"Environmental destruction and corruption are two of the greatest global challenges of our time. Both are closely interrelated…”
This was the starting point of a high-level meeting hosted by the Principality of Liechtenstein. Dominique Hasler and Panagiotis Potolidis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the discussions together with Peter Maurer, President of the Basel Institute on Governance, and Juhani Grossmann, Head of our Green Corruption Programme.
Have we reached a turning point in the fight against corruption that impacts the environment?
For the first time in its 20-year history, the Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC (CoSP10) hosted a series of special events on corruption that impacts the environment. The 25 co-organisers included states, international organisations and non-profit organisations, including the Basel Institute on Governance through our Green Corruption programme.
“Fighting climate change and the degradation of our planet is hard enough. We cannot allow poor governance and corruption to undermine our hard-fought progress.”
– Ambassador Georg Sparber, Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the United States
We are grateful to the Principality of Liechtenstein for its decision to continue and substantially increase its core contribution to our Green Corruption programme.
The programme has gained significant momentum in 2021, responding to a clear need to address the “green corruption” that makes environmental crimes both possible and lucrative.
We are delighted to welcome Liechtenstein as an inaugural core donor to our Green Corruption programme.
The programme applies anti-corruption, follow-the-money and governance approaches to critical issues of environmental degradation. Liechtenstein’s support and endorsement are particularly valuable as we ramp up and expand the programme, building on a strong base of evidence and experience gained through our efforts in the last years to tackle financial crime in illegal wildlife trade.
In the context of the ICC Assembly of State Parties held in New York in December, the ICC and ICAR jointly organised a side event on financial investigation in the context of investigations into serious international crimes.