{"title":"Mutual Legal Assistance in Wildlife Criminal Matters in Eastern Africa","authors":"Samantha de Vries, Gail Anderson","doi":"10.1080/13880292.2022.2106393","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The workshop Strengthening of International Cooperation in Wildlife Criminal Matters in Eastern Africa, held for investigators and prosecutors, commenced in Nairobi in February 2020. Multiple representatives from nine African countries’ national wildlife and prosecution agencies were in attendance (including inter-governmental organization/non-governmental organization representatives). The first author spent six months conducting research in Kenya, respected cross-cultural ethics considerations, and aided in the development and facilitation of the workshop. Workshop evaluations (pre and post-pre) were utilized to identify challenges, experiences, and engagement in cooperation in transnational wildlife cases. Pre-workshop evaluations (N = 23), post-pre-workshop evaluations (N = 24), participant observation data, and illicit wildlife seizure data (obtained from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Container Control Programme) identified three key challenges in transnational wildlife criminal cases within the region: (1) Mutual legal assistance is not being utilized enough; (2) regional legal harmonization and support are necessary; and (3) exhibit management and evidence requirements need to be amended. There are multiple policy implications from these data, mainly the need for regional adoption of an MLA guidance, the need for the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to be ratified by all countries, and a better understanding of alternatives to mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests for repatriation of large seized wildlife exhibits.","PeriodicalId":52446,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13880292.2022.2106393","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract The workshop Strengthening of International Cooperation in Wildlife Criminal Matters in Eastern Africa, held for investigators and prosecutors, commenced in Nairobi in February 2020. Multiple representatives from nine African countries’ national wildlife and prosecution agencies were in attendance (including inter-governmental organization/non-governmental organization representatives). The first author spent six months conducting research in Kenya, respected cross-cultural ethics considerations, and aided in the development and facilitation of the workshop. Workshop evaluations (pre and post-pre) were utilized to identify challenges, experiences, and engagement in cooperation in transnational wildlife cases. Pre-workshop evaluations (N = 23), post-pre-workshop evaluations (N = 24), participant observation data, and illicit wildlife seizure data (obtained from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Container Control Programme) identified three key challenges in transnational wildlife criminal cases within the region: (1) Mutual legal assistance is not being utilized enough; (2) regional legal harmonization and support are necessary; and (3) exhibit management and evidence requirements need to be amended. There are multiple policy implications from these data, mainly the need for regional adoption of an MLA guidance, the need for the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to be ratified by all countries, and a better understanding of alternatives to mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests for repatriation of large seized wildlife exhibits.
期刊介绍:
Drawing upon the findings from island biogeography studies, Norman Myers estimates that we are losing between 50-200 species per day, a rate 120,000 times greater than the background rate during prehistoric times. Worse still, the rate is accelerating rapidly. By the year 2000, we may have lost over one million species, counting back from three centuries ago when this trend began. By the middle of the next century, as many as one half of all species may face extinction. Moreover, our rapid destruction of critical ecosystems, such as tropical coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and rainforests may seriously impair species" regeneration, a process that has taken several million years after mass extinctions in the past.