The instrument was signed in Vienna, within the framework of UNTOC COP13, during a high-level event dedicated to regional cooperation promoted by the eight Amazonian countries through the Special Commission on Public Security and Cross-Border and Transnational Illicit Activities in the Amazon Region (CESPIT).
Vienna, October 22, 2026. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) signed a Letter of Intent to strengthen cooperation on public security and the prevention and combating of cross-border and transnational illicit activities affecting the Amazon.
The signing took place during the high-level event “CESPIT: From Convention to Regional Action Against Organized Crime Affecting the Environment in the Amazon,” held on Thursday at the Vienna International Centre, within the framework of the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC COP13). The event was organized by ACTO and co-organized by the Government of Ecuador, in its capacity as Pro Tempore Presidency of CESPIT.
The Letter was signed by ACTO Secretary-General Martín von Hildebrand and Candice Welsch, Director of the Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs at UNODC, on behalf of the Executive Director of the Office.
The instrument establishes a basis for technical cooperation between the two organizations, with the aim of supporting the eight Amazonian countries—Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela—in implementing CESPIT’s Work Plan.
Priority areas for cooperation include knowledge generation and threat analysis; the prevention and combating of money laundering linked to the illicit exploitation of minerals and other environmental crimes; gold traceability; measures to prevent and control the illicit trade in mercury; judicial and police cooperation; and the strengthening of institutional capacities.
The Letter also provides for the protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local and traditional communities affected by illicit activities, as well as participation in international forums and resource mobilization.
As next steps, the two organizations plan to move forward with the development of a Memorandum of Understanding and subsequently define a joint work plan with specific projects and activities.
Amazonian Countries Present Their Regional Cooperation Agenda
The high-level event provided an opportunity to present the cooperation agenda advanced by the Amazonian countries through CESPIT to address organized crime affecting the environment and explore opportunities for collaboration with UNODC and other international partners.
The meeting placed at the center of the discussion the challenges posed by illegal mining, timber and wildlife trafficking, and other illicit activities that cross Amazonian borders and require coordinated responses.
Discussions focused on CESPIT’s four areas of work: public security, combating environmental crimes, operational coordination, and international cooperation, with an emphasis on information exchange, judicial cooperation, coordination in border areas, and strengthening institutional capacities.
CESPIT brings together the eight Amazonian countries and serves as a regional mechanism for coordinating joint action against illicit activities that affect Amazonian populations, territories, and ecosystems.
Its work is aligned with the commitments made by the countries in the 2023 Belém Declaration and reaffirmed in the 2025 Bogotá Declaration, which highlight the need to strengthen police, judicial, and intelligence cooperation to address environmental crimes and other illicit activities in the region.
The signing of the Letter of Intent with UNODC represents a step forward in strengthening this regional agenda by opening up new opportunities for international technical cooperation to support the priorities defined by the Amazonian countries.
