[DRAFT] Fighting Environmental Crimes Act

[Market Deeping]

The General Assembly,

Alarmed by existing research indicating that environmental crimes have become some of the most lucrative transnational criminal activities and that they are often closely linked with other forms of crime and corruption and that money laundering and illicit financial flows derived from them may contribute to the financing of other transnational organized crimes and terrorism,

Taking note of previous data on the costs of environmental crimes,

Deeply concerned about all those killed, injured, threatened, or exploited by organized criminal groups involved in or benefiting from environmental crimes, as well as those whose living environment, safety, health, or livelihoods are endangered or threatened by those crimes, and reaffirming its commitment to assist and protect those affected, following national law,

Deeply concerned also that organized criminal groups' activities that have an environmental impact thwart and undermine state efforts to protect the environment, promote the rule of law, and achieve sustainable development,

Recognizing that environmental crimes have the potential to harm economies, public health, human safety, food security, livelihoods, and habitats,

Recognizing the critical role of effective international cooperation in preventing and combating crime, and emphasizing the importance of addressing, tackling, and effectively responding to international challenges and barriers, particularly measures that obstruct such cooperation and are inconsistent with the World Assembly Mission Statement and international law obligations, and urging States to do so per their international obligations,

Hereby,

1. Requires all Member-States to take effective measures to prevent and combat environmental crimes, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife, including flora and fauna, in timber and timber products, hazardous wastes and other wastes, precious metals, stones, and other minerals, as well as poaching, by maximizing the use of relevant international instruments and strengthening legislation, international cooperation, and international cooperation,

2. Demands, in this regard, States to adopt specific and effective steps to collect and return the proceeds of such crimes, when appropriate, and highlights the significance of removing barriers to enacting measures to recover and return those assets and proceeds to the respective nations of which these environmental crimes occurred,

3. Affirms that Member-States must constitute effective tools and an important part of the legal framework for, respectively, preventing and combating transnational organized crimes that affect the environment, and corruption as it relates to such crimes, and for strengthening international cooperation in this regard,

4. Ensures that Member-States treat environmental crimes as severe crimes, with severe crimes as defined by individual Member-States, and environmental crimes being defined in the resolution in Article 1, in conformity with their national legislation, so that, where the crime is transnational in scope and involves an organized criminal gang, effective international cooperation is possible,

5. Requires also that Member-States are also to develop or amend national legislation, as necessary and appropriate, by fundamental principles of their domestic law, so that crimes affecting the environment that fall within the definition, are defined in Article 1, provided in this resolution are treated as predicate offenses, as defined and mandated in Article 4, for money-laundering offenses and are actionable under domestic legislation on proceeds of crime, so that assets derived from crime are not misappropriated.

[Tinhampton]

The principles of this draft appear to be about international collaboration in crimefighting and asset seizure/forfeiture as a broad concept. Why are you limiting its applications to "environmental crimes" in particular, as opposed to making this a general resolution about those matters applicable to all (major?) crimes?

Article 2 requires that proceeds from environmental crime be returned. To who?

Article 4 requires members to "treat environmental crimes as severe crimes, as defined in the resolution." However, your draft does not define what a severe crime is, and the only use of the phrase "severe crime" in any GA resolution is in the preamble of a ten-year-old resolution which claims that the World Assembly already requires "the extradition of those suspected of certain severe crimes."

Article 5 requires environmental crimes to be "treated as predicate offences, as defined and mandated." Again, this phrase appears nowhere in your draft and nowhere in any other resolution.

[Market Deeping]

The principles of this draft appear to be about international collaboration in crimefighting and asset seizure/forfeiture as a broad concept. Why are you limiting its applications to "environmental crimes" in particular, as opposed to making this a general resolution about those matters applicable to all (major?) crimes?

I write this specifically towards environmental crimes as I feel as though a resolution covering forfeiture of assets and crime-fighting generally all crimes of sort is something that all nations are already doing. The reason I focus on the environment as opposed to a broader realm of crime is because while most things like murder, theft, and assault are all almost universally criminalized by most governments, the environment, however, tends to be less regulated, controlled, or safeguarded. As environmental protection as a political concept is fairly new, there is reason to believe that many nations still are behind on working to protect the environment. So a resolution mandating nations to fight all kinds of crime would be both broad, for the obvious reason of trying to restrict all major crimes, and also would be ineffective if a majority of nations enforce the rules anyways. But to note, you did make a good observation and your courteous feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

Article 2 requires that proceeds from environmental crime be returned. To who?

Article 4 requires members to "treat environmental crimes as severe crimes, as defined in the resolution." However, your draft does not define what a severe crime is, and the only use of the phrase "severe crime" in any GA resolution is in the preamble of a ten-year-old resolution which claims that the World Assembly already requires "the extradition of those suspected of certain severe crimes."

Article 5 requires environmental crimes to be "treated as predicate offences, as defined and mandated." Again, this phrase appears nowhere in your draft and nowhere in any other resolution.

Thanks for pointing out these things! I didn't notice them up until now, so I acted swiftly on it to fix these errors, most of which were from a simple lack of distinction and clarity.

[Market Deeping]

/bump

[Fachumonn]

/bump

You don't need to bump right now. Bumping is when days pass, not hours.

[Market Deeping]

Oh, I had bumped because over a day had passed. My apologies.

[Araraukar]

OOC: I am amused if this proposal names every non-cleantech business a criminal organization.

[Market Deeping]

Although tackling non-cleantech business might be a viable and/or controversial topic for the future, this proposal only targets organizations / people who directly harm the environment and often cause more damage than regular harmers of the environment (fossil fuels, anybody?). So for instance, while the business who buys lithium for their batteries won't be getting charged with anything anytime soon, the mining companies getting that lithium might if they are discovered to have unethical practices in place that harm the environment.

[Market Deeping]

/bump

[Market Deeping]

bump?

(at this rate, im starting to think that the reason im not getting any responses is because there is no problem with it)

[Fachumonn]

bump?

(at this rate, im starting to think that the reason im not getting any responses is because there is no problem with it)

Definitely not true. Will have look at it later.

[Fachumonn]

This is just Grammar + Spelling btw. Nothing based on the real actual content of the proposal, which I'm sure needs some work. Also keep in mind we're not robots over here, so if you don't get feedback right away be patient and wait.

The General Assembly,

Alarmed by existing research indicating that environmental crimes have become some of the most lucrative transnational criminal activities, and that they are often closely linked with other forms of crime and corruption, and that money laundering and illicit financial flows derived from them may contribute to the financing of other transnational organized crimes and terrorism,

Remove the comma between activities to and.
So "activities, and" -> "activities and".

Hereby,

1. Requires Member States to take effective measures to prevent and combat environmental crimes, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife, including flora and fauna, in timber and timber products, hazardous wastes and other wastes, precious metals, stones and other minerals, as well as poaching, by maximizing the use of relevant international instruments and strengthening legislation, international cooperation, and international cooperation,

If you use "all member states" in the 3rd clause, then say that here.
So "Requires Member States" -> Requires all Member-States. Also, if you're gonna use commas, it should be "stones and other minerals," -> "stones, and other minerals

2. Demands, in this regard, States to adopt specific and effective steps to collect and return the proceeds of such crimes, when appropriate, and highlights the significance of removing barriers to enacting measures to recover and return those assets and proceeds to the respective nations of which these environmental crimes occured,

You spelled occurred wrong.
"occured -> "occurred".

3. Affirms that all member states must constitute effective tools and an important part of the legal framework for, respectively, preventing and combating transnational organized crimes that affect the environment, and corruption as it relates to such crimes, and for strengthening international cooperation in this regard,

If you're gonna capitalize member-states in the above clauses, capitalize it here.
"member states" -> "Member States" (though I wouldn't capitalize it at all, and just put a hyphen through it and if you're gonna do that make sure that all are like that.)

4. Ensures that Member States treat environmental crimes as severe crimes, with severe crimes being defined by individual member states, and environmental crimes being defined in the resolution in Article 1, in conformity with their national legislation, so that, where the crime is transnational in scope and involves an organized criminal gang, effective international cooperation is possible,

Again, if you're gonna have consistency, you need to put:
"Member States" -> "All Member States"

5. Requires also that Member States are also to develop or amend national legislation, as necessary and appropriate, in accordance with fundamental principles of their domestic law, so that crimes affecting the environment that fall within the definition, being defined in Article 1, provided in this resolution are treated as predicate offences, as defined and mandated in Article 4, for the purposes of money-laundering offences and are actionable under domestic legislation on proceeds of crime, so that assets derived from crime are not misappropriated.

You don't need to put all before member here becaue by now it is obvious.
"being defined" (in first sentence) -> "is defined".

[Market Deeping]

Well, I added all the suggestions you made, it is much appreciated.

Also keep in mind we're not robots over here, so if you don't get feedback right away be patient and wait.

Well of course not, don't think for a moment that that is how i view the kind volunteers on this board as, I was just unsure to as whether it was typical for it to take 5-10 days for a reply. Of course, im new to this and all, so i am sorry if i might slip up, im sure you can understand. (:

Anyways, thank you for your grammatical tips, if you have more suggestions, i'd be more than happy to use them!

[Fachumonn]

Well, I added all the suggestions you made, it is much appreciated.

Also keep in mind we're not robots over here, so if you don't get feedback right away be patient and wait.

I was just unsure to as whether it was typical for it to take 5-10 days for a reply.

If they don't reply in that amount of time, just keep bumping it every time that amount of time passes and you will get responses.

[Market Deeping]

Well, I added all the suggestions you made, it is much appreciated.



I was just unsure to as whether it was typical for it to take 5-10 days for a reply.

If they don't reply in that amount of time, just keep bumping it every time that amount of time passes and you will get responses.

so when will i know when to stop and submit it?

[Fachumonn]

If they don't reply in that amount of time, just keep bumping it every time that amount of time passes and you will get responses.

so when will i know when to stop and submit it?

You're choice, but when you feel you have gotten a lot of feedback, nothing needs improving (in your eyes), and some people support it.

[Market Deeping]

/bump

[Tinhampton]

TL;DR: This proposal is plagiarised from a UN document. Do not submit as written.

==========

When this draft thread was created, I was wondering why I was struggling to understand it so much. I read Maths at Cambridge but even I couldn't wrap my head around some of what your resolution had to say:

• about who the proceeds of environmental crime had to be returned to;
• about why you would need to define environmental crimes as serious crimes when nothing in any resolution is preventing "effective international cooperation" of any crime that "is transnational in scope and involves an organized criminal gang," even crimes not defined as serious;
• about what a "predicate offence" was even supposed to be in the first place (or why you'd need that definition for something something money-laundering something); and
• perhaps infamously, why you would target environmental crimes rather than all crimes of a similar nature.
• In recent days, I have grown to be disappointed in your narrow definition of environmental crimes as including only "poaching" and "illicit trafficking in wildlife," too.

I believe I now understand why I've gotten myself so confused over what you've written. Why? Because it's not, in fact, what you've written.

Let me compare the full text of Fighting Environmental Crimes Act alongside extracts, presented in order of appearance in the text, from Preventing and combating crimes that affect the environment falling within the scope of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (hereinafter "Preventing and Combating"). All text in blue is text that is substantially - if not fully - similar between Fighting Environmental Crimes Act & Preventing and Combating.

I have attached letters to your six prefatory clauses, as well as to the equivalent clauses of Preventing and Combating (which were not originally included in either document), to aid the reader's understanding. I have sometimes given numbers to clauses in Preventing and Combating, to highlight where those clauses are substantially similar to the clauses that actually bear those numbers in Fighting Environmental Crimes Act (such as the clause numbered "1" at the top of my P&C extract, which is similar to Article 1 in FECA); where I have done this and I have not quoted a prefatory clause, I always provide the original clause number inside [square brackets].

Fighting Environmental Crimes Act

Preventing and Combating

The General Assembly, A. Alarmed by existing research indicating that environmental crimes have become some of the most lucrative transnational criminal activities and that they are often closely linked with other forms of crime and corruption and that money laundering and illicit financial flows derived from them may contribute to the financing of other transnational organized crimes and terrorism, B. Taking note of previous data on the costs of environmental crimes, C. Deeply concerned about all those killed, injured, threatened, or exploited by organized criminal groups involved in or benefiting from environmental crimes, as well as those whose living environment, safety, health, or livelihoods are endangered or threatened by those crimes, and reaffirming its commitment to assist and protect those affected, following national law, D. Deeply concerned also that organized criminal groups' activities that have an environmental impact thwart and undermine state efforts to protect the environment, promote the rule of law, and achieve sustainable development, E. Recognizing that environmental crimes have the potential to harm economies, public health, human safety, food security, livelihoods, and habitats, F. Recognizing the critical role of effective international cooperation in preventing and combating crime, and emphasizing the importance of addressing, tackling, and effectively responding to international challenges and barriers, particularly measures that obstruct such cooperation and are inconsistent with the World Assembly Mission Statement and international law obligations, and urging States to do so per their international obligations, Hereby, 1. Requires all Member-States to take effective measures to prevent and combat environmental crimes, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife, including flora and fauna, in timber and timber products, hazardous wastes and other wastes, precious metals, stones, and other minerals, as well as poaching, by maximizing the use of relevant international instruments and strengthening legislation, international cooperation, and international cooperation, 2. Demands, in this regard, States to adopt specific and effective steps to collect and return the proceeds of such crimes, when appropriate, and highlights the significance of removing barriers to enacting measures to recover and return those assets and proceeds to the respective nations of which these environmental crimes occurred, 3. Affirms that Member-States must constitute effective tools and an important part of the legal framework for, respectively, preventing and combating transnational organized crimes that affect the environment, and corruption as it relates to such crimes, and for strengthening international cooperation in this regard, 4. Ensures that Member-States treat environmental crimes as severe crimes, with severe crimes as defined by individual Member-States, and environmental crimes being defined in the resolution in Article 1, in conformity with their national legislation, so that, where the crime is transnational in scope and involves an organized criminal gang, effective international cooperation is possible, 5. Requires also that Member-States are also to develop or amend national legislation, as necessary and appropriate, by fundamental principles of their domestic law, so that crimes affecting the environment that fall within the definition, are defined in Article 1, provided in this resolution are treated as predicate offenses, as defined and mandated in Article 4, for money-laundering offenses and are actionable under domestic legislation on proceeds of crime, so that assets derived from crime are not misappropriated.

The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, [...] 1. Taking note of paragraph 9 (e) of the Doha Declaration on Integrating Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice into the Wider United Nations Agenda to Address Social and Economic Challenges and to Promote the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels, and Public Participation, in which Member States affirmed their determination to strive to adopt effective measures to prevent and counter the serious problem of crimes that have an impact on the environment, such as trafficking in wildlife, including flora and fauna as protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, timber and timber products and hazardous waste, as well as poaching, by strengthening legislation, international cooperation, capacity-building, criminal justice responses and law enforcement efforts aimed at, inter alia, dealing with transnational organized crime, corruption and money-laundering linked to such crimes, [...] E. Recognizing that crimes that affect the environment may also have a negative impact on economies, public health, human safety, food security, livelihoods and habitats, [...] A. Alarmed by existing research indicating that crimes that affect the environment have become some of the most lucrative transnational criminal activities and are often closely interlinked with different forms of crime and corruption, and that money-laundering and the illicit financial flows derived from them may contribute to the financing of other transnational organized crimes and terrorism, C. Deeply concerned about all those killed, injured, threatened or exploited by organized criminal groups involved in or benefiting from crimes that affect the environment and about those whose living environment, safety, health or livelihoods are endangered or put at risk by those crimes, and affirming its resolve to assist and protect those affected, in accordance with national law, D. Deeply concerned also that activities of organized criminal groups that affect the environment hinder and undermine efforts undertaken by States to protect the environment, promote the rule of law and achieve sustainable development, including efforts to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, [...] 3. [original: 1.] Affirms that the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime constitutes an effective tool and an essential part of the legal framework for preventing and combating transnational organized crimes that affect the environment and for strengthening international cooperation in this regard; 4. [original: 4.] Calls upon States parties to the Convention to make crimes that affect the environment, in appropriate cases, serious crimes, in accordance with their national legislation, as defined in article 2, paragraph (b), of the Convention, in order to ensure that, where the offence is transnational in nature and involves an organized criminal group, effective international cooperation can be afforded under the Convention; 5. [original: 6.] Calls upon States parties to develop or amend national legislation, as necessary and appropriate, in accordance with fundamental principles of their domestic law, so that crimes that affect the environment falling within the scope of the Convention are treated as predicate offences, as defined in the Convention and as mandated in its article 6, for the purposes of money-laundering offences and are actionable under domestic legislation on proceeds of crime, so that assets derived from transnational organized crimes that affect the environment can be seized, confiscated and disposed of;

Every single part of Fighting Environmental Crimes Act that has any substantial value - other than your second prefatory clause, your sixth prefatory clause, and your Article 2 - has been plagiarised from Preventing and Combating.

Louder for those of you at the back: YOUR PROPOSAL IS PLAGIARISED. DO NOT SUBMIT THIS PROPOSAL AS WRITTEN. PLAGIARISED PROPOSALS WILL BE REMOVED AND YOU MAY GET BANNED FROM THE WORLD ASSEMBLY.

There exists no "World Assembly Mission Statement," although I admit that this reference occurs in your sixth prefatory clause. Nor is there "previous data" to show anything in the WA universe; arguing that there is may well be a violation of the Real World References rule in itself. These concerns, however, pale in comparison to your large-scale plagiarism of Preventing and Combating.

I will not support this proposal until I am satisfied that you have authored an original, non-plagiarised proposal that effectively challenges environmental crimes - rather than one enmeshed in unoriginal word salad that is incomprehensible even to me.

[Fachumonn]

I direct you to this, and what it clearly states about plagiarism: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=159348

[Outer Sparta]

OP, did you think that you could fool everyone else and go for a plagiarized draft? Instead, do the actual research instead of copy and pasting snippets from whatever document you find from the UN. Not only is that plagiarism, it's lazy work.

[Princess Rainbow Sparkles]

This proposal is plagerized.

Kudos to Tinhampton for bringing this matter to our attention.

[Fachumonn]

This proposal is plagerized.

Kudos to Tinhampton for bringing this matter to our attention.

Agreed.