Vienna – On 14 – 16 February 2022, the “Expert Discussions on preventing and combating crimes that affect the environment”, took place in hybrid form in Vienna, organized Vienna by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Given its significant experience in the fight against environmental crimes, PAM was invited to join the high-level discussions and was represented by Hon. Charalampos Theopemptou from the Cypriot delegation.
The event was opened by Ms. Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director, with whom PAM has recently signed an MoU. H.E. Barbara Pompili, French Minister for Ecological Transition also addressed the opening of the conference.
Hon. Theopemptou addressed by webinar the meeting, during the thematic session on “Strengthening international cooperation to address crimes that affect the environment”. In his statement, Hon. Theopemptou recalled that PAM’s long-lasting commitment in the fight against crimes that affect the environment started in 2009, when the Assembly denounced and condemned the activities carried out by Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) groups that consisted in sinking vessels carrying toxic waste in the Mediterranean Sea, and continues to this day.
Having made reference to the numerous resolutions adopted by PAM over the years in the fight against environmental crimes, Hon. Theopemptou reiterated that “PAM has always been convinced that international parliamentary cooperation is the key to encourage national and international policy makers to harmonize legislative frameworks and to adopt a common international legal code governing this matter, standardizing the definition of environmental crime”.
Addressing the most pressing issues in the fight against environmental crimes, Hon. Theopemptou reinforced PAM’s support to the “Greater Mediterranean Program on Environmental Crime”. Launched by the Siracusa Institute – one of PAM’s strategic partners in the field that also participated in the discussions – the project aims at finding a common definition of “Ecocide” and to support the EU Commission to issue a Directive on environmental crimes in the framework of the existing international legal tools.
In conclusion, Hon. Theopemptou recalled that improving the current international legal tools, such as the Palermo Convention, will be crucial to provide countries with a better framework to fight against environmental crimes, and announced: “Later this year, PAM will host a dedicated high-level international conference to review the legislative effectiveness of the Palermo Convention, twenty years after its adoption”.
The High-Level meeting represented a significant opportunity for participants to exchange best practices and to discuss how the international community can make the best use of existing international instruments and strengthen regional and international cooperation among all the relevant actors involved in the fight against environmental crimes.//