IUCN World Conservation Congress Resolution 070: crimes against the environment

Summary

During the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress held from September 1-10 in Hawaii (USA), the World Conservation Congress (WCC) adopted a resolution requesting the Director General to encourage INTERPOL, in collaboration with partners and other relevant actors, to examine trends in environmental crime and criminalization, in order to inform legal and policy responses and prioritization of actions. The resolution recalls the IUCN Resolution (Jeju, 2012) which calls for the incorporation of the Rights of Nature as the organizational focal point in IUCN’s decision making and calls for consideration of the Rights of Nature as a “fundamental and absolute key element” in all areas of IUCN intervention and decision making, and invites development of a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature.

The resolution stresses “the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, particularly oceans, and the protection of biodiversity, recognised by some cultures as Mother Earth, and noting the importance of the concept of climate justice.” It also recalls that “the Earth Charter calls for a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace” and notes that humans bear “a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations”.

The resolution explicitly references numerosus international resolutions, policies, and reports, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Decision 27/9 that rule of law is essential to sustainable development and environmental protection; the 2004 UN General Assembly report A/59/565 identifying environmental degradation and organized crime as threats to peace and security; the Interpol Resolution AG-2014-RES-03 on impacts of environmental crime on political stability, environmental quality, natural resources, biodiversity, economy and human life; the Doha Declaration adopted by the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (2015) which recognizes crimes that impact the environment; the obligation of sovereign states under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to protect the marine environment; the UNEP Decision 27/9 on appropriate responses to environmental crime through administrative, civil and/or criminal law; and the European Union Directive 2008/99/EC on protection of the environment through criminal law.