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“cross-fertilization,” and look at how best to rehabilitate and reintegrate them. And once
released, prisoners should be followed by probation services that are part of an integrated
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criminal justice intelligence network.
Conclusion

Current United Nations’ peacekeeping missions, particularly MINUSCA and MONUSCO, are
dealing with environmental crime and it is undermining the capability of the mission to develop
the countries and threatens peace and stability. The United Nations has recognized this
phenomenon and have developed and promoted research and policies to counter it. However,
senior mission leadership tends to view the organized crime problem, of which environmental
crime is often a subset, as something that can be deferred in favor of more pressing issues.
Nonetheless, positive progress is being made. Environmental crime cannot be dealt with without
first understanding that it is a subset of organized crime, and it can be connected to terrorism and
corruption. Further, it is used by corrupt actors (criminalized power structures) to strengthen
their power. Robust police intelligence is required to identify and mitigate environmental
crime and its negative impact on UN peacekeeping. UN Police, particularly Formed Police
Units (FPU) are ideally situated to identify and report criminal activity in the field. UN missions
need to share information and help the host nation build a criminal justice system capable of
mitigating environmental crime. In the absence of a functioning justice system, the International
Criminal Court has made known its desire to prosecute environmental crime; however, some
legal scholars propose that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over crimes not described under
the Rome Statute.

Written by:

Karen J. Finkenbinder, Ph.D.
Rule of Law, Justice & Reconciliation Advisor
The Peacekeeping & Stability Operations Institute

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