The rationale for, & possible form & content of, a new global agreement on the illicit trafficking of wildlife

Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime

Virtual ancillary meeting to the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Kyoto, Japan

‘The rationale for, and possible form and content of, a new global agreement on the illicit trafficking of wildlife’

For the full recording of the event click here

John E Scanlon AP, Chair Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime

7 March 2021

Thank you Will, and thanks to your good team, and our hard-working intern Alice, for organising today’s event, as well as to all our wonderful panellists for joining us today.

We are grateful for this opportunity to explore the benefits of a possible new, ground-breaking, legal agreement on wildlife crime at such an important global event, the 14th UN Crime Congress.

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A few quick words on who we are. The Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime, launched on 5 June last year, is an informal alliance of a diverse range of organisations and individuals, coming from across every region, who support its objectives.

We have two inter-related but interdependent objectives, namely, to encourage States to:

– amend international wildlife trade laws to build public and animal health criteria into decision making, and thereby institutionalising a ‘One Health’ approach to wildlife trade (and last year we released a set of amendments that could be made to CITES to achieve this objective), and to

- create a new international legal agreement on wildlife crime.

And today’s event is focussed on a new wildlife crime agreement.

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So, why do we say we need a new agreement on wildlife crime?

Historically, many have seen tackling wildlife crimes as being about protecting endangered species, and in particular the charismatic ones. While this is important, the critical need to end wildlife crime extends well beyond a concern for the survival of a limited number of endangered species.

We now know that these crimes are driving many species towards extinction, degrading entire ecosystems and their ability to sequester carbon, depriving governments of revenue, exacerbating corruption, insecurity, and poverty, and they can pose a threat to public and animal health.

According to the UN IPBES, over one million species will go extinct over the coming decades if we do not change course. It describes five major threats to nature. Amongst them is overexploitation, including through illegal trade in wildlife.

COVID-19 most likely had its origins in wildlife, as have previous pandemics. The UN IPBES tells us that 1.7 million undiscovered viruses are thought to exist in wild animals, about half of which could spillover to people, including through illegal trade, markets, and consumption.

And while nature-based climate solutions can offer about one-third of the (cost-effective) carbon dioxide mitigation needed between now and 2030, The World Bank tells us that the illegal trade in fish, timber and other wildlife, degrades ecosystems and their ability to mitigate climate change.

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There are many UN Reports, most particularly by the UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime), that graphically describe the industrial scale and organised nature of illegal trade in wildlife, affecting between 6-7,000 of the species of wild animals and plants that are listed under CITES.

According to the UNODC, these are crimes that exacerbate corruption, insecurity, and poverty and affect every continent. And other sources put the value of illegal trade in CITES-listed species at about $20 billion annually.

But CITES covers just 38,000 of the world’s eight million species. If we consider all species, including fish and timber species, that are being trafficked, then The World Bank puts this figure closer to $200 billion a year, and if we include the costs of the impacts on ecosystems, then it is estimated at a staggering $1-2 trillion.

While we are focused on wildlife crime today, there is an increasing level of concern and attention being given to legal and unregulated trade in wild animals that could pose a risk to human health. As such, we are seeing more and more local restrictions being placed on wildlife trade, markets, and consumption that could pose such a risk.

This trend towards stricter regulation is set to continue. However, if we are to avoid future pandemics, such high-risk activities must not simply move underground. And if we are to prevent this from happening, we must see a scaled-up collective enforcement effort.

Colleagues, these are challenging, global, interconnected, issues. Viruses can spillover in any country, and these highly destructive wildlife crimes are a scourge that affects every continent. A scaled up collective effort is needed to address them.

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Yet, notwithstanding the destructive and high-risk nature of these crimes to both people and planet, there is no global agreement on wildlife crime, as there is for example on human trafficking.

CITES has been heavily relied upon to date but it was not designed to deal with wildlife crime, it is a trade-related convention, not a crime-related convention. We have made the best possible use of it, but we have stretched CITES mandate to the limit. We now need to do much more.

We need to address all species that are being trafficked, not just the limited number of species protected under CITES, and to embed both combating and preventing wildlife crime where it belongs, namely into the international criminal law framework.

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Our Initiative is overseen by a Steering Group and is supported by a wonderful group of International Champions, coming from across every sector, and well as several special advisors, all of whom support us pro bono. This has enabled us to advance our objectives in rapid time.

Last year we released details on the possible form and content of a new agreement on wildlife crime, which is now available in seven languages. We are indebted to the international law firm Arnold & Porter, and several independent expert reviewers, including Dr Tanya Wyatt for their pro bono assistance in putting this draft together.

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I will now briefly outline this draft Protocol, to help set the scene for subsequent speakers.

Firstly, on the form. The proposal is to create a new Protocol under the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC, the main international instrument in the fight against transnational crime). The working title for the draft is the ‘Protocol against the Illicit Trafficking in Specimens of Wild Fauna and Flora’.

If adopted, this would be the fourth protocol to the UNTOC (the others being on human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and illicit manufacture and trafficking in firearms).

And it would be the first time that crimes that have a significant impact on the environment are specifically embedded into the international criminal law framework – signifying a powerful and unequivocal acknowledgement by States of the importance of preventing and combating these serious crimes, in recognition of their devastating consequences.

Secondly, on the content. The draft Protocol has drawn upon the three existing Protocols, as well as national legislation from many countries, including Australia, China, Mexico, Mozambique, and the US, as well as the UNODC guide on drafting legislation to combat wildlife crime.

The draft Protocol does several critical things, and if adopted it would:

 - embed combating these crimes into the international criminal law framework.

- set out the conduct that is to be criminalised (namely Parties to the Protocol would be agreeing to adopt legislation establishing as a criminal offence the illicit trafficking of any whole or part of a wild animal or plant, whether alive or dead, in violation of any relevant international agreement or domestic or foreign law).

- apply to any species of wild fauna or flora, including fish and timber, that is protected under any international or, importantly, any national law, and address the harvesting, taking, possessing, import or export, or introduction from the sea of illicitly traded wildlife.

- make it a criminal offence to import any wildlife, or wildlife product into a country if it has been acquired in contravention of the national laws of the source country, representing a remarkable expression of comity between nations, a mutual respect for one another’s laws.

- and the Protocol doesn’t just seek to combat these crimes, it also sets out commitments on collective efforts to prevent illicit wildlife trafficking, including on raising public awareness, demand reduction, and sharing information, such as on known groups active in illicit trafficking, on their concealment methods, and known transport routes, and on sharing forensics.

- it also addresses the role and responsibilities of the carriers of contraband, the verification of documents, and training and technical assistance.

- And finally, it automatically triggers all the tools available under the UNTOC.

Colleagues, this is an excellent draft Protocol, but it is still a working draft. And we do hope that it illustrates what is possible if States decide to adopt an international criminal law instrument that captures what needs to be done collectively to both prevent and combat these highly destructive transnational crimes.

And if we get it right, the local communities living amongst wildlife and the Governments of source countries, as well as our global biodiversity, climate, health, and security, will all be beneficiaries.

The world’s youth have the most to lose from the multiple crises we are confronting, and we owe it to them to do all we can to pass on a healthy and prosperous planet.

We commend this draft Protocol to you.

Thank you.