24 May 2013
UN Secretary-General, Prince of Wales Highlight Urgency of Addressing Poaching, Illegal Wildlife Trade
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In his report to the UN Security Council on the activities of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa and on the Lord's Resistance Army-affected areas, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, highlighted that increases in poaching, mainly targeting elephants, are a growing security concern in Central Africa.

CITES UNEP23 May 2013: In his report to the UN Security Council on the activities of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa and on the Lord’s Resistance Army-affected areas, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted that increases in poaching, mainly targeting elephants, are a growing security concern in Central Africa.

He noted that Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad and Gabon in particular, are facing this threat. In his report, he also noted that: illegal ivory trade may currently constitute an important source of funding for armed groups, including the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA); and that poachers are using more sophisticated and powerful weapons, some of which could originate from the fallout in Libya.

John Scanlon, Secretary-General, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), stressed that the report further underscores the existence of linkages between organized crime groups, rebel militia and in some cases rogue elements of the military in the poaching and smuggling of elephants. He called for high-level political engagement and real-time support for front-line enforcement officials by police and the military.

Earlier in the week, also addressing the issue of illegal trade in wildlife, the HRH The Prince of Wales and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Owen Paterson MP, hosted a conference on 21 May that aimed to give international priority to the fight against wildlife trafficking. As a follow-up, the Prince’s International Sustainability Unit (ISU) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) plan to convene a meeting in the fall of 2013 that will lead to the adoption of a declaration to commit, at the highest levels, to end illegal trade in wildlife. Key countries in attendance will include those in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America that play a role in the illegal trade; those that are a source of the wildlife and related products; those where the contraband crosses their national borders; and those whose citizens fuel the demand for illegal products. [CITES Press Release on UN Secretary-General’s Report] [CITES Press Release on Royal Efforts to Fight Wildlife Trafficking] [UN Secretary-General’s Report S/2013/297] [IISD RS Article on UN Security Council Calls for Investigating Involvement of LRA in Elephant Poaching] [UN Security Council Press Release]

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