By The International Crisis Group

What’s new? Ten years of crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) have fostered new dynamics in the livestock sector, exacerbating conflict between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. The government, which has treated transhumance primarily as a security problem, has been unable to curb the violence. So have NGO and UN initiatives. Why does it matter? Reducing herder-farmer violence is essential for long-term stability in CAR. Bangui now has an unprecedented opportunity to scale it back, as the state gets re-established in rural areas, non-state armed groups weaken there and CAR’s relations warm with neighbouring Chad. What should be done? To contain herder-farmer violence, Bangui should reassume the regulatory role it abandoned in the 1990s. With the support of international partners, CAR’s authorities should rehabilitate pastoral services they once provided, combat army predation upon herders and revive cross-border cooperation with Chad.

Bangui/Nairobi/Brussels: International Crisis Group, ICG, 2025. 39p.

By Audrey M. Baumgartner

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery.1 However, this same amendment makes an exception to the general rule prohibiting slavery, “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”2 Ratified by the states in 1865, this loophole has resulted in over 150 years of what is known as “convict leasing.”3 Convict leasing was a system in which Southern States leased out prisoners for various forms of manual labor.4 While many thought convict leasing to be a thing of the past, it has reemerged through the privatization of prisons and the consistent denial by courts to ascribe any worker rights to prisoners. Flaws in the institutions that provide agricultural labor have resulted in large amounts of produce left unpicked, increased costs for consumers, and decreased investment in agricultural industries.5 Instead of solving problems plaguing the immigration system or fixing flawed worker protection laws for agricultural laborers, convicts are being used to cover these labor shortages. This Note will first walk through the evolution of convict leasing followed by a discussion of the United States prison system’s problematic history. Next, this Note will address the role immigrants play in the American agricultural industry. Lastly, this Note will focus on convicts as laborers; specifically, the positives and negatives associated with using incarcerated individuals to cover the agricultural labor shortage in the United States. This Note’s ultimate conclusion follows that convict leasing in agriculture can be a rehabilitative and positive solution to the labor shortage so long as inmates are treated with the same respect as other workers in these industries.

Duke Journal of Agricultural Law, 26(3): 2022

Edited by Maria Antonia Tigre, Melanie Jean Murcott and Susan Ann Samuel

This volume explores climate litigation as a means to tackle the rights and socio-ecological, intergenerational, gender, racial, and other justice implications of the ever-growing vulnerability to climate change, whilst critically engaging with the notions of vulnerability and intersectional climate justice. With insightful analysis, thought-provoking case studies, and a global perspective, the collection illustrates the opportunities and pitfalls of litigation pursued by people from the Global South who face intersecting forms of oppression and marginalisation amidst the climate crisis. Contributors discuss litigation strategy, novel legal arguments, institutional barriers, and unique socio-ecological and political challenges in the Global South. Divided into two parts, the book recognises that climate change is an existential threat to humanity more frequently being tackled in courts worldwide. The first part exposes the limits of litigation as a mechanism for intersectional climate justice for vulnerable people in the Global South. The second part highlights innovations in climate litigation in pursuit of intersectional climate justice. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and policymakers in the areas of human rights law, environmental law, climate law, Latin American studies, South Asian studies, and African studies.

London; New York: Routledge, 2025. 349p.

By Michael Townsley · Benjamin Hutchins

This article aims to provide insights regarding crime problems affecting the Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) retail sector, focusing primarily on the size and range of criminal behaviours. The research incorporated an online survey of retailers and police statistics. The study finds that the cost of retail crime increased by 28% over the last 4 years, against 25% growth in revenue. It also reveals that shoplifting remains the most significant and costly economic problem facing retailers, followed by employee theft. Additionally, fraud, notably in online channels, will remain a concern for the foreseeable future. We examine potential explanations and interpretations for retail crime through an environmental criminological lens. Increased research and involvement of researchers hold tremendous potential for reducing retail crime and preventing its growth in the future

Crime Prevention and Community Safety 26(2):1-23, 2024

By Yehor Hrynyk, Andrii Biletskyi, and Amanda Cabrejo le Roux

This report offers a detailed deep dive into how corruption fuelled illegal logging in Ukraine during the period before the full-scale war. It explains how the Russian invasion has raised the risks of illegal logging, by increasing demand for wood and its relative value as a resource, and by reducing inspections and civil society oversight.

Building on pre-war case studies, selected interviews and a review process with various stakeholders, the report outlines the widespread corruption challenges in Ukraine's forestry sector and proposes relevant interventions in the war and reconstruction contexts.

The report identifies specific corruption patterns linked to three main types of illegal logging:

By private actors such as communities and criminal groups, who can evade justice by corrupting law enforcement officials.

By forest management officials, who sometimes obtain false paperwork to fell trees – thus easing their export abroad.

Following the illegal appropriation of forests through manipulation of land documents.

A significant proportion of wood illegally logged in Ukraine comes with (illegally obtained) permits, so can be "legally" exported to foreign markets in the European Union and elsewhere.

Both governments and the private sector in countries that import wood and/or support Ukraine's reconstruction efforts have a role to play in preventing the illegal destruction of Ukraine's forests.

Working Paper 43

Basil SWIT: Basel Institute on Governance, 2023. 62p.

By Jacopo Costa

This report is part of a multi-disciplinary project focused on intelligence-led action against financial crime in illegal wildlife trade (IWT). Under this project, the Public Governance division of the Basel Institute on Governance is leading research in East Africa that aims to contribute to the prevention and combating of IWT by developing a better understanding of the context-specific drivers of the trafficking and the role of criminal networks in sustaining such illicit strategies. The three main research questions are: • Why does wildlife trafficking happen? • How does wildlife trafficking happen? • What can be done to curb it? This report empirically answers the second research question and, in doing so, offers several promising avenues to answer the third. This report was funded by PMI IMPACT, a grant award initiative of Philip Morris International (PMI). In the performance of their research, the authors maintained full independence from PMI. The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of PMI. Neither PMI, nor any of its affiliates, nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein.

Working Paper 35

Basel, SWIT: Basel Institute of Governance, 2021. 58p.

By The Basel Institute on Governance

This guide is a high-level “how-to” for carrying out a corruption risk assessment in a conservation/environmental law enforcement context, using the Map, Characterize, Assess, and Recommend (MCAR) approach designed by the Basel Institute on Governance.

The first section covers planning: the resources, timing, and other considerations for setting up the assessment.

The second section lays out each step of the assessment, with tips, basic instructions, and implementation recommendations for each stage.

Finally, the annexes provide sample supporting materials, including a simplified process diagram and map, a sample questionnaire for interviews, and a basic confidentiality agreement.

It was developed under the Basel Institute's Green Corruption programme as part of a wider research collaboration between the Basel Institute and Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project consortium.

Basel, SWIT: Basel Institute on Governance , 2023. 26p.

By Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - ECO-SOLVE

This international conference was convened in recognition of environmental crimes as threat multipliers to an increasingly fractured and vulnerable planet. They pose threats to not only the environment, but also public health, security, political stability, the rule of law, human rights, sustainable development, food security, livelihoods, habitats, cultural heritage, and the global economy and integrity of the international financial system. Coalescing a more coherent and effective international response was a daunting, but necessary common objective of the government of France and the GI-TOC, who invited a diverse set of participants in Paris for the third security and development dialogue on environmental crime in Paris in April 2025, with the financial support of the European Union through the ECO-SOLVE project. The event is part of a series aimed at building political will and momentum for a more ambitious global response to environmental crime through the multilateral system. The dialogue series aims to determine shared priorities for action and to prepare for collective engagement ahead of important multilateral processes taking place in 2025 and 2026, with an agenda focused on ways of prioritizing environmental crimes for urgent and collective action at global, regional and national levels to protect both people and planet. As such, it enables participants to: ■ discuss strategies to draw attention to the environmental crimes in upcoming multilateral processes; ■ debate ways to advocate for and work towards the adoption of the most ambitious and effective measures (at global, regional and national levels) to deter environmental criminality and end impunity, while ensuring sustainable alternative livelihoods for affected communities and individuals; ■ reaffirm the critical role, expertise and contributions of civil society in supporting states in their efforts to prevent, detect, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate environmental crimes, and related corruption and financial crimes; and ■ commit to further develop multistake-holder cooperation and partnerships against environmental crimes and support the active participation and engagement of members of civil society in multilateral discussions. More than 100 participants from across government, civil society, academia, law enforcement and criminal justice gathered, under the Chatham House Rule, to discuss these issues and make recommendations for the international system. This report reflects the common priority issues identified, and considers what can be done to enhance international action. It highlights the key takeaways from the discussions, and lays out a set of the conclusions and recommendations put forward by speakers. These are packaged to support upcoming multilateral processes, and delegates who attend them.

Geneva: ECO-SOLVE - Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2025. 22p.

By The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Criminal networks are increasingly seeking to gain control over extraction sites, trade routes, and refining infrastructure.

According to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), these groups have become deeply embedded in gold supply chains, drawn by the sector’s high profitability and rising gold prices.

‘Serious global threat’

Organized crime has become so involved in the gold supply that it now constitutes a “serious global threat”, with illegal networks constantly adapting in order to enable and hide their operations.

Exploiting advances in transportation, finance, and communications, many of these groups have a foothold in regular businesses, enabling them to both launder proceeds and move illegal gold with relative ease.

Apart from heightened violence, corruption and environmental degradation, crime gangs also expose vulnerable populations to exploitation, the UN highlights, increasing the risk of sexual exploitation, forced labour, and displacement.

Bypassing regulations

While legal mining operations are regulated to minimise environmental harm, illegal mining bypasses these safeguards entirely.

By clearing forests to access mineral deposits, illicit operations directly contribute to environmental destruction, degrading fragile ecosystems and accelerating biodiversity loss – particularly when such activities occur within protected areas.

One of the most severe environmental impacts of illegal gold mining is the use of hazardous or banned chemicals by criminal organisations.

Opportunities

Although the majority of gold mining sites are located in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia, most gold refineries are concentrated in Europe, Asia, and North America. As a result, the precious metal often crosses multiple borders before it even reaches a refining centre.

This transnational movement creates opportunities for both criminal exploitation and law enforcement intervention.

Criminal groups frequently introduce illegally sourced gold into the supply chain by exploiting weak oversight, inconsistent documentation, and regulatory loopholes along trade routes.

However, the geographical concentration of refineries offers a strategic point for disruption, the UNODC report noted.

Focusing regulatory efforts on these key hubs could significantly reduce the flow of illicit gold into the global market, the report concluded.

A global push for renewable energy technologies like electric cars and wind turbines brings benefits for the environment and economic opportunities for countries along the supply chain. But it also increases the demand for minerals needed to power and operate these products, which brings serious risks from crime and corruption. Renewable energy technologies rely on so-called critical energy transition minerals (CETMs) for batteries, magnets and other components. Production and processing of these minerals – which include copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements – is concentrated in a few countries. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted that demand is expected to continue to grow in the coming years and decades, as countries strive to meet the Paris Agreement targets and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. These factors combine with complex supply chain dynamics to make the sector vulnerable to political instability, trade restrictions, or criminal interference. If demand outpaces supply, the resulting pressure can create fertile ground for criminal actors to infiltrate, exploit, and distort supply chains. Criminal actors may seize control of extraction sites, trade routes, or refining infrastructure, using corruption, violence and/or coercion to bypass regulations, evade taxation, and manipulate access to resources. Profits can then accrue to just a few powerful actors, who can determine who has access to the minerals. This control can, over time, exacerbate global inequalities and further destabilize a market already under pressure. These crimes can cause harm on multiple levels. Local populations suffer damage to their ecosystems, countries are hit by lost revenues and weakened governance, and the global supply chain is destabilized. Criminal interference can delay access to essential minerals, undermine responsible sourcing, and ultimately slow the energy transition, while also deterring responsible investment and hindering sustainable development.

Vienna: Research and Trend Analysis Branch United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime , 2025. 78p.

By Peter Schwartzstein

The greater the impact of climate change, the greater our awareness of the security challenges it’s leaving in its wake. In recent years, there has been a relative deluge of research in this space. However, while most of that work has been timely and essential and has included significant related studies, such as those on the relationship between heat and interpersonal violence, the full spectrum of climate-related security risks has not yet been adequately explored. Crime, though arguably one of the most widely felt of these fallouts, has received relatively little attention to date in the climate security literature. This brief paper is an attempt to begin redressing that shortfall. While crime, as a form of insecurity, might seem low stakes in comparison to terrorism and inter-state conflict, its sheer breadth ensures that many more people have likely suffered from it compared with more ‘macro’ forms of climate-related violence. From petty theft to not-so-petty assaults, climate change is leaving its mark on almost every category of crime. Furthermore, while existing climate impacts aggravate poverty, inequality, and the other forces that at least partly underlie lawbreaking, there is evidence to suggest that there might be much worse climate-related crime in store. After all, the messier, more disorderly world that climate change is stoking may be tremendously beneficial for criminals, especially as climate stresses shrink some states’ capacity and thereby their ability to tackle ne’er doers. At the same time, various types of crime may both undermine climate action and exacerbate climate stresses themselves. We may be overlooking a key plank of the conflict-climate nexus to our considerable collective peril. A relative dearth of research complicates attempts to articulate the extent and essence of the challenge. As with other forms of climate-related insecurity, the precise nature of climate’s contribution to crime is often hard to pin down, given the messy interplay of climate and other drivers of instability. However, through an analysis of the limited existing studies, a collation of the researcher’s own extensive fieldwork in this space, and three short case studies, each of which also draws off the researcher’s prior work, this is an attempt to get the ball rolling. Ultimately, the hope is that this short and summary briefer might serve as a springboard to—and an entry point for— future work

Washington, DC: Council on Strategic Risks, Center for Climate and Security , 2024. 9p.

By Nancy Isarin, Claudia Baez Camargo and Amanda Cabrejo le Roux

Executive summary Waste management is a huge industry at the local, national and international levels. Public services play a key role in dealing especially with waste generated by households. Getting it right is essential if we are to achieve a circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals. Complex legal frameworks and their weak implementation open up spaces for criminals to profit from illegally managing or trading in waste. The consequences on the environment and human health can be severe. The role of corruption in crimes involving waste is unexplored. An initial analysis of five cases shows the potential for corruption to play a role in: • influencing policy decisions involving waste management; • corrupt deals involving the selection of waste management companies linked to powerful elites; • schemes to gain lucrative waste management contracts through systematic bribery; • illegal imports of hazardous waste for profit, avoiding or suppressing formal controls. Different corruption risks affect different steps of the waste management chain: 1. Policies and procedures: Undue influence, state capture 2. Procurement: Bribery, nepotism, favouritism 3. Inspections: Bribery, undue influence, collusion External factors make corruption and crime linked to waste management easier to get away with, including: • poor record keeping and a lack of access to information even where records exist; • low awareness and understanding of the field among public procurement officers, law enforcement and the judiciary; • insufficient monitoring and lack of inspection and enforcement capacities; • poor cooperation between environmental, (financial) investigation and other government agencies. In addition to reforming the legal frameworks governing waste, basic steps to start addressing corruption risks are: • More research and corruption risk assessments on waste management supply chains Greater investment in preventive measures, starting with digitalising administrative processes. • More joined-up enforcement of waste management legislation through inter-agency cooperation and joint investigations. • Extending wider transparency and accountability measures like open data and whistleblowing systems to the waste management field. • Targeted capacity building and awareness raising for regulators and law enforcement. • Collective Action initiatives between public, private and civil society actors in the waste management field, to build trust and understanding, share good practices and co-develop self-regulatory standards.

Basel, SWIT: Basel Institute on Governance, 2023. 62p.