Browsing by Author "Hübschle, Annette"

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    A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: Subsistence cannabis cultivation in the changing legislative context in South Africa
    (2021) Fortune, Kelly; Howell, Simon; Hübschle, Annette
    Cannabis cultivation is documented as a long-standing practice in Africa and Southern Africa specifically (Paterson 2009, Crampton 2015, Duvall 2019, Khan 2015, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2019). The growing of cannabis is concentrated in three African regions; Pondoland in South Africa, the Mokhotlong district in Lesotho and the Hhohho district in Swaziland, with the majority of farmers growing the crop for subsistence (Crampton 2015:57). Cannabis thus holds significant value in supplementing incomes and sustaining livelihoods, especially of cultivators. Considering their geographic and economic positions, the contribution of cannabis to the livelihoods of those who live in the poorest parts of the country is great, yet has been largely ignored (Kepe 2003:605) despite the changing legislative context of cannabis law in South Africa. Moreover, as changes to the legislative framework emerge and the cannabis legalisation debate deepens, one is challenged in locating the voices of the rural farmers who have cultivated cannabis for generations. As an important source of information, they appear to be left out. What are their views? Are they for or against legalisation and why? What are the perceived impacts of legalisation on their continued production of cannabis? In an attempt to garner and understand their views, needs and concerns, this thesis aims to showcase these, and further open up a small window of opportunity to relay the voices of the seemingly voiceless. It emphasises that, without their voices, a nuanced legalisation debate and support for a holistic, progressive, informed, sustainable legislative framework will be tainted.
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    Assumptions and Reality: The securitisation of human trafficking in Southern Africa
    (2010) Hübschle, Annette; Van der Spuy, Elrena
    Our understanding of the concept of security has changed since the end of the Cold War. A cursive look at our daily news headlines confirms that a plethora of phenomena are phrased in security terms. The 'drug on wars' and the 'global war on terrorism' are the most obvious examples. Trafficking in persons has also been elevated to a security issue. The trend of 'securitising' non-traditional security threats has not stirred much controversy as yet. This dissertation will question why and how the issue of human trafficking has been securitised. In using the Copenhagen School's securitisation theory as an analytical framework, the dissertation will examine the international and regional (southern Africa) dimensions of the securitisation of human trafficking. The emergence of human trafficking as a social problem in public discourse will be discussed. Of principal concern are the underlying interests that propel the moral panic. Another chapter will look at global strategies aimed at combating and preventing trafficking. Before exploring the parallels between the 'Global War on Terrorism' and the dominant anti-trafficking paradigm, existing research evidence on the prevalence, scale and size of human trafficking will be scrutinised.
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    Focus on victims and the community: applying restorative justice principles to wildlife crime offences in South Africa
    (2021) Hübschle, Annette; Dore, Ashleigh; Davies-Mostert, Harriet
    This note introduces a pilot project that seeks to apply restorative justice principles to wildlife crime offences in South Africa. A local conservation NGO, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, under the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) South Africa Khetha Programme and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is piloting this innovative project in a harm landscape (wildlife crime offences) that is renowned for retributive and punitive approaches to justice. The project was launched in August 2019 and although the project team was still in the inception phase at the time of writing, team members have made great headway in developing a conceptual framework and implementation plan. This note explains why we think the time is ripe for environmental restorative justice in South Africa and how we plan to implement the pilot project; we also share lessons learnt for future initiatives and projects.
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    The need for harmonisation of wildlife crime laws in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) A case study of the illicit abalone trade
    (2019) Cohen, Chelsea; Hübschle, Annette
    The illicit wildlife trade (IWT) is the fourth most lucrative form of organised crime globally (Donnenfeld & Aucoin, 2017:1). The Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reports that IWT is one of the most profitable and illicit economies with a profit margin of US$ 23 billion annually (May, 2017:np). It has developed into one of the most expensive security challenges. Affecting a broad range of plants and animals, the illegal trade in wildlife deprives nations of their biodiversity, income opportunities, natural heritage and capital (Nowak, 2016:1). Although governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and locals have sought to protect wildlife in the past, entire species of animals and plants are still in danger. To complicate matters, wildlife crime is no longer nationally bound and has moved to a highly sophisticated and a transnational problem (Steyn, 2017:np). Wildlife criminal syndicates exploit weaknesses in neighbouring countries criminal justice systems and porous borders amongst other elements making it easier for the crime to be transboundary in nature (Pienaar, 2014:2; Steyn, 2017:np), through loopholes derived from inconsistent neighbouring countries’ wildlife laws. This is due to each country listing country-relevant species and developing legislation suitable to their needs. However, the dynamics of wildlife crime being transnational and perpetrated by organised criminal networks cannot only be dealt with at a national level, as this may aid in the exploitation of wildlife crime laws and the above-mentioned loopholes (Warchol & Harrington, 2016:25). IWT has become a serious and global problem and has developed into a well organised criminal activity, involving multiple TCN’s. Its clandestine nature, coupled with it being deemed as a low risk crime has allowed it to extend into other forms of TOC’s in the SADC region. South Africa’s abalone crisis has moved from a national wildlife crime to that of a regional one. This is as a result of the TCN’s being involved in the poaching and smuggling of the marine mollusc at a rapid rate. Furthermore, East Asian criminal groups in collaboration with local Cape Flats gangs have successively used the illicit abalone trade to facilitate the drug trade in Cape Town. Although great efforts have gone into the protection of wild fauna and flora there the low risk of detection and weak deterrence due to low penalties in neighbouring SADC countries aid in the illicit trade. International regulatory frameworks such as CITES have undoubtedly been a key factor both in terms of raising awareness and developing collective responses and strategies to control the wildlife trade. However, like that of CITES, most international and regional treaties are only regulatory and require domestic laws to regulate the regional trade in endangered species. Ultimately, what is required is a domestic consensus in neighbouring countries laws to stop IWT.