Governments have voted to begin negotiating the first-ever international protocol against environmental crime, after the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) concluded in Vienna on October 23, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.

The resolution to start negotiations on a possible new protocol on crimes that affect the environment was adopted by a vote — a rare step at UNTOC — with 83 parties in favour, 12 against and 27 abstentions, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which was in the room for the vote. The United States put forward three amendments to the original proposal, which were rejected, EIA said.

What the protocol would cover

The planned protocol targets the illicit trafficking of wildlife and timber, the illegal mining of and illicit trafficking in minerals and precious metals, and illicit trafficking in waste, UNODC said. It responds, the agency said, to growing concern over those crimes and their links to organized criminal networks, with far-reaching impacts on communities, economies and ecosystems.

"Not every discussion was easy, and not every resolution enjoyed the same level of support; some required a vote. But despite these differences, you have continued to move forward and find common ground, and that is the art and the value of diplomacy," UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said as the conference closed. Six resolutions were adopted in all.

The Wildlife Conservation Society said the negotiations, expected over the coming two years, would place environmental crime on the same legal footing as other serious transnational crimes, such as trafficking in persons and firearms. Brazil led the coalition that pushed the resolution through, and the text explicitly recognises the role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in fighting crimes that affect the environment, Amazon Watch noted.