Celebrating One Year of Youth for Ecocide Law Africa
This series of guest blog posts is intended as a dedicated space for the many movements/campaigns around the globe confronting ecosystem destruction to share their stories, narratives and perspectives.
This guest blog was co-written by the Youth for Ecocide Law Africa team leads: James Gondi, Debbie Buyaki, Reagan Elijah, Guillaume Kalonji, and Angelina Gabaitse.
Africa is exceptional because its youth represents the overwhelming majority of the population, meaning that the ‘next generation’ holds real power to change things. Empowered with this knowledge, and inspired by the potential of ecocide law to address ecological breakdown, we set up Youth for Ecocide Law Africa (Y4EL) one year ago.
Our team aims to spread awareness of the term ecocide and the benefits of ecocide law at all levels of society, whether it be ordinary citizens, business leaders or policymakers. At this exciting milestone of our one year anniversary, we take the opportunity to look back on what we have achieved and reflect on where we are headed.
Looking back on the past year
As we look back at this inaugural year, we're proud to have grown our network to over a hundred members across all five regions of Africa. We have strategised and thought deeply about our direction, engaging in focus groups with indigenous peoples to enhance our understanding of their struggle and developing comprehensive policy demands, as well as a strategy and advocacy plan to achieve those demands. Moreover, we translated our Youth for Ecocide Law toolkit into French to improve its accessibility for French-speaking communities and recruit more members.
We have also been actively educating people about ecocide law across the continent. We held over twenty webinars and X-Spaces and we published articles and put out social media campaigns in both English and French to educate a wider audience. Moreover, we had the opportunity to attend and participate in fascinating side events at a variety of high-level international conferences, from regional events like the African Union and the Africa Climate Summit, to global meetings like the United Nations Environmental Assembly and COP28.
We have been able to engage at the diplomatic level, discussing the potential for domestic ecocide law and for an international crime of ecocide with high level state representatives from across the continent.
What does the future hold?
In the next year, we want to keep growing our network and raise more awareness of ecocide law. Together with the Stop Ecocide International Africa office, we plan to hold even more discussions about ecocide law across Africa and we will work in partnership to encourage states to implement domestic ecocide legislation and support the international initiative.
Of course, there will be challenges ahead. In Africa generally, attitudes to ecocide law are complicated by the damaging perception that the International Criminal Court is a ‘racist court’ due to the significant number of Africans that have been tried for international crimes. Our response to this has always been to remind people that a large proportion of ecocidal acts committed in the African continent come from non-African actors. Ecocide law, therefore, gives Africa the opportunity to stand in defence of her land and people from the intrusion of outside actors.
While advocacy can be challenging and the struggle can seem hard looking ahead, we have been buoyed by the warm reception we have received by so many stakeholders across Africa. In the Congo, known as the ‘second lung of the world’, the fragile and precious ecosystem present there, and the rise of intensive mining activity that threatens it, has grown our support base. The country is fast becoming a leading light for the rest of the continent in its support for ecocide law and is providing us all with genuine hope for the progress of ecocide law in Africa.
Our call to action
As we enter our second year as Y4EL Africa, and the ecocide law movement gathers true momentum around the world, we believe that Africa can lead the way towards our ultimate goal of securing recognition of ecocide at the International Criminal Court. To that end, we make the following calls:
1. First and foremost, we call on all governments in Africa to recognise ecocide as a standalone fifth category of crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
2. African states should criminalise ecocide within domestic jurisdictions, in line with the Independent Expert Panel consensus legal definition of ecocide.
3. Additionally, we ask that African governments explore and implement other ways to prevent ecocide domestically, including:
Recognising the full rights of nature.
Upholding the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, recently affirmed by the United Nations General Assembly.
Guarantee the right of youth, children and future generations to inherit a liveable and sustainable planet, free from ecocidal acts such as massive deforestation, ocean destruction, and over-exploitive and unsustainable mining activities in both marine and land environments.
4. We call on all businesses, civil society organisations, activists, organisers and individuals to work towards the protection of youth and of the environment, and to support ecocide law in order to achieve the end goal of protecting life on earth.
5. Finally, the rights of indigenous peoples, including their land and resource rights, must be respected by all parties, as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. They should benefit from nothing less than full participation in decision making processes, respect for their traditions and knowledge, and the protection of their ecosystems and livelihoods.
We are committed to continuing our work towards a future where ecocide is recognised and prosecuted as a crime. Together, we can make a difference and protect the environment for generations to come.
Meet the team:
James Gondi
Africa High Level Coordinator
Debbie Buyaki
Lead
Reagan Elijah
Core Lead
Guillaume Kalonji
Core Lead
