Lejda Toci

@UNODC #environment | @DA_Vienna Alumna | Views my own

[Dr. Richard Munang @RichardMunang]

For years, we believed the greatest challenge in protecting our oceans was that we could not see what was happening beyond the horizon.

Today, I believe that is no longer true.

Speaking at the Our #Ocean Conference plenary on Building National and Global Capacity for Effective Maritime Domain Awareness,

I shared a simple message.

The greatest gap is no longer technology.

It is what happens after technology has done its job.

Today, satellites, artificial intelligence and vessel tracking systems can detect suspicious activity faster than ever before. But a vessel that is detected and never investigated, prosecuted or convicted teaches criminal networks one dangerous lesson: the system can see, but it cannot stop them.

That is why I argued that maritime awareness must become a criminal justice chain.

We have seen this in practice. In one operation, what appeared to be an illegal fishing vessel was intercepted only for authorities to discover more than 300 kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine on board. One detection uncovered illegal fishing, drug trafficking and organised crime operating through the same vessel.

This is exactly why our work goes beyond technology.

Through @UNODC #FishNET work, we have brought fisheries authorities, coast guards, investigators, prosecutors and judicial actors into the same room, helping transform maritime awareness into coordinated criminal justice action. We supported the development of Kenya's first Fisheries Corruption Prevention Policy, strengthened maritime coordination mechanisms, and helped build the capacities of more than 3,000 practitioners to investigate and prosecute crimes that affect our oceans.

But perhaps the idea that generated the greatest discussion was the third.

Enforcement data should not stop in an operations room.

The same information that helps identify criminal networks can also show governments where revenues are being lost, where coastal communities are most vulnerable, and where investments in jobs and livelihoods can reduce the conditions that allow organised crime to flourish.

That is where I believe the future lies.

Not simply in seeing more.

But in connecting what we see to justice, stronger institutions and better development decisions.

My grandmother often reminded me, "A fence is not built to be admired. It is built to hold."

The same is true of technology.

Its greatest value is not that it helps us see crime.

Its greatest value is that it helps us stop it.

#OurOcean2026 #OceanAction #BlueEconomy #MaritimeSecurity #CriminalJustice #UNODC #FishNET @UNODC_ENV @UNODCEastAfrica @UNODC_BMB

[Dr. Richard Munang @RichardMunang]

For too long, crimes at sea disappeared beyond the horizon.

Today at #OurOcean2026 in Mombasa, I had the privilege of moderating the @UNODC side event: "Crimes that Affect Our Ocean: Bridging Maritime Security and Ocean Protection."

Together with partners from Norway, with the Ambassador of #Norway to Kenya @NorwayAmbKenya Skylight, IUCN, the Environmental Justice Foundation, regional coordination actors and the Government of Kenya, one message emerged clearly:

Detection without justice is only observation.

Technology can find suspicious vessels. Regional cooperation can track them. Inspectors can board them. But protecting oceans requires evidence, accountability and convictions.

Because behind illegal fishing often sit corruption, trafficking, forced labour and other organized crimes.

Protecting our oceans is not only an environmental imperative.

It is a justice, development and security imperative.

#UNODC #OurOcean2026 #BlueEconomy #EnvironmentalJustice #FishNET @UNODC_ENV

[Dr. Richard Munang @RichardMunang]

Up to $23 billion of fish is stolen from the ocean every year.

This week in #Mombasa, everyone is asking how to protect the ocean. @UNODC is the one room asking a harder question. Who answers when it is robbed?

I will moderate this side event, "Crimes that Affect our Ocean: Bridging Maritime Security and Ocean Protection." For too long the ocean has been a crime scene with no one to answer for it. That is the gap @UNODC exists to close.

We do this with member states and in this side event Kenya, with Norway, and with partners who live this work, Skylight, the Regional Coordination Operations Centre, the Environmental Justice Foundation and IUCN.

My grandmother used to say, a fishing ground is a shared granary, and the one who empties it in the night leaves the whole village hungry by morning. The ocean is that granary. This week, in #Mombasa, we begin to guard it.

If there is anything I have said that you should remember, let it be this. The ocean is not just a policy issue. It is a justice issue.

Join us. Wednesday 17 June, 13:00, Simba Room, PrideInn Paradise.

#OurOcean #endENVcrime #CrimesAffectingEnvironment #Kenya @UNODC_ENV @UNODCEastAfrica

[Monica Juma @Monica_Juma_]

It is with profound sorrow that I learned of the passing of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand.

A woman of extraordinary grace and dedication to public service, Princess Bajrakitiyabha devoted her life to advancing dignity and justice for those often left at the margins of society.

As a @UNODC Goodwill Ambassador, she was a tireless advocate for fairer and more humane justice systems. Her enduring legacy lives on through the Bangkok Rules, which have helped improve the treatment of women in prison and influenced justice reforms around the world.

Whether championing young people, supporting farming communities, or advancing the rights and welfare of women deprived of liberty, she was deeply connected to the people she served. She will be sorely missed by all these people and by the UNODC family.

I extend my heartfelt condolences to His Majesty the King, the Royal Family, the Government, and the people of Thailand during this time of profound mourning.

[Monica Juma @Monica_Juma_]

The convening of today’s first-ever high-level General Assembly debate dedicated to crimes that affect the environment focuses attention on the growing link between illegal action, crime and the environment.

It was a privilege to address the assembly on this increasingly complex agenda.

At stake is the orchestrated pattern of illegal activities and crime that transcend local, national and global spheres, profiting from illegal exploitation of the environment and natural wealth, and in turn perpetrating insecurity, destroying ecosystems and livelihoods, doing harm to communities, weakening the rule of law and, in the worst cases, replacing them with criminal networks.

@UNODC’s mandate is clear in this regard: to support countries in strengthening criminal justice, as it relates to their responses to crimes that affect the environment.

We build the capacity of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, judges, and frontline officers to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate these crimes more effectively.

By treating these crimes as serious offences, targeting criminal profits and disrupting illicit financial flows, we can put an end to the business model that sustains these activities.

It is my hope that the discussions out of today’s convening will enable us to achieve a stronger, more coordinated global response, as we work together to protect our planet and its precious natural treasures, for the benefit of humanity today and future generations to come.

[UNODC Environment Team @UNODC_ENV]

Crimes in the fisheries sector extend far beyond illegal fishing - fraud, corruption, money laundering, trafficking in persons.

Through the #FishNET project, @UNODC works with law enforcement and prosecutors across Africa and Asia to detect, investigate and prosecute the full range of organised crime in the fisheries sector.

#WorldOceansDay ℹ️https://t.co/sHJ7PBXkfx

[Dominique de Villepin @Villepin]

Marjane Satrapi, celle qui avait su dire non à toutes les oppressions, est partie, emportée par le chagrin, un an après Mattias Ripa, l’amour de sa vie. Elle, qui nous avait appris à rire de nos blessures, n’aura pas survécu à celle-ci.

Il nous reste son oeuvre pour continuer à croire en la lumière. Il nous reste son trait comme horizon de liberté. Il nous reste sa voix qui nous apprit tant de fois que peine et joie forment les deux mains jointes d’une vie pleine.

Il nous reste Persepolis et sa leçon d'humanité radicale, ses films et ses livres. Une part de sa singularité et de sa force restera éternelle. Je pense à sa famille, à ses amis, à ses proches, et à la famille humaine qui perd l'une de ses boussoles.

[Lejda Toci @LejdaToci]

Pleased to join on behalf of @UNODC a discussion under the 🇫🇷 G7 Presidency on strengthening beneficial ownership transparency in fisheries.

Thanks to @ejfoundation, @oceana, @PewEurope, @anticorruption and France for convening this important and timely conversation.

[Dr. Richard Munang @RichardMunang]

A fishing vessel crossing territorial waters before dawn. A mineral consignment moving through a border point. A container entering a port with documents that look in order.

At first glance, three separate stories. Very often, the same story. The same criminal networks. The same corridors. The same governance gaps. The same vulnerable communities paying the price.

That is why today's meeting mattered.

That is why today's meeting in Nairobi mattered.
Under the leadership of @UNODCEastAfrica, our team met H.E. Hassan Ali Joho, EGH @HassanAliJoho, Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, alongside the Principal Secretaries for Shipping and Maritime Affairs @ps_adenmillah, Blue Economy and Fisheries @PS_Betsy_Njagi, and Mining @KimtaiHarry.

The question on the table was simple. Where, exactly, does every consignment come from?

That question is at the heart of @UNODC @UNODC_ENV Border Management Branch. Because fisheries crime, mineral crime, wildlife trafficking, illegal timber, waste trafficking and maritime crime do not travel alone. They share routes, ports, coastlines and markets.
Border management today is no longer only about catching a load. It is about breaking the network behind it.

That is the work @UNODC is doing with Kenya. On fisheries, supporting the Fisheries Management and Development Bill now before Parliament. On minerals, adapting Minerals Diagnostic tool to layer on Kenya's completed aerial geophysical survey. National-scale mapping of illegal mining for all 14 strategic minerals, county by county. At ports, strengthening cargo and container checks so illicit goods cannot hide inside legitimate trade. At sea, linking blue economy growth, port security and criminal justice so they no longer move in separate lanes.

The 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa this June makes this sharper. The ocean conversation can no longer be only about conservation and investment. It must also be about the criminals exploiting the same waters.

Every consignment traced back to where it began tells us more than where the crime started. It tells us where governance weakened, where opportunity disappeared, and where lawful work must return before criminal networks recruit the next young person.

My grandmother used to say around the fireside "No harvest belongs in the granary until you know which field it came from."

She was teaching accountability before we called it traceability.

If there is anything I have said that you should remember, let it be this. Origin is where justice begins.

#endENVcrime #SDG16 #CriminalJustice

[Lejda Toci @LejdaToci]

100 years of David Attenborough.

Few voices have done more to bring the planet into our living rooms and our conscience. His work made nature feel personal, fragile and worth protecting.

Entire generations care more about this planet because of him.

Still inspiring at 100. 🌍

[UNODC Environment Team @UNODC_ENV]

Across 2025, 35 prosecutors in South Africa received specialised training on crimes in the fisheries sector, covering fisheries offences, corruption, financial crime and trafficking.

The knowledge is being applied in court.

ℹ️https://t.co/uaxSxJfg9z

#endENVcrime #FishNET

[Dr. Richard Munang @RichardMunang]

Somewhere in the world tonight, a forest is being cut that no court will ever hear about. A boat is pulling up fish that no ledger will ever record. A truck is carrying minerals whose story ends in a supply chain nobody will trace. By morning, the trees will be gone, the nets will be empty, and the paperwork will be clean. This is what a crime that affects the environment looks like. Silent. Profitable. And, for far too long, unanswered.

Our Annual Report 2025 is now out. It tells the story of how that silence is beginning to break

In 2025, @UNODC Global Programme on Crimes that Affect the Environment @UNODC_ENV , worked with 36 countries across five crime domains. More than 3,000 criminal justice officials were trained. Over 80 investigations were supported. Regional enforcement operations spanning 59 countries produced more than 200 wildlife and timber seizures.

Twelve transnational investigations moved forward because prosecutors, police and customs officers who had never met before sat in the same room at the Wildlife Inter-Regional Enforcement Forum and decided that a seizure in one country was worth a phone call to another.

Each number carries a place, and each place carries a person. In Uganda, a national wildlife forensics laboratory that handled 58 cases last year is now extending into timber DNA, which means a log arriving at a port will soon be able to testify about where it was born. In Botswana, the first diagnostic assessment of a country's critical minerals value chain was completed, with Zambia following, which means the path from a shaft in the ground to a battery in a car is beginning to have light on it. In Latin America, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru gained a standing platform for cross-border case coordination for the first time in the region's history. In Southeast Asia, waste crime responses contributed to 13 policy reforms and shifted how illegal shipments are framed, from regulatory violation to serious criminal activity. In Nigeria, a new law lifted penalties high enough to unlock mutual legal assistance under the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

This is criminal justice work. The environment is the crime scene, not the policy objective alone. It is a justice issue. And criminal networks do not separate wildlife, forests, fisheries, minerals and waste. The response has to match that reality, across every link of the criminal justice chain.

My grandmother used to say, "When one household alone guards the path, the thief learns the hours. When every household stands on the path together, the thief learns to go elsewhere." That is the coalition this work requires, and the coalition that made 2025 possible.

To every Member State, every donor, every partner, and every colleague across the programme, thank you. The work ahead is larger than any of us, but so is what is rising to meet it.

This #EarthDay, learn more about our work to #endENVcrime:

https://t.co/tAcfPnqDEX

[UNODC Environment Team @UNODC_ENV]

From ranger to investigator.
From prosecutor to judge.

Effective justice depends on recognizing women’s roles across wildlife crime enforcement.

Through #SWIFT and #FishNET, @UNODC and partners advance data & criminal justice efforts to #EndWildlifeCrime and #crimesinfisheries.

ℹ️https://t.co/GzeoDfo1mK

#IWD2026

[Lejda Toci @LejdaToci]

At UNCAC #CoSP11 🇶🇦 side event on Technology for Integrity & Environmental Protection, we discussed on how technology supports detection, analysis & evidence to address crimes that affect the environment & corruption, incl. UNODC’s collaboration with @skylight_org. #endENVcrime

[UNODC Environment Team @UNODC_ENV]

At UNCAC #CoSP11 in Doha tomorrow: Focus on countering corruption for a more sustainable future 🌍

From crimes in the fisheries sector to wildlife, forestry, waste & minerals crime, corruption enables serious environmental offences. Tomorrow's discussions focus on technology, enforcement, accountability, and practical tools that actually work to #endENVcrime.

Follow the sessions online 👉 https://t.co/WrQpFR6H1W

[UNODC Eastern Africa @UNODCEastAfrica]

Through @UNODC_MCP and @UNODC_ENV, and the Norway🇳🇴-funded project FishNET II, Kenya 🇰🇪, Somalia 🇸🇴 and Tanzania 🇹🇿, come together to advance jointly coordinated and targeted responses to crimes in the fisheries sector.

#SDG14 #SDG16 #SDG17 #endENVcrime

[United Nations @UN]

Today, the UN family mourns the loss of Dr. Jane Goodall.

The scientist, conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace worked tirelessly for our planet and all its inhabitants, leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and nature.

[Bajram Begaj @BajramBegajAL]

It was a pleasure to meet with President @EmmanuelMacron, a true friend of Albania.

This time, our meeting took place in the framework of the #BBNJ Agreement.

Albania has contributed to making this important multilateral agreement enter into force.

[Lejda Toci @LejdaToci]

@Besfort_AL Urime e suksese Besfort!

[UN Office on Drugs & Crime @UNODC]

Crimes in fisheries harm coastal economies, fuel corruption and enable serious organized crime.

UNODC’s FishNET project tackles illegal activities across the fisheries value chain to protect ocean health, security and global food supplies https://t.co/aa5vgdAg7J

#endENVcrime