Athens, 16 April 2024 - The Legislative Guide on Combating Crimes in the Fisheries Sector, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with technical inputs from FAO1, was officially launched during the 9th Our Ocean Conference (OOC-9), held from 15 to 17 April in Athens, Greece. The guide is one of the tools developed by UNODC under its FishNET project, funded by the Norwegian Development Cooperation Agency (Norad). It is part of a series of legislative guides developed by UNODC to address crimes that affect the environment. In addition to the Legislative Guide on Crimes in the Fisheries Sector, UNODC has published a legislative guide on combating wildlife trafficking (2018), waste trafficking (June 2022), illegal mining and trafficking in metals and minerals (September 2022). Two additional guides, on forest crime and on pollution crime with a dedicated annex on the pollution of the marine environment, are currently in process of being developed.
From a criminal enforcement approach, the guide specifically aims at strengthening national legal frameworks to tackle crimes in the fisheries sector, complementing existing FAO fisheries legislative guides and tools. The guide provides 32 model legislative provisions, 19 examples of provisions in national legislation, and detailed guidance for States interested in adopting or strengthening their legislation in relation to criminal enforcement provisions. It was developed in consultation with a group of leading international experts.
The guide was launched in the margins of the OCC-9, at a side event co-organized by UNODC, FAO, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The event focused on the presentation of new tools to address crimes in the fisheries sector and the interconnected risks related to environmental impacts and fundamental labor rights in seafood supply chains. Participants included representatives from Member States, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and private sector.
UNODC's Lejda Toci presented on work under the FishNET project and on the Legislative Guide.
UNODC and FAO Development Law Service of the Legal Office (LEGN) continue to collaborate in awareness-raising and capacity-building activities on the use of the guide. The Guide has been the basis of regional workshops for government officials from English speaking African countries organized by UNODC in the framework of the FishNET programme in Nairobi, Kenya in February 2024. Another regional workshop is planned for Francophone African countries in the second semester of 2024. UNODC is currently in discussion with member States on providing legislative assistance at a national level.
The Guide is currently published in English and in the process of being translated in Spanish and French.
1The development of the Guide was led by the Global Programme on Implementing the Organized Crime Convention and the Global Programme on Crimes that Affect the Environment through the FishNET Project. From FAO the technical inputs were provided by the Development Law Service of its legal Office.
For more information, please contact lejda.toci[@]un.org, roxana-andrea.mastor[@]un.org and julia.nakamura[@]fao.org.
