World’s Green Parties formally endorse global effort to recognise “ecocide”

Once every five years, representatives from Green Parties, Indigenous communities, civil society, academia, charities and NGOs from all over the world come together at the Global Greens Congress to take stock of the current state of the world and establish key policy priorities for the coming years.  The most recent congress took place at the beginning of this month (June 2023) in South Korea and was attended by over 700 delegates from 80 countries.

Each time the congress meets, it produces a collection of endorsements for key advocacy strategies that aim to tackle climate breakdown, biodiversity conservation, social justice, peace, and the preservation of democracy. 

Among this year’s selected strategies for endorsement (all of which can be read in the Korea Declaration) was the growing global initiative to establish an international crime of ecocide. 

The congress provided explicit backing for the global movement for ecocide law in a comprehensive endorsement statement [Excerpt]:

“The Global Greens are proud to announce our formal endorsement of the Stop Ecocide International demands for legal recognition of and the global legal framework to address Ecocide. We now urge all officials of Green parties globally to support and act to make ecocide an international law. 

Today existing environmental protections are often not fit for purpose, not adhered to or are poorly monitored. Many governments, as well as NGOs, lawyers, academics, scientists, grassroots movements and a growing number of networks within the corporate and finance sectors are speaking out and joining together in support of stronger legal frameworks and accountability. 

The legal recognition of ecocide as a crime at the international level is vital to shift attitudes, business, economic and policy decisions, as well as cultural behaviour with respect to protection of the Earth's most vital ecosystems and endangered and keystone species.”