Toespraak van staatssecretaris Dijksma bij de opening van de Wildlife Justice Commission The Hague

Toespraak | 02-10-2015

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

In July a lion was killed in Zimbabwe, because someone wanted his head as a trophy. Local people had named the lion Cecil. And because he had a name, his death caused an outcry around the world.

Every day, out of the spotlight, rhinos in Africa die because people in other parts of the world think that powder made from their horns will protect them from disease and other dangers. Every year, tens of thousands of elephants are shot so that people can make decorative objects from their tusks.

Poaching and illegal trade in animal products have increased at a shocking rate in the past decade. You all know the statistics: in 2007, 13 rhinos were killed in South Africa. Last year the number was 1,215. And the first four months of this year showed a further rise of 18 per cent. If this trend isn't stopped, in less than a decade there will be no rhinos left.

International wildlife crime has far-reaching effects. To start with, killing animals on a massive scale endangers biodiversity. If the big animals in Africa and elsewhere die out, it will have serious consequences for the ecosystem. What's more, wild animals attract tourists. If the tourists stay away, the economic effects would be severe.

Secondly, the high demand for illegal animal products and the vast amounts of money involved lead to corruption at every level of society – from government and judicial authorities to people living in the animals’ natural habitat. The temptation of a quick profit makes it impossible for humans and animals to co-exist in a sustainable way. So it’s vital to take action.

Tackling wildlife crime isn't easy. It’s now increasingly seen as a form of serious crime, to be combated with the same resources as, say, drug trafficking. The chain is organised professionally, from poachers and middlemen to the market. So we need a broad approach. Simply arresting the poachers doesn't solve anything. Criminal investigation efforts must focus on the whole chain to succeed.

Prosecuting those responsible is difficult too. It starts with the poachers. If a poacher from Mozambique crosses the border into the Kruger National Park, shoots a rhino and then goes back over the border, who is going to arrest him? And where should he stand trial?

And that's not all of course. The whole chain operates across borders and even between continents. So the justice authorities in these countries need to be willing to prioritise investigating and prosecuting wildlife criminals. And that’s not enough. They also need the money and manpower to do it. If corruption or a lack of resources or political will make prosecution impossible, the world will be no better off.

Fortunately, the world is not sitting back. The UN – CITES especially –, non-profit organisations and Interpol are working ever more closely to tackle wildlife crime. The countries involved are showing more and more political will and courage. More attention is being given to combating wildlife crime. And countries are amending their legislation where necessary.

The Wildlife Justice Commission is a welcome addition to these developments. You lend a hand where countries need support: building legal cases takes a lot of time and manpower. The Wildlife Justice Commission can supply that. Where a lack of will is the main problem, the Commission uses diplomacy and ambassadors to draw the authorities’ attention to the need to prosecute. That’s a very useful contribution to the fight against wildlife crime. So I’m pleased to inform you that the Dutch government will be donating 150,000 euros to the Wildlife Justice Commission.

I am also pleased to announce that I've initiated an international conference on wildlife crime. It will bring together high-level representatives and key influencers that all have the same goal: to put an end to poaching. This target can only be achieved if we tackle wildlife crime in more than one way. In the first place, we must make sure that criminal gangs involved in wildlife trafficking are brought to justice. The work of the Wildlife Justice Commission will feature prominently at the conference.

At the same time we must ensure that people on the ground no longer need poaching. That means that the world must enable the countries involved to further develop economic activities, like agriculture. In such way that their inhabitants can earn a decent living.

The conference will take place next February in The Hague. And there is, of course, no better place to have this conference than The Hague, seat of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations and seat of the International Criminal Court, city of peace and justice, as the vice-mayor of The Hague justly pointed out.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Here too, there was public outrage at Cecil’s death. Animal welfare inspires strong public feeling in the Netherlands. The guiding principle of our Animals Act, which entered into force in July 2014, is that animals have intrinsic value. In other words, an animal has value in itself, independently of people.

Over the past years the Netherlands has already contributed in many ways to fighting wildlife crime. We're spending 2 million euros on supporting six projects to stop the pointless killing of wild animals. They range from the African Elephant Fund and a project for scanning containers in the port of Mombasa, to crime scene investigation support in Botswana by the Netherlands Forensic Institute. That last project teaches local rangers how to investigate crime scenes. The pilot has been so successful that it's now being expanded.

I also want to help put the Wildlife Justice Commission in the international spotlight. By drawing the attention of international organisations to the Commission's work, and encouraging other countries to collaborate with you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The death of a lion named Cecil angered people all over the world. And Cecil is not alone. He represents the many thousands of animals killed every year for pleasure. I hope this outrage at the shooting of one lion marks a turning point. I hope it will bring recognition of the value and dignity of animals a step closer. Then maybe Cecil won't have died in vain.

Thank you.