Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

where did it come from? 131widespread international acceptance. The provision for criminalpenalties has also been central to involving law enforcement organizationsin such incidents. Where there are difficulties with pursuing criminalprosecutions—for example, where it is difficult to prove intent toviolate laws or to acquire evidence of guilt to the criminal standard of“beyond reasonable doubt”—strict liability procedures may provemore effective. These sanction a company or an individual for failureto exercise due diligence and operate irrespective of fault or intention.There may also be scope for the use of innovative extraterritorial andreciprocal enforcement legislation to allow for the effective sanctioningof deliberate evasion of CTRs outside the boundaries of a single nationstate.For example, in March 1998, the Norwegian governmentimposed the requirement that all Norwegian-registered companies orvessels operating in waters “outside the jurisdiction of any state” mustobtain a one-year registration. Removal from the register—for contraveningconservation or management measures laid down by regionalor subregional agreements—also invalidates access to all quotas indomestic or cooperative fisheries.The U.S. Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 contain a different sort oflong-arm measure that makes it unlawful to “import, export, sell, acquire,or purchase fish, wildlife, or plants taken, possessed, or sold inviolation of state or foreign law.” It thus provides for extraterritorialaction, but instead of making it an offense to violate U.S. law elsewhere,the act allows for laws violated elsewhere to be prosecuted inthe United States. Such reciprocal measures may form the basis offuture enforcement cooperation on many CTR issues.Money laundering legislation may also provide for effective sanctionssince finance often represents the soft underbelly of trafficking organizations.The main obstacle may be the collateral damage imposedon licit finance. Nevertheless, stricter controls on money transfersas part of the war on terrorism may provide for significant progress inthis area.Element 5: Capacity BuildingWithout consistent application and enforcement of regulations setdown by commodity tracking agreements across all countries involvedin the supply chain, it is unlikely the system will be effective.However, differing levels of administrative capacity exist in developedcountries, transition countries, and developing countries. There arealso serious equity issues in any CTR, particularly where povertystrickendeveloping countries bear the burden of access restrictions forthe common good.