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Regional states seek similar cross-border criminal law
Mr Mike Chibita, the Director of Public Prosecutions. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Mr Mike Chibita, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), on Monday said that despite the abundance and diversity, wildlife species are under serious threat which calls for deterrence to breed a law-abiding citizenry.
- He described illegal trade in wildlife species as a multi-billion dollar industry which has compelled actors to intervene.
- He was speaking at the opening of the third Great Lakes judicial cooperation network meeting in Munyonyo.
Great Lakes states have started a process of formulating stringent laws to curb rampant illegal trade in wildlife species, senior officials have said.
Mr Mike Chibita, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), on Monday said that despite the abundance and diversity, wildlife species are under serious threat which calls for deterrence to breed a law-abiding citizenry.
“The law must be in place to punish illegal wildlife trade. I believe the law is in place. The existing law must be enforced in order to punish and deter. Over time, the judicial system has woken up to the reality that punishment through incarceration for economically motivated crimes like illegal wildlife trade, is not punishment enough. It is not a sufficient deterrent,” he said.
He described illegal trade in wildlife species as a multi-billion dollar industry which has compelled actors to intervene.
“Traffickers are in illegal wildlife, they cross borders operating from Democratic Republic of Congo. They do not respect borders, they exploit them and so you can find that you are handling elephants that were poached from Central Africa and transiting through Uganda. We must have cooperation within these countries to ensure borders do not restrict our fight against impunity,” Mr Chibita said.
He was speaking at the opening of the third Great Lakes judicial cooperation network meeting in Munyonyo.
The ICGLR is holding a two-day meeting to provide a platform for judges, directors of public prosecutions and CID directors from the 12 member states to share experiences and knowledge, plan together and prosecute criminals without hindrance of borders.
Chibita said since criminals don’t respect borders, the long arm of the law should be allowed to catch them wherever they run to.
Mr Wilson Kajwengye, the ICGLR (International Conference on the Great Lakes region) Director of Peace and Security, observed that the Great Lakes region still experiences security challenges ranging from cross-border crime such as terrorism, illegal exploitation of natural resources, continued cases of subversion in some of the member states, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and illegal wildlife activities.
The representative of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region, Ms Karen Kramer said promoting justice and addressing impunity are key pillars of any regional effort to promote peace, stability and development.
She said the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework calls upon the regional states to neither harbour nor protect any person or group accused of serious crimes.
“The Great Lakes must not lag, particularly given that many of the serious crimes committed in the region are of trans-border nature. No matter how efficient national judicial systems are, efforts deployed at the national level only, would not help in eradicating the transnational organised crime that has plagued this region for decades,” Ms Kramer explained.
