CITES Secretary-General welcomes adoption of UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice draft resolution recognizing wildlife crime as a serious crime

On 26 April 2013, the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) adopted a revised draft resolution on “Crime prevention and criminal justice responses to illicit trafficking in protected species of wild fauna and flora”. The draft resolution recognizes CITES as “the principal international agreement for the legal trade” in protected species of wild fauna and flora, encourages Member States to take stringent measures against trafficking in wild fauna and flora and take them as serious crimes where in many instances organized criminal groups are involved. It also encourages Member States to promote efforts to prevent trafficking in wild fauna and flora through, inter alia, public information and public awareness campaigns. The Secretary-General of CITES, John E. Scanlon, welcomed the adoption of the draft resolution and highlighted that it “recognizes certain wildlife crimes as a serious transnational organized crime and urges Member States to treat it as seriously as they do other crimes.

This recognition by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the central policy body within the UN system dealing with such issues, is essential as it is through this forum that critical decisions are taken on tackling transnational organized crime at the global level.”

For more information, please click : http://www.cites.org/eng/news/sundry/2013/20130502_ccpcj_resolution.php