Peru Takes Major Step Toward Criminalising Ecocide

Summary:

• On Thursday, September 5, the Congress of the Republic of Peru convened a Technical Committee to review a proposal aimed at criminalising ecocide within the country’s national penal code.

• The new legal text consolidates three bills recently submitted to Congress, marking a significant step toward preventing the most severe environmental harms through criminal law.

• The new text incorporates the main elements of the consensus legal definition of ecocide, which was formulated by the Independent Expert Panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation in 2021.

• Experts from public bodies and civil society contributed to the session, including Rodrigo Lledó, Director for Latin America at Stop Ecocide International, who presented on the incorporation of the international definition of ecocide into Peru’s domestic law.

• The session was facilitated by Congressman Isaac Mita Alanoca, President of the Justice and Human Rights Committee.

A link to the unified text (currently subject to review) can be found here.

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