UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council has targeted illegal wildlife traffickers for sanctions in a pair of resolutions against African armed groups, a step conservationists called unprecedented and a major shift on a problem that has morphed from an environmental issue into a security threat.
A resolution that renewed an arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes against armed groups in Congo included individuals who support those groups “through illicit trade of natural resources, including gold or wildlife as well as wildlife products.” The Security Council approved the resolution Thursday, two days after including similar language in a sanctions regime imposed on armed groups in the Central African Republic.
The conservation group WWF said the resolutions “represent the first times that the U.N. Security Council has specifically named illicit trade of wildlife and wildlife products in sanctions regimes.” The move follows years of warnings from advocates and U.N. officials…
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Carte Blanche by Amelia Curzon 