Remarks by H.E. Annalena Baerbock
President of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
at the High-level debate on
Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking in Wildlife and other Crimes that Affect the Environment
8 June 2026
General Assembly Hall
[As Delivered]
Excellencies,
Thank you for joining this morning¡¯s High-Level Debate on Preventing and Combating Illicit Trafficking in Wildlife and Other Crimes that Affect the Environment.
This is an important topic that touches upon a wide range of interconnected concerns: biodiversity, law and order, peace and security, health and well-being, sustainable development, and economic growth, mirroring the interdependency of the three pillars of our Charter.
Its comprehensive nature is a reminder that these crimes not only jeopardize our environment but pose threats to our societies, institutions, and economies.
Consider a few recent examples:
In Kenya, authorities apprehended smugglers attempting to sell thousands of queen African Harvester Ants, primarily in Europe and Asia.
Here in the United States, an individual has been charged with poaching nearly 2,000 turtles from Florida for illegal sale in Taiwan.
And in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recent mudslides triggered the collapse of unapproved and unregulated mines, where criminal networks were illegally extracting critical minerals and precious metals. Hundreds reportedly perished.
And these are only examples from the last few months.
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵODC¡¯s World Wildlife Crime Report shows that wildlife crime remains a persistent global threat, involving more than 160 countries and targeting thousands of species worldwide.
Illegal deforestation ¡ª perhaps the most visible and well-documented of these crimes ¡ª accounts for over 40 per cent of deforestation in tropical forests.
All told, these crimes funnel resources to organized criminal networks, undermine the rule of law, enable tax evasion, and fuel corruption, all the while reducing financing for sustainable development.
They also contribute to biodiversity loss, disrupt ecosystems, dismantle carbon sinks, and jeopardize human health and well-being.
The evidence of this is clear.
Removing queen ants from Kenya, for instance, could lead to the collapse of thousands of colonies and the loss of billions of ants, disrupting ecosystems, and affecting pollination and agriculture.
And the illicit trade in critical minerals and precious resources costs countries like the DRC billions of dollars in revenue annually, with much of it landing in the hands of criminal networks or rebel groups, jeopardizing peace and security.
Today¡¯s debate is thus an opportunity to help address these interconnected challenges, raise awareness, strengthen implementation…
…and to make better use of the tools already at our disposal.
This includes multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
It includes environmental agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
And it includes programmes that are already delivering results, such as Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵODC¡¯s Global Programme on Crimes that Affect the Environment, which supports national and regional authorities through strengthened legislation, enhanced law enforcement cooperation, and efforts to disrupt illicit financial flows and organized criminal activity.
Excellencies,
The forthcoming thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, to be held this October, offers an important opportunity to advance a more coordinated and harmonized response to illicit trafficking in wildlife and other crimes that affect the environment.
Because as today¡¯s discussion makes clear, these are not isolated crimes with isolated consequences.
They are interconnected threats that demand interconnected solutions.
So let us use today not simply to diagnose the problem, but to identify practical ways forward: to strengthen cooperation, make better use of existing mechanisms, and build the collective response this challenge demands.
Again, in the spirit of knowing that we are always Better Together.
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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly?High-level debate on the theme ¡°Preventing and combating illicit trafficking in wildlife and other crimes that affect the environment.¡± (in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime () and with involvement of relevant stakeholders) held in?General Assembly Hall):
Interventions from Member States and Observers of the General Assembly:
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