European Parliament votes to take ecocide law seriously
Two reports adopted this week support criminalization of “ecocide” at EU and international levels
At the European Parliament this week, the movement to criminalize mass damage and destruction of nature or “ecocide” took a surge forward with strongly supportive votes on two key reports.
One was from the Legal Affairs committee on the liability of companies for environmental damage, and urged the European Commission to “study the relevance of ecocide to EU law and EU diplomacy” (para 12) - a significant step, long advocated by MEP Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA, above right), who co-ordinates the Ecocide Alliance, an international alliance of parliamentarians for the recognition of ecocide. This comes not long after the prestigious European Law Institute approved a project to draft a model ecocide law for potential application in the EU.
“The European Union must keep its promise to be a global leader on justice and protection of the living world,” said Ms Toussaint. “We’ve worked tirelessly to have ecocide discussed and adopted. The moment has come to condemn it as a serious crime.”
She continued: “It may take some time to establish concrete recognition in European law, but we will not let this Parliamentary demand go unnoticed. The European Commission and all European leaders must act - and we will make sure of it.”
Meanwhile, another report from the Foreign Affairs committee on the effects of climate change on human rights and the role of environmental defenders on this matter resolved to encourage “the EU and its Member States to take a bold initiative ... to pave the way within the International Criminal Court (ICC) towards new negotiations between the parties with a view to recognising ‘ecocide’ as an international crime under the Rome Statute” (para 11). This approach to criminalizing ecocide is precisely that pursued by Stop Ecocide International, the global campaign co-founded by Jojo Mehta (above left) and visionary UK barrister the late Polly Higgins.
“It is hugely encouraging to see the European Parliament taking ecocide seriously,” said Mehta. “Politicians around the world are waking up to the fact that we are collectively heading for disaster if we don’t rapidly correct our course. An enforceable deterrent such as criminal law can provide that course correction. A crime of ecocide would create a guardrail for corporate practice, and also empower governments to better enforce existing laws. It’s long overdue.”
Mehta is convenor of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide, commissioned by the Stop Ecocide Foundation to draft an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to include a crime of Ecocide. The panel was convened in response to a request from Swedish parliamentarians last year.
Support for an ecocide law criminalising mass damage and destruction of ecosystems is gaining momentum around the world with recorded interest from both island nations (Vanuatu and the Maldives) and European states (France, Belgium, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg). It has been endorsed by high-profile figures such as the Pope, Greta Thunberg and Dr Jane Goodall. Belgium is the first European nation to have raised criminalizing ecocide at the International Criminal Court.
There is currently no legal framework to deal with ecocide at an international level, and therefore no system to hold corporate and government decision-makers accountable for environmental damages and abuses such as oil spills, mass deforestation, ocean damage or severe pollution of waters. Enshrining ecocide in international law would enable perpetrators to be put on trial at the International Criminal Court or in any ratifying jurisdiction.
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Editor notes:
Stop Ecocide, co-founded in 2017 by barrister and legal pioneer the late Polly Higgins and current Executive Director Jojo Mehta, promotes and facilitates steps towards making ecocide a crime at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to prevent devastation of nature and so protect the future of life on Earth. It is the only global NGO with this exclusive focus.
Stop Ecocide International has an expanding network of communication teams around the globe, and websites in multiple languages. A growing number of ICC member states (as well as the Pope and the EU) have publicly expressed interest in an international crime of ecocide.
This progress has been achieved via Stop Ecocide’s campaign narrative alongside strong legal, diplomatic and grassroots collaborations. The work sits at the intersection of these three areas, and is thus able to both influence and amplify the global conversation.