UN Adopts Resolution on Transnational Environmental Crime
Member states at COP13 agreed to draft an additional protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime targeting environmental offenses.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Environmental
At the Thirteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (COP13) in Vienna, a resolution to elaborate an additional Protocol on transnational environmental crime was adopted with 87.37% of votes cast in favour. South Africa co-sponsored the resolution.
Why it matters
Criminal networks exploit differences in national legislation and weak cross-border cooperation to traffic wildlife, timber, minerals and waste while concealing proceeds. A protocol could close legal gaps by strengthening criminalisation and international cooperation.
The resolution received 87.37% of votes cast in favour at COP13, held in Vienna from October 19-23, 2026. The extraction does not report the total number of votes cast or the number of parties voting against or abstaining, and negotiations on the Protocol's content remain ongoing.
The players
Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (COP13)
The governing body of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which meets periodically to review implementation and adopt resolutions advancing the treaty's aims.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)
South Africa's national government department responsible for environmental protection, forestry, fisheries and conservation policy.
The details
The resolution establishes a process to elaborate an additional Protocol to UNTOC covering illicit trafficking in wildlife and timber, illegal mining and trafficking in minerals and precious metals, and illicit trafficking in waste. South Africa advanced the initiative through a whole-of-government approach involving its Department of International Relations and Cooperation, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the National Prosecuting Authority and the South African Police Service.
Timeline
• October 19-23, 2026: COP13 held in Vienna, where the resolution was adopted.
• 2025: South Africa's G20 Presidency adopted the Cape Town Ministerial Declaration on Crimes that Affect the Environment.
• COP12: An intergovernmental expert group was established to examine gaps in existing legal frameworks.
Big Picture
The resolution follows the Cape Town Ministerial Declaration on Crimes that Affect the Environment, adopted during South Africa's 2025 G20 Presidency, by moving from political commitment toward a formal treaty instrument. It also builds on the intergovernmental expert group that COP12 established to examine gaps in existing legal frameworks.
A ratified additional Protocol would give states a shared legal definition of environmental crimes and a framework for cross-border cooperation. Consumers of wildlife products, timber, minerals and electronics may eventually see stronger traceability requirements, though the extraction does not specify any timeline for these effects.
The takeaway
Environmental crime is increasingly treated as organized transnational crime, and the proposed Protocol signals that legal harmonisation across borders is now a priority. Readers following global conservation policy should watch the negotiations for the Protocol's final scope.
Further reading
For more on the ecological side of these crimes, explore our Environmental coverage.
