With so many lucrative avenues for criminals to choose from nowadays, the fact that international wildlife crime (IWT) and the smuggling of wildlife products continues to increase is a measure of the vast sums of money to be made from this illegal practice. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for example, which it spelled out in its 2020 World Wildlife Crime Report, “the Read more >
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CORRUPTION NEWS
Image: Wilson Lau, TRAFFIC A humble marine mollusc, Haliotis midae, has been the inadvertent cause of one of South Africa’s biggest poaching/smuggling challenges. The largest abalone in South Africa, it is known locally as perlemoen, from the Dutch meaning ‘mother of pearl’. Occurring naturally along the South African coastline, perlemoen is nothing more than a Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
A new study titled Convergence of wildlife crime with other forms of organised crime, released in May 2021 by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), sheds light on this phenomenon of crime convergence, which has been noticed more and more over the last two decades. The report shows that criminal networks are dealing in wildlife Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
Consider this statement: “Bribes can make up to 10% of the wholesale value of ivory in Asia.” And given that according to an investigation by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), raw ivory currently commands a price of between US$597/kg and $689/kg, on the Asian market – down from a mind-boggling high of $2 100/kg in Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
By Jason Kohn First published on the Global Anticorruption Blog It’s long been recognised that public relations (PR) is a crucial tool in the fight against corruption. This recognition is codified in the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), Article 13 of which requires state parties to “[u]ndertak[e] public information activities that contribute to non-tolerance of Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
It’s a new year, and the fight against corruption goes on. It is tempting to feel discouraged, but if you thought there was nothing you as an individual could do, think again! Let 2016 be the year you stand up and say: “So far, and no farther.” While the problem might be so deeply entrenched Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
Today is International Anti-Corruption Day, a campaign driven by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The theme of this year’s event is Breaking the chain of corruption, and it sends the message that fighting corruption starts with the individual. A positive and pro-active stance against corruption is the Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
South Africa is an important cog in the global human trafficking mechanism – the country is a source, destination and transit point for the trade. According to legal research company LexisNexis, which released its human trafficking awareness index earlier this month, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Durban form part of the major routes. The 2014 global Read more >