Wildlife Justice Commission

Last updated
Wildlife Justice Commission
Wildlife justice commission.jpg
Founded03 March 2015
TypeNon-Profit Foundation
Website wildlifejustice.org

The Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) is an international foundation set up in 2015, [1] and with headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. The organisation operates globally with the mission to disrupt and help dismantle organised transnational criminal networks trading in wildlife, timber and fish. The WJC collects evidence with the aim of turning it into accountability.

Contents

Investigations and scope of work

The WJC undertakes undercover, intelligence-driven investigations, based on law enforcement methodology, with a goal of presenting verifiable, first-hand evidence of wildlife crimes in case files or intelligence reports to national governments and law enforcement agencies for action. [2] The WJC identifies high-level trafficking suspects through intelligence analysis; publishes briefings and reports to help build a broader knowledge base; and shares intelligence with governments, to enable more effective enforcement against wildlife trafficking.

The WJC’s goal is to encourage and support law enforcement action in arresting and successfully prosecuting high-level traffickers as well as disrupting their criminal networks. The organisation offers operational support but also creates diplomatic pressure on those governments that are unwilling to act on the evidence, holding a public hearing in front of recognised experts as a last resort. [3] The WJC works with law enforcement, policymakers, intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental entities to advance the cause of wildlife justice and over the longer-term help create sustainable solutions.

Achievements

Since 2015, the WJC has conducted 24 wildlife crime investigations in 24 Asian and African countries across the supply chain, including source, transit and destination. As a result of its operations, and in co-operation with Malaysian, Indian and Vietnamese police and wildlife authorities, 70 traffickers have been arrested and 10 major trafficking networks involved in the supply of ivory, rhino horn, turtles and tortoises and tigers have been disrupted. [4] These law enforcement efforts have led to 18 convictions, with a further 28 cases pending in court. [5]

In 2017, as a direct outcome of WJC operations, 25 high-level traffickers were arrested, a further 88 traffickers were identified, and nine trafficking bank accounts confirmed. All WJC’s research data, some from investigations that took more than two years to complete, was delivered to governments or law enforcement authorities in India, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Mozambique, China and Bangladesh.

In that year, the WJC also produced two substantial Case Files, for the governments of Viet Nam, Lao PDR and China, identifying the trafficking of over USD 30 million in ivory, rhino horn and tiger body parts such as skin, claws, teeth canines, whiskers and bones.

Partnerships and collaborations

The WJC works in partnership and develops agreements with stakeholders from different fields with the aim of achieving the biggest impact against wildlife trafficking and the criminal networks that perpetuate it.

The WJC has signed collaboration agreements with Europol, [6] the National Whistleblower Center, [7] and the Strathmore University of Kenya. [8]

The organisation is also part of Plant.ID, [9] an EU-funded project aimed at identifying ebony species used in acoustic string instruments to distinguish illegally traded from legally traded wood.

Funding

The WJC funding comes primarily from lotteries, foundation grants and individual donations. [10] [11]

Publications

All publications issued by the WJC are available at the organisation’s website.

Related Research Articles

Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence. Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism. The term itself was coined by former President Fernando Belaúnde Terry of Peru in 1983 when describing terrorist-type attacks against his nation's anti-narcotics police. As with most definitions of terrorism, it typically only refers to non-state actors.

Europol

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, better known under the name Europol, formerly the European Police Office and Europol Drugs Unit, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU) formed in 1998 to handle criminal intelligence and combat serious international organised crime and terrorism through cooperation between competent authorities of EU member states. The Agency has no executive powers, and its officials are not entitled to arrest suspects or act without prior approval from competent authorities in the member states. Seated in The Hague, it comprised 1,065 staff in 2016.

Kerry Committee report report on drug enforcement problems in South and Central America and the Caribbean

The Kerry Committee report, formally titled Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy, was the final report of an investigation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations. The report examined the problems that drug cartels and drug money laundering in South and Central America and the Caribbean posed for American law enforcement and foreign policy. The Sub-Committee was chaired at the time by Democratic Party Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts, so that the report is often referred to under his name.

Transnational organized crime Organized crime across national borders

Transnational organized crime (TOC) is organized crime coordinated across national borders, involving groups or markets of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal business ventures. In order to achieve their goals, these criminal groups use systematic violence and corruption. Common transnational organized crimes include conveying drugs, conveying arms, trafficking for sex, toxic waste disposal, materials theft and poaching.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an international NGO with offices in London and Washington D.C. It was founded in 1984 by Dave Currey, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton, three environmental activists in the United Kingdom.

TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, is the leading non-governmental organisation working globally on the trade of wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity and sustainable development. It was founded in 1976 as a strategic alliance of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This article deals with activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency related to transnational crime, including the illicit drug trade.

Vietnam is primarily a source country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children are trafficked to the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C), Cambodia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Macau for sexual exploitation. Vietnamese women are trafficked to the P.R.C., Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea via fraudulent or misrepresented marriages for commercial exploitation or forced labor. Vietnam is also a source country for men and women who migrate willingly and legally for work in the construction, fishing, or manufacturing sectors in Malaysia, Taiwan, P.R.C., Thailand, and the Middle East but subsequently face conditions of forced labor or debt bondage. Vietnam is a destination country for Cambodian children trafficked to urban centers for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Vietnam has an internal trafficking problem with women and children from rural areas trafficked to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Vietnam is increasingly a destination for child sex tourism, with perpetrators from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the P.R.C., Taiwan, the UK, Australia, Europe, and the U.S. In 2007, an Australian non-governmental organization (NGO) uncovered 80 cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children by foreign tourists in the Sa Pa tourist area of Vietnam alone.

Human trafficking Trade of humans for the first book of forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy and ova removal. Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim's rights of movement through coercion and because of their commercial exploitation. Human trafficking is the trade in people, especially women and children, and does not necessarily involve the movement of the person from one place to another.

Narcotics Control Bureau

The Narcotics Control Bureau is an Indian federal law enforcement and intelligence agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The agency is tasked with combating drug trafficking and the use of illegal substances under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Human trafficking in the United States Trade of people in the US

Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, with illegal smuggling and trading of people, for forced labor or sexual exploitation.

Child trafficking in India

India has a very high volume of child trafficking. As many as one child disappears every eight minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. In some cases, children are taken from their homes to be bought and sold in the market. In other cases, children are tricked into the hands of traffickers by being presented an opportunity for a job, when in reality, upon arrival they become enslaved. In India, there are many children trafficked for various reasons such as labor, begging, and sexual exploitation. Because of the nature of this crime; it is hard to track; and due to the poor enforcement of laws, it is difficult to prevent. Due to the nature of this crime, it is only possible to have estimates of figures regarding the issue. India is a prime area for child trafficking to occur, as many of those trafficked are from, travel through or destined to go to India. Though most of the trafficking occurs within the country, there is also a significant number of children trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. There are many different causes that lead to child trafficking, with the primary reasons being poverty, weak law enforcement, and a lack of good quality public education. The traffickers that take advantage of children can be from another area in India, or could even know the child personally. Children who return home after being trafficked often face shame in their communities, rather than being welcomed home.

The ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) was officially launched on 1 December 2005, as a regional inter-agency and inter-governmental initiative to counter the illegal cross-border trade in endangered flora and fauna. It helps countries share information on and tackle cross-border wildlife crime and facilitates the exchange of regional best practices in combating those crimes. As the world's largest wildlife law enforcement network, it comprises the law enforcement agencies of the 10 ASEAN countries forming a regional intergovernmental law-enforcement network.

Sex trafficking in Europe

Sex trafficking is defined as transportation of persons by means of coercion, deception and/or force into exploitative and slavery-like conditions and is commonly associated with organized crime.

Blue Heart Campaign

The Blue Heart Campaign is an international anti-trafficking program started by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Established in 1997, the UNODC supported countries in implementing three UN drug protocols. In 2000, after the UN General Assembly adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, the UNODC became the “guardian” of that protocol and assumed the functions of fighting against human trafficking. The Blue Heart Campaign was launched in March 2009 by the Executive Director of the UNODC, Antonio Maria Costa, during his address to the World's Women's Conference meeting in Vienna. The campaign's symbol is a blue heart. The Blue Heart Campaign uses its website, as well as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr to communicate goals, objectives, and news with the public.

Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) was set up in 2000 and according to their website is Vietnam's "first local non-governmental organization to focus on wildlife protection."

Steven R. Galster is an American environmental and human rights investigator and counter-trafficking program designer. Since 1987, he has planned and participated in investigations and remedial programs to stop wildlife and human trafficking and to mitigate corruption and build governance in Asia, Africa, Russia, South America and the USA.

Sex trafficking in China is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the People's Republic of China. China, the world's most populous country, has one of the highest rates of human trafficking, including sex trafficking, in the world. It is a country of origin, destination, and transit for sexually trafficked persons.

Sex trafficking in Vietnam is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination country for sexually trafficked persons.

Cybersex trafficking, or live streaming sexual abuse is a cybercrime involving sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced sexual acts and/or rape on webcam.

References

  1. the Wildlife Justice Commission international body launches in effort to combat biggest al capone poachers wildlifejustice.org, the Hague, Retrieved 2017/09/17
  2. Defense, National Whistleblower Legal; Washington, Education Fund P. O. Box 25090; Dc 20007 (2018-12-07). "As Anti-Corruption Day Approaches, WJC Report Reminds Us of the Importance of Whistleblower Incentives". Whistleblower Protection Blog. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  3. "Wildlife Justice Commission holds public hearing on trafficking case in Viet Nam - Wildlife Trade News from TRAFFIC". www.traffic.org. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  4. "Exclusive: Illegal Tiger Trade Fed by 'Tiger Farms,' New Evidence Reveals". Animals. 2018-07-29. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  5. "Shocking report details massive illegal turtle trade network". 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  6. "Europol and Wildlife Justice Commission team up against environmental crime". Europol. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  7. Defense, National Whistleblower Legal; Washington, Education Fund P. O. Box 25090; Dc 20007 (2018-12-07). "As Anti-Corruption Day Approaches, WJC Report Reminds Us of the Importance of Whistleblower Incentives". Whistleblower Protection Blog. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  8. "Strathmore University and the Wildlife Justice Commission to partner on research and training programmes". Strathmore University. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  9. "CORDIS | European Commission". cordis.europa.eu. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  10. "Bijzondere projecten". Nationale Postcode Loterij (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  11. "Stichting Bite Back winnaar NRC Charity Awards 2017 - NRC Charity Awards Nieuws - NRC Charity Awards". www.nrccharityawards.nl. Retrieved 2018-12-18.