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For use of the media only; not an official document. PRESS RELEASE World Wildlife Day 2015 – It’s time to get serious about wildlife crime Organized Crime Threat to Wild Species on the Increase, Says UN on Wildlife Day UN General Assembly Marks the Day with Special Session Geneva, Nairobi, New York, Vienna, 3 March 2015 – The Second World Wildlife Day, themed “It’s time to get serious about wildlife crime” is being observed around the world, Tuesday. On this

For use of the media only; not an official document. PRESS RELEASE Ministers further enhance international cooperation to combat rhinoceros poaching and illegal trade in rhinoceros horn Geneva, 16 February– Further enhancing international cooperation to combat rhinoceros poaching and the associated illegal trade in rhinoceros horn was in focus in Geneva last week, with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat hosting Ministerial-level and Senior Officials meetings for key States concerned with

For use of the media only; not an official document. PRESS RELEASE A big step forward in the fight against wildlife crime CITES supports INTERPOL Operation to locate known environmental criminals, including wanted wildlife crime kingpins Geneva, 17 November 2014 - The first global operation targeting individuals wanted for serious environmental crime, including wildlife crime, led by INTERPOL and supported by the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), was announced today. The initial phase of INTERPOL’s Operation ‘INFRA-Terra’ (International

At the 83rd session of the ICPO-INTERPOL General Assembly meeting in Monaco from 3 to 7 November 2014, Mr.Jürgen Stock was elected as the new INTERPOL Secretary General. The 55-year-old Vice-President of the German Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) took over from Mr. Ronald K. Noble of the United States of America, who stepped down after 14 years of service as INTERPOL Secretary General. The CITES Secretariat joins the international community in warmly congratulating Mr Jürgen Stock on his appointment. The Secretary-General of

Elephant poaching remains at critical levels in Africa, and continues to exceed the natural elephant population growth rates. This rapidly growing transnational organized crime threatens national security, the rule of law, and economic and social development. The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) today released ‘ Guidelines on methods and procedures for ivory sampling and laboratory analysis ’ in support of the deployment of forensic technology to combat elephant poaching. Led by the United Nations Office on Drugs and

The Senior Experts Group of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) met in Geneva last week to discuss progress with its collaborative activities to combat wildlife crime. Opened by Mr. John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES, the meeting provided the opportunity for representatives from the five partners of ICCWC – the CITES Secretariat, INTERPOL, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank and the World Customs Organization – to discuss the current and future work programme of

The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) today further strengthened its efforts by launching the ICCWC Strategic Mission 2014-2016 . The document sets out the consortium’s diverse agenda to combat wildlife and forest crime, providing the first strategic framework for the consortium’s activities and future directions since its establishment in late 2010. The ICCWC Strategic Mission 2014-16 outlines five focus areas to be simultaneously pursued by the consortium – strengthening cooperation and coordination, analysing current responses to wildlife and

PRESS RELEASE The World Customs Organization (WCO) released its second edition of the Illicit Trade Report . The 2013 Report contains five sections, covering drugs; environment; IPR, health and safety; revenue and security. The Report builds on its first edition, the 2012 Report, and provides a comparative analysis of trends and patters in these five key risk areas of enforcement, based on Customs seizures reported through the WCO Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) database by its Members. The objective of the

The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) today announced the launch of a new web portal, designed to support capacity-building efforts by improving access to information on ICCWC tools and activities to combat wildlife and forest crime. The dedicated portal on ICCWC, available through the CITES website ( www.cites.org ), provides up-to-date and expanded information on the many tools that ICCWC makes available to support national enforcement agencies and regional enforcement networks in their fight against poaching and illicit

Geneva, 10 February 2014 – The CITES Secretary-General, Mr John E. Scanlon, today welcomed the excellent results achieved by law enforcement officers from 28 countries during Operation COBRA II, a month-long global operation to combat illegal wildlife trade, which ended on 27 January 2014. “This second Operation COBRA initiative shows what can be achieved when law enforcement authorities across range, transit and destination States work together in a coordinated manner. It also serves to highlight that intelligence-led operations are essential