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most serious crimes of “genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression” and
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they do not believe the ICC has jurisdiction over environmental crimes.
Organized Crime

Environmental crime is usually considered a type of organized crime. The United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), is a multilateral treaty developed
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in 2000. This Convention was implemented in 2003 and includes 189 parties, mostly UN
member states (184), the European Union (EU), the Holy See, State of Palestine, the Cook
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Islands, and Niue. UNTOC does not provide a concise definition of organized crime; however,
it does define an organized criminal group as:
“…a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of
time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious
crimes or offences established in accordance with this Convention, in
order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material
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benefit.”
A serious crime is one in which perpetrators can be imprisoned for at least four years or receive a
more serious penalty. A crime is transnational if it, or a large part of its elements, are committed
in more than one state or if the crime impacts more than one state. It is easy to see how
environmental crimes of all flavors can easily fit into organized crime.
Though generally recognized as a type of organized crime, all environmental crime is not
organized. It is common to have individuals commit environmental crimes, such as poaching
animals for food or improperly releasing hazardous materials into waterways and, in advanced
and stable countries, existing laws and enforcement is adequate. But in areas that are already
destabilized, individual acts of environment degradation have a synergistic affect. They often
lead to a culture of impunity in which such actions become the accepted norm and once
normalized and culturally appropriated, it becomes very difficult to change the culture. And, as
natural resources are depleted, it becomes increasingly difficult to develop and sustain societies.

The Nexus to Terrorism

In 2014, UN Security Resolution 2195 recognized the
intersection of terrorism and organization crime and how it
impacts international security. Similarly, the Nexus
between Transnational Organized Crime and Terrorism
Initiative, led by the Netherlands, under the Global
Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) developed a set of good
practices: The Hague Good Practices on the Nexus
between Transnational Organized Crime and Terrorism.
These will be used to create a toolkit for practitioners and
policy makers. One section of the toolkit will focus on
Capacity Building and Law Enforcement. This will be

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