2 July 2020 - Organized crime and wildlife crime threaten Eastern and Southern Africa’s security, development and environment. Organized crime is a truly global phenomenon that affects the everyday lives of people across the planet, but its nature and impact vary across different regions of the world.

Even though not all wildlife crime is organized crime, evidence shows that some organized criminal groups engage in wildlife crime, with devastating effects on biodiversity, public health as well as the sustainable management of natural resources. In Eastern and Southern Africa particularly, wildlife crime is driving countless species closer to extinction, while at the same time undermining the rule of law, threatening societies and depriving local communities of their resources.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, organized criminal groups did not halt their activities. To the contrary, with states’ resources focused on responding to the health emergency and criminal justice responses impeded by restriction of movement, it is all the more important to understand the ways organized crime operates and the role we all can play to fight against it. Under the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, UNODC develops teaching material and unites academics to equip students with knowledge about these crimes and what can be and should be done to prevent and address them.

Video recording of the webinar

video recording of webinar

This webinar, particularly targeted at academics teaching on organized crime and wildlife crime in Eastern and Southern Africa, aimed to explore these topics and showcase the types of material UNODC has available to support them in preparing their students to discuss and debate these issues.

The event began with a welcome from Ms. Flavia Romiti, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at UNODC, who introduced the topic and the agenda of the webinar, after which Ms. Jenna Dawson-Faber, Programme Manager at UNODC, introduced participants to the tertiary component of E4J and the University Module Series on Organized Crime and Wildlife Crime. Next, Ms. Claire Adionyi, Director A.I. of Strathmore Institute of Advanced Studies in International Criminal Justice, provided a regional perspective on these issues and shared challenges and lessons learned - both from and for - academics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, Mr. Kevin Pretorius, attorney specializing in environmental and criminal law in South Africa, presented a case-study clearly highlighting the links between organized crime and wildlife crime in the region. After their presentations, panelists engaged in a lively Q&A session, covering topics ranging from best practices in teaching on organized crime and wildlife crime to the evolution of the work of prosecutors and criminal justice practitioners during the pandemic.

Ms. Jenna Dawson-Faber

UNODC’s Education for Justice initiative: countering organized crime and wildlife crime through education

Ms. Jenna Dawson-Faber, Programme Officer, UNODC

Connecting with people passionate about their work, and curious about the world around them, is one of the greatest benefits of working with the E4J initiative, which inspires collaboration, teamwork and the sharing of knowledge and experience with each other in a way few programmes do so well. This webinar was a prime example of the convening power of E4J, bringing together academics, practitioners and the international community that is there to support them, to harness each other’s areas of expertise and share it with those who will empower and shape the views of the policy leaders of tomorrow. Expanding the knowledge base and network of educators who are teaching on the growing nexus between organized crime and wildlife crime will only help strengthen the foundation from which the leaders of tomorrow will emerge.

Jenna Dawson-Faber works for the UNODC Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime, based in Vienna, Austria. The Global Programme supports UN Member States “from crime scene to court,” building capacity across the criminal justice system to prevent and address wildlife, forest and fisheries crime. Jenna designs and develops new initiatives, including on education, gender, anti-corruption and financial investigations, and as well as partnership development. She is the focal point for the wildlife crime modules of the UNODC Education for Justice (E4J) initiative.

Previously, Jenna was the UNODC regional anti-corruption adviser for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, working with the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre (ROLACC) in Doha, Qatar. She has worked across all three substantive Divisions at UNODC (Operations, Treaty Affairs, and Public Affairs and Policy Analysis), including as a programme officer and research expert. She is the author of several of UNODC's flagship publications, including the regional threat assessments on transnational organized crime and the 2013 Global Study on Homicide.

From Canada, Jenna was formerly a civilian member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, where she worked in criminal intelligence. She holds a Masters' degree from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in international trade and security.

Regional perspective on organized crime and wildlife crime

Ms. Claire Adionyi, Director A.I. of Strathmore Institute of Advanced Studies in International Criminal Justice

Due to the dynamic nature of organized crime and wildlife crimes, there is a need for continued vigilance in our efforts to counter these threats. As academics in this space we have to adapt to this ‘new normal’ by increasing our conceptual understanding of this phenomena. The E4J initiative is an important tool to assist in these efforts and it is therefore imperative that we ensure that all stakeholders in this field, that is, academics, students, practitioners and policy makers have access to them. The webinar provided us with such a platform and I am thrilled that more academics and students now have access to them!

Claire Adionyi is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She is a holder of an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She also holds an LLB Degree (Hons) from the University of Nairobi, School of Law and holds a post-graduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law.

She is currently a Lecturer at Strathmore Law School where she teaches international criminal law and also serves as the Academic Lead for the LLM in International Criminal Justice; and is the Acting Director of the Strathmore Institute of Advanced Studies in International Criminal Justice (SIASIC). She was formerly the Acting Director of Research at Strathmore Law School; a member of the Strathmore Law School Management Committee; and a member of the Strathmore University Research Committee.

Claire has been a Visiting Scholar at Symbiosis Law School in Pune, India as an awardee of the International Association of Law Schools – Visiting Professor & Scholar Program and is currently working on her PhD.

Claire is a member of the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP), Young Penalists Section; a member of the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya; and a member of the Law Society of Kenya.

Ms. Claire Adionyi

Mr. Kevin Pretorius

Proving the link – a Southern African case study

Mr. Kevin Pretorius, Attorney specializing in environmental and criminal law in South Africa

The webinar was a great experience and an opportunity to serve as an educational platform where students of the law, whether as academic, practitioner, student or public official (with a role in combatting organized wildlife crime), could interact. I wish to congratulate UNODC with its E4J initiative in making this valuable platform of interaction available for a worldwide audience. This enables us all to learn about combatting organized wildlife crime and how this can be done if we all understand the legal concepts as set out in international legal instruments, such as the UNTOC and how they can be applied in a country’s national legislation.

Kevin is a practicing attorney (solicitor) of the High Court of South Africa, based in Durban, South Africa. He is and a member of the South African Legal Practice Council, specializing in criminal and environmental law. He obtained a B.Proc. Degree from University of the Free State (UFS) in 1986 and LLB.degree from UFS in 1988. He has 32 years of litigation experience which includes Senior Prosecutor, prosecuting high profile environmental cases. He has a passion for training and capacity building of wildlife enforcement officials, lawyers and the judiciary in criminal and environmental law, legislative review and writing. The not for profit company, GreenLaw Foundation of which he is co-director and co-founder, is the vehicle through which this passion is exercised. He has acted as specialist legal environmental advisor and consultant for international, as well as South African public and private environmental agencies. Kevin is a specialist legal consultant to the UNODC.

Moderators

Ms. Flavia Romiti, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Education for Justice initiative, UNODC

It was a great pleasure to organize this webinar with such brilliant colleagues inside and outside of UNODC. The E4J initiative offers an incredible opportunity to provide direct and concrete support to the many educators who make a difference in the lives of millions of students every day and who have been struggling to adapt to online and distant learning during this pandemic. Aside from a precious chance to learn from thematic experts, webinars such as this one offer a venue to discuss many of the problems educators are collectively facing - no matter which country they are conducting business from – and share concrete ways to move past them. I’m also convinced that they represent an opportunity to remind one another that we are all in this together and only by acting in solidarity can we overcome today’s most critical challenges.

Flavia Romiti currently serves as a Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer in the Organized Crime Branch of UNODC, where she primarily works on the prevention and fight against organized crime through education. As the focal point on organized crime for UNODC Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, a role she has covered for the past 2.5 years, Flavia coordinated the development of a series of tools designed to support educators in their teaching on some of today's most crucial threats. She also conducts a variety of training events aimed at facilitating knowledge and understanding of organized crime to combat it more effectively.

Prior to her current position, Flavia worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Havana, Cuba (Office of the Resident Coordinator), collaborated with Amnesty International in Italy and in The Netherlands and interned with the United Nations Security Council Affairs Division in New York as well as the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and a Master of Law from Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam. She comes from a little town in Tuscany, Italy, where she left her family and Jackie, their beautiful boxer, whom she visits whenever she has a chance.

Ms. Flavia Romiti

Mr. Felix Wegerle

Mr. Felix Wegerle, Consultant, Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime and Education for Justice initiative, UNODC

Having practitioners and academics on the panel allowed for a holistic discourse on how best to address organized crime and wildlife crime in the region. Combining both worlds, I now have a better understanding of the underlining role of education in the fight against these crimes. Discussing the rhino horn trafficking case outlined well the legislative challenges and obstacles in successfully prosecuting transnational organized criminal groups and the main points to proof.

Felix joined UNODC’s Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime in late 2018. Since then, he has been the focal point for wildlife-related matters for SHERLOC and the Education for Justice initiative. Before his time at UNODC, Felix was a criminal police detective and gathered experience working in the field of drug trafficking, crime scene forensics and as first responder. His professional experience comprises the public and private sector, including foreign governments, across Europe and the Americas. He holds a degree in International Business with a specialization in Emerging Markets as well as a master’s double degree in International Management. Outside of his work for UNODC, Felix is interested in various topics of criminology. He co-hosts a podcast series on organized crime and has contributed as an instructor to a Massive Online Open Course on International Security Management.