Blue Justice Conference 2020

10-11 December 2020

Fostering Cooperation towards a Fair Blue Economy Free from Fisheries Crime

An international digital conference held from 10-11 December 2020

The opening High Level Event event was livestreamed from studios in Oslo, Vienna and CPH and around the world. In following days partner organizations hosted several expert webinars highlighting different current topics related to addressing fisheries crime, targeting government representatives, academia, and civil society.

The aim of the conference is to:

1

continue the momentum

of those states that support the “International Declaration against Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry” (Copenhagen Declaration)
2

encourage new states

into the group of countries supporting the Copenhagen Declaration
2

encourage operationalization of the Declaration

through capacity building initiatives under the Blue Justice Initiative

Full Conference Recording

Blue Justice Community

In Partnership

The Blue Justice Conference has been created in cooperation with:

Statements

Statements by high level speakers at the conference

Erna Solberg

Prime Minister, Norway

Denis Ronaldo Moncada Colindres

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicaragua

Casten N. Nemra

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Marshall Islands

Martha Delgado Peralta

Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, Mexico

Paula Lehtomäki

Secretary General, Nordic Council of Ministers

Jacob Vestergaard

Minister of Fisheries Faroe Islands

Dag-Inge Ulstein

Minister of International Development, Norway

Barbara Creecy

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs South Africa

Douglas Devananda

Minister of Fisheries, Sri Lanka

Jens Immanuelsen

Minister of Fisheries, Greenland

Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen

Minister of Fisheries and Seafood Norway

Semi Koroilavesau

Minister of Fisheries, Fiji

Emma Metieh Glassco

Director General, National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority Liberia

Iván Ontaneda Berrú

Minister of Production, Foreign Trade and Fisheries, Republic of Ecuador

Mairi Gougeon

Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, Scotland

Carlos Maria Uriarte

Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Uruguay

Alicia Gallardo

National Director of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service, Chile

Flor de María Torrijos Oro

General Administrator, Panama Aquatic Resources Authority, Panama

Ezekiel Joseph

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Natural Resources and Co-operatives, St Lucia and Chairman of the Ministerial Council of the CRFM

Ghada Waly

Executive Director, UNODC

Dr. Rajeev Ranjan

Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, India

Camilla Brückner

Director, Nordic Representation Office, UNDP

Panel discussion in Oslo

Webinars

Following the High Level conference event, expert webinars highlighted different current topics related to addressing fisheries crime, targeting government representatives, academia and civil society

Webinar 1 - What are key governance and associated gender challenges to tackling organized crime in the fisheries sector?

UNDP’s Blue Resilience project shares key research findings on how governance and gender issues can act as bottlenecks to tackling fisheries crime. A particular focus is on institutional cooperation, different cooperation models that the research has identified and their success factors.

Webinar 2- Challenges and opportunities associated with addressing economic crime in the fisheries sector with reference to the NA-FIG model

NA-FIG as a tool for a more holistic approach to address fisheries crime, with reference to the Canadian example, and Covid-19 impact on the fisheries sector in the North Atlantic.

Webinar 3 - Tackling Fisheries Crime: UNODC Field Stories

The webinar will focus on the UNODC approach to fisheries crime and examples of technical assistance to support Member States to tackle fisheries crime.

Copenhagen Declaration

Why is the declaration so important?

The Copenhagen Declaration was adopted by 8 ministers on behalf of their countries at UN City, Copenhagen in 2018. It has since garnered support by 28 countries globally and continues to grow.

The Declaration maps out a cooperative goal-oriented political plan to address transnational organized crime in the fisheries sector. It is also the political basis and framework for the Norwegian government’s Blue Justice Initiative. With The Blue Justice Initiative, the Norwegian Government, in cooperation with other large ocean nations and UN organizations, wishes to find lasting solutions to combatting crimes related to our fisheries resources.

The Blue Justice Conference will discuss with colleagues from around the world the way forward towards fostering international cooperation and a sustainable and fair blue economy free from fisheries crime.