmark moment in the fight against environmental crime.”
“At a time when multilateralism is under unprecedented strain, governments have come together to recognise that crimes such as wildlife trafficking and illegal mining are serious forms of transnational organised crime that require a coordinated international response,” she said.
