Stop Ecocide International, our Foundation and Stop Ecocide Canada, had a very strong presence at COP15 in Montréal during December 2022. We had a pavilion in the conference centre and a full programme of events.

Sunday 11th December
“Ecocide: why criminal law is important for a nature positive future”

Panel Event
Co-hosts: Stop Ecocide Foundation, Stop Ecocide International, Earth Law Centre,

Pledges, agreements and targets have so far failed to prevent mass damage and destruction of nature and the rapid progress of extinction. Perhaps we are missing a key enabling condition in order to fundamentally change attitudes and behaviour?

Speakers: Alexandre Boulerice MP, Callie Veelenturf, Maite Mompo, Helena Gualinga, Moderator: Pella Thiel.

Youth-led Panel Event
Co-hosts: Youth for Ecocide Law, Stop Ecocide Canada

Youth have been the driving force behind climate action for the past few years. This discussion with young land defenders and climate activists not only aims to discover why, but what is next? What do youth activists envision for the next phase of action? What does young female identifying leadership look like in this movement, and why is it important right now? How does Ecocide Law fit into this vision and what can each of us do to protect the Earth and ensure a livable future?

Speakers: Amalie Wilkinson, Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash, Dana May Dolezsar, Aishwarya Puttur. Moderator: Malaika Collette.

Panel Event
Host: Stop Ecocidio

At this time of environmental and human crisis, recognizing that Nature - Mother Earth - is a living being made up of numerous ecosystems and with rights is essential to stop the devastation and exploitation to which she is being subjected.

As you will see in the deliberations of this panel, giving rights to nature and establishing an international ecocide law for its protection are two sides of the same coin and progress on both issues are examined and discussed.

Speakers: Verónica Sacta, Rainbow Eyes, Maite Mompó, Alexandre Boulerice MP and Diego Pacheco. Moderator: Pella Thiel.

Panel Event (in Spanish & English)
Host: Stop Ecocidio

The Earth calls and invites us to open our ears and our hearts to listen to the voices that emerge from the beings that belong to it, from the depths of the jungles and forests, the mountains, rivers and seas. These voices come to us through the ancestral guardians of these territories, busting with biodiversity, who, from their experiences and struggles, will share with us what they are living through and what the sacred custody of the territory they inhabit really means.

In this panel we join these voices to discuss a legal tool that we consider necessary for the protection and care of Nature, ancestral territories and biodiversity: the inclusion of the crime of ecocide in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, so that those who cause the most serious damage to ecosystems are placed at the same ethical and legal level as those who commit the worst crimes worldwide.

Speakers: Douglas Krenak, Rusell Peba, Maite Mompó, Harol Rincón Ipuchima & Alexis Bunten. Moderator: Verónica Sacta.

Discussion Circle (in Spanish & English)
Host: Stop Ecocidio

Since ancient times, human beings have sat in a circle to create the community bond and weave words. On this occasion, we will come together to share the experiences and visions of native peoples around ecocide -that is, the most serious damage to nature - and discuss how having an international ecocide law can serve as a barrier to prevent and criminalise the destruction of natural habitats and the beings that inhabit them.

Thus, from the ancestral wisdom of their interventions, we will be able to listen to their cosmovisions and their understanding of the profound relationship of the human being with every element and being that is part of Mother Earth.

We will be in the company go representatives of native peoples of the Americas and the Stop Ecocide team, and the event will be recorded for later broadcast.

Panel Event
Co-hosts: Republic of Vanuatu, Stop Ecocide Foundation, Stop Ecocide International, Flourishing Diversity, Synchronicity Earth, Amazon Sacred Headwaters

Recognizing “ecocide” - severe and either widespread or long-term harm to nature - as a crime at the international level could provide a protective and preventive legal guardrail that is currently missing. It would set an outer boundary to deter and sanction the worst threats and harms to the environment, while reframing and supporting the guardianship of nature.

Speakers:  Hon Ralph Regenvanu (Republic of Vanuatu), Jojo Mehta, Domingo Peas, Atossa Soltani, Inge Relph, Amalie Wilkinson, Gert Bruch. Moderator: Jessica Sweidan.

Panel Event
Co-hosts: Stop Ecocide Foundation, Stop Ecocide International

By recognising ecocide at the International Criminal Court, key decision makers can be held to account. Acting as a powerful deterrent against mass destruction of the environment, such a law could create lasting protection for vital ecosystems and life on earth as well as justice for those most threatened. At the same time it would raise business standards, levelling the playing field and stabilising operational and reputational risk, rebalancing demand and accelerating corporate practice toward strategic positive change.

Speakers: Jojo Mehta, Charmian Love, Sophie Dembinski, Gonzalo Muñoz, Julia Jackson & Farooq Ullah. Moderator: Hari Balasubramanian.

Film and Discussion Event
Co-hosts: Planète Amazone, Alliance of Mother Nature's Guardians, Esmeralda de Belgique

The future of the Amazon and its Indigenous peoples is more threaten than ever. Even though the election of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has brought hope, the challenges remain enormous in a deeply polarized country. But it’s not all up to Brazil. The fate of the Amazon rainforest is a concern for the entire world and will require support from global citizens if we want to stop the catastrophic loss of biodiversity. The new administration has pledge to urgently demarcate and protect all indigenous territories. This will only be achieved if Western countries cooperate and if Ecocide is recognize as an international crime.

The event consists of two panels (1 hour each): 

  1. How recognizing Ecocide as a law can help to secure the protection of the Amazon

  2. Mobilizing at a global scale to help finalizing the demarcation of Indigenous territories

Speakers: HRH Princess Esmeralda of Belgium, Gert-Peter Bruch, Jojo Mehta, Puyr Tembe, Severn Suzuki & Sophie Dembinski. Moderators: Lino Paoletti & Dana May Dolezsar

Thursday 15th December
“Amazonia, the Heart of Mother Earth - special presentation”

Film and Discussion Event
Co-hosts: Planète Amazone, Alliance of Mother Nature's Guardians, Esmeralda de Belgique

An exclusive 30 minutes preview presentation of the forthcoming documentary film ‘Amazonia, the Heart of Mother Earth’, directed and produced by Gert-Peter Bruch and Esmeralda de Belgique, was shown at this event.

The following debate discussed the urgent need of mobilizing at a global level to support demarcation of all indigenous peoples territories, a plan that elect president Lula as promised to fullfill while campaigning. This event was not recorded but we are delighted to announce that a tour will take place in the new year.

Speakers: HRH Princess Esmeralda de Belgique, Gert-Peter Bruch, Jojo Mehta, Archana Soreng & Paulo Adario. Moderators: Gisele Kayembe Fontaine.