Make a Legal Case for Punishing Environmental Damage on a Grand Scale
The movement to make ecocide the fifth international crime under the International Criminal Court (ICC) is gaining momentum. Recently, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa have proposed an amendment to the Rome Statute of the ICC to include ecocide alongside genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression [1][4][5]. This proposal has garnered support from over 130 countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which faces significant environmental pressures [1].
In parallel, several countries such as Scotland, Argentina, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, and Peru have introduced domestic legislation criminalizing ecocide, adding to the global momentum [2].
The push to include ecocide in the ICC’s jurisdiction is seen as a crucial step towards holding individuals personally accountable for severe environmental destruction and strengthening international environmental justice [1][2]. However, the formal adoption of this amendment requires consensus among ICC member states. Domestic criminalization efforts serve as a reinforcement of accountability at the national level [2].
The formal definition of ecocide, as set by an independent expert panel of attorneys, states that it refers to "unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts" [6]. This definition underscores the environment's intrinsic value and the connections people have to the natural world.
Richard Pearshouse, head of crisis and the environment at Amnesty International, has praised this definition as a "promising development" and "brilliant" [7]. However, he expresses concern about the potential time it may take to formalize ecocide as a crime and the delay in prosecuting offenders [7]. He encourages the use of every other tool available until ecocide is formally recognized as a crime.
Jojo Mehta, co-founder of Stop Ecocide International, compares environmental destruction to genocide and war crimes, emphasizing its impact on humanity [8]. She suggests that destructive activities like oil and gas drilling, which harm the chances of human survival, should have enforceable deterrents [9].
As time runs out for the planet, the formalization of an ecocide law may not arrive in time to save it unless world leaders act quickly [10]. The ICC, founded in 1998 and responsible for prosecuting a former president and terrorists, currently investigates four crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression [3]. The addition of ecocide could significantly strengthen the court's ability to address the ecological crises facing the world.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/29/vanuatu-submits-proposal-to-make-ecocide-an-international-crime [2] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/04/amnesty-international-welcomes-ecocide-proposal-at-the-international-criminal-court/ [3] https://www.icc-cpi.int/ [4] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/29/vanuatu-submits-proposal-to-make-ecocide-an-international-crime [5] https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2023/09/un-general-assembly-adopts-resolution-on-environmental-legal-clarity/ [6] https://www.stopecocide.earth/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Ecocide-Definition-v03.pdf [7] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/04/amnesty-international-welcomes-ecocide-proposal-at-the-international-criminal-court/ [8] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/29/vanuatu-submits-proposal-to-make-ecocide-an-international-crime [9] https://www.stopecocide.earth/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Ecocide-Definition-v03.pdf [10] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/29/vanuatu-submits-proposal-to-make-ecocide-an-international-crime
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