In December 2025, 192 States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) adopted Resolution 11/9 on Preventing and Combating Corruption as it relates to Crimes that Affect the Environment. Adopted by consensus, the resolution is the most comprehensive set of global anti-corruption commitments to date addressing corruption linked to crimes that affect the environment.
Crimes that affect the environment—including wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, illegal mining, and waste trafficking—are increasingly recognised as forms of organised crime that operate across borders and generate significant illicit profits. These crimes cause serious and lasting harm to wildlife, ecosystems, economies, and communities, while undermining the rule of law and sustainable development.
Corruption enables these crimes at all stages of the supply chain, from facilitating illegal extraction and movement of natural resources and waste, to undermining investigations and enforcement. Resolution 11/9 recognises the connection between corruption and crimes that affect the environment and sets out commitments to strengthen prevention, enforcement, and accountability.
The next step is translating these commitments into meaningful action at the national, regional, and global levels.
To support this process, the Global Civil Society Coalition for the UNCAC’s Environmental Crime and Corruption Working Group (ECC WG) and its Chair, the Wildlife Justice Commission, have developed a new civil society guide: Promoting implementation of Resolution 11/9: Preventing and combating corruption as it relates to crimes that affect the environment.
The guide is a practical advocacy tool for civil society organisations working on environmental crime, corruption, and related issues. It is also relevant to government officials, parliamentarians, and technical assistance providers. It breaks down the commitments contained in Resolution 11/9 and explores what implementation can look like in practice, including how civil society can contribute to national implementation and UNCAC follow-up processes.
The commitments covered by the resolution and detailed in the guide include:
- strengthening integrity and transparency in licensing and permitting, public procurement, and beneficial ownership;
- strengthening investigations, enforcement, and international cooperation, including by using special investigative techniques, joint investigations, and technology;
- following the money through financial investigations, anti-money laundering measures, and asset recovery;
- improving accountability for individuals and companies;
- strengthening oversight of businesses, financial institutions, and professional service providers;
- establishing effective whistleblower reporting and protection mechanisms; and
- enabling meaningful civil society participation, including recognising the important role of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
Download the civil society guide: Promoting implementation of Resolution 11/9: Preventing and combating corruption as it relates to crimes that affect the environment.
A role for civil society
Civil society brings valuable evidence, expertise, and perspectives from the ground to discussions on how commitments such as those contained in Resolution 11/9 are implemented. The guide aims to support this contribution by making the resolution’s commitments more accessible to organisations working on environmental crime and corruption, including those less familiar with the UNCAC or Resolution 11/9.
Civil society organisations and other non-state actors can use the guide to raise awareness, advance national priorities, monitor implementation and outcomes, contribute evidence and expertise to government reporting, bring national experience into regional and global discussions, and engage with policymakers and government authorities. It also provides a framework for identifying gaps and sharing good practices across different countries and contexts.
The guide also highlights the second phase of the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism as an important opportunity for civil society to contribute evidence on the implementation of relevant UNCAC commitments and bring country-level experiences, challenges, and good practices into international discussions.
The guide is intended to be a living resource, evolving as civil society organisations build experience and identify new approaches to addressing corruption and crimes that affect the environment.
National perspective of implementation
To mark the launch of the civil society guide, on 1 September, on the sidelines of the 17th reconvened session of the UNCAC Implementation Review Group (IRG) meeting in Vienna, the ECC WG and the Wildlife Justice Commission convened a hybrid event on Assessing the implementation of Resolution 11/9: Preventing and combating corruption as it relates to crimes that affect the environment.
The event brought together government representatives from Brazil, France, Kenya, Ghana, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Global Civil Society Coalition for the UNCAC, and Wildlife Justice to discuss how the commitments in Resolution 11/9 can be translated into national policy, law, and practice. Discussions drew on national experiences and good practices from countries already advancing implementation, as well as on how civil society can use the guide to help drive this progress forward.
Read more about the event here.
Watch the event recording here:
Looking ahead to 2027
There are important upcoming opportunities to advance implementation of Resolution 11/9 through the UNCAC follow-up process.
UNODC plans to send a questionnaire to States Parties in March or April 2027 ahead of a dedicated panel at the UNCAC Working Group on the Prevention of Corruption in May. Information submitted by States, together with the Working Group’s discussions, will contribute to UNODC’s report to the next UNCAC Conference of the States Parties later in 2027.
This process provides an opportunity for governments to assess progress, identify implementation gaps and technical assistance needs, and document emerging good practices. Civil society can contribute by providing evidence and expertise, monitoring implementation, and bringing country-level experiences into national, regional, and global discussions.
The Environmental Crime and Corruption Working Group will continue to support civil society engagement, including by promoting the exchange of experiences, good practices, challenges, and lessons learned; identifying implementation gaps and solutions; and bringing civil society perspectives into relevant UNCAC processes.
We encourage States, civil society organisations, and other actors to share how they are implementing Resolution 11/9 and using the guide, as well as relevant developments, challenges, and good practices in their countries and on other environmental crime and corruption issues. Please share these experiences with the Environmental Crime and Corruption Working Group at ecc@uncaccoalition.org.
