Ecological Defence Integrity Programme of Events during International Criminal Court, Assembly of States Parties 18th Session 2019. December 2019.
Ecological Defence Integrity Programme at The Hague
Events during International Criminal Court,
Assembly of States Parties 18th Session 2019
Events during International Criminal Court, Assembly of States Parties 18th Session 2019
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Pope francis: destroying the earth is a sin and should be a crime.
Pope Francis: Destroying the Earth is a sin and should be a crime.
Addressing the International Association of Penal Law in the Vatican on 15th November 2019, Pope Francis proposed that “sins against ecology” be added to the teachings of the Catholic Church and went a step further, saying “ecocide” should be a fifth category of crimes against peace at the international level.
The Pope described acts that “can be considered as ‘ecocide’: the massive contamination of air, land and water resources, the large-scale destruction of flora and fauna, and any action capable of producing an ecological disaster or destroying an ecosystem.” Adding: “By ‘ecocide’ we should understand the loss, damage and destruction of ecosystems of a given territory, so that its enjoyment by the inhabitants has been or may be severely affected. This is a fifth category of crimes against peace, which should be recognised as such by the international community.”
This is exactly what Stop Ecocide is campaigning for. Jojo Mehta, co-founder of Stop Ecocide, said: ‘We’re thrilled to hear Pope Francis calling for serious harm to the Earth (ecocide) to be made a crime. His comments show he is aware of our work. With his global influence behind this, we hope to see many other Heads of State step forward in support.”
In order to add ecocide to the governing document of the International Criminal Court, known as the Rome Statute, any member Head of State may propose an amendment. With a 2/3 majority the amendment can be adopted and enforced by those who sign up to it (to enforce for all 122 member States a 7/8 majority is required).
Many of the countries with the largest Catholic populations are signed up to the Rome Statute, including: Brazil (126M), Mexico (98M), Italy (50M), France (44M), Columbia (36M), Poland (33M), Spain (32M) and Democratic Republic of Congo (28M) (size of Catholic population, ref: WorldAtlas). For these member States - and others who aren’t, with sizable Catholic populations like the United States (71M) and the Philippines (85M) - it is important that the Pope said: "We are thinking of introducing into the Catechism of the Catholic Church the sin against ecology, ecological sin, against the common home, because it is a duty."
Notes to editors:
Catechism of the Catholic Church is a summary of the teachings of the Catholic Church used for religious instruction.
The definition of Ecocide used by Pope Francis is the definition Polly Higgins, co-founder of Stop Ecocide, submitted to the UN Law Commission in 2010: “loss or damage to, or destruction of ecosystem(s) of a given territory(ies), such that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants has been or will be severely diminished.”
Contact: PRESS & PR
press@stopecocide.earth
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About Stop Ecocide
Stop Ecocide campaigns to protect the Earth by making serious harm to nature a crime. It is an international public-facing campaign, managed by a UK non-profit incorporated in 2017, for the purpose of forwarding an international law of ecocide.
Further legal and historical information can be found at www.ecocidelaw.com
Recent coverage:
BBC World Service (between 8.50-13.08 mins)
Stop Ecocide proposes “concrete solution” to climate & ecological emergency at the International Rebellion
NEWS RELEASE
Stop Ecocide proposes “concrete solution” to climate & ecological emergency at the International Rebellion
Stop Ecocide, the global campaign to make ecocide an international crime, will have a presence and speakers at the international rebellion. Extinction Rebellion has stated it will peacefully blockade various key sites across central London this month until three demands – for truth, action and a democracy fit for purpose – are met. Allied movements across 60 countries will be taking action simultaneously.
Stop Ecocide considers itself a distinct yet complementary campaign, based since 2017 in Stroud, the same small Cotswold town that saw the birth of Extinction Rebellion. Jojo Mehta, co-founder of Stop Ecocide, says: “Big societal shifts – such as the civil rights movement, women getting the vote and the abolition of the slave trade – have always been driven by large grassroots mobilisations, supported by legislative changes. XR and the Youth Strikes have woken the world up to the problem. Ecocide law is a concrete legislative solution we can now demand of our governments, to protect the Earth and future generations.”
Establishing ecocide as an atrocity crime at the International Criminal Court would make large-scale and systematic damage to ecosystems illegal – by making those in positions of superior responsibility liable to criminal prosecution as individuals, just as they would if they ordered or permitted a massacre.
“Ecocide is not just about CO2 emissions,” explains Ms Mehta. “It’s also about deforestation, biodiversity loss, water pollution, soil depletion, overfishing, industrial farming, oil spills. It criminalises any activity leading to widespread, long-term or severe loss, damage or destruction of ecosystems, including ways of life dependent on those ecosystems. With this one simple legal change, serious harm to the Earth can be prevented. When government ministers can no longer issue permits for it, when insurers can no longer underwrite it, when investors can no longer back it, when CEOs can be held criminally responsible for it, the harm will stop. Ecocide law is the missing piece to create climate and ecological justice.”
In order to add ecocide to the Rome Statute, the document governing the International Criminal Court, any member Head of State may propose an amendment. With a 2/3 majority the amendment can be adopted and enforced by those who ratify (to enforce for all members a 7/8 majority is required).
The campaign invites people to become “Earth Protectors” by gifting into a Trust Fund ring-fenced to support the progress of an ecocide amendment to the Rome Statute.
“The moment of proposal is key,” Ms Mehta adds, “because when a crime of ecocide becomes visible on the horizon, civil society across the world has a powerful lever to pressure their own governments. To this end, we have been working with small climate-vulnerable Pacific island states who have the incentive and also the power to propose an amendment. So this is not just a great idea – it’s already under discussion.”
An unusual feature of the campaign is that the Earth Protectors Trust Fund document has been apostilled in virtually every jurisdiction in the world, giving it weight in a court of law. It has been used by some activists in criminal trials as primary evidence of their status as “Conscientious Protectors”, underlining their human right to Freedom of Conscience and enabling them to bring evidence supporting their motivation for taking peaceful direct action.
Jojo Mehta will be speaking at several of the Extinction Rebellion sites in London on Wednesday 9th October.
Contact: PRESS & PR
press@stopecocide.earth
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website
About Stop Ecocide
Stop Ecocide is a public-facing campaign managed by Ecological Defence Integrity Ltd (EDI), a UK non-profit incorporated in 2017 for the purpose of forwarding an international law of ecocide.
Further legal and historical information can be found at www.ecocidelaw.com
Recent coverage:
CBC Radio (from 1min50in)
BBC World Service (between 8.50-13.08 mins)
Earth Protector Towns
Earth Protector Towns
By joining the Earth Protector Town pilot scheme, a Town Council is committed to work with the local community – including local businesses, local government bodies, educational, health and other community organisations – to protect and enhance the environment in and around the town.
In doing so, a ‘town’ is endorsing the campaign to make Ecocide a crime at an international level. The Earth Protector Town concept emanates directly from the central initiative of the Earth Protector global movement which aims to Stop Ecocide: change the law. Ecocide is the serious loss, damage or destruction of ecosystems, and includes climate and cultural damage.
There are five goals for Earth Protector Towns:
Produce a strategy and a date to achieve a carbon zero future
Practice the move from sustainable to regenerative living wherever possible
Protect and enhance eco-systems, habitats and species in and around the town
Pioneer the reduction and elimination of single use plastic
Promote awareness of climate and ecological emergencies
The Council pledges that any future investment decisions will consider the environmental practices of the institutions involved, as well as existing legal requirements on public investments.
These goals form a framework for a steering group to audit, plan and monitor the activities and projects which will help to protect and enhance the local land, wildlife, air, soil and water. The framework will launch on 22nd April (Earth Day) 2020 and will be shared for towns across the world to use.
How is this different from other Town networks and accreditation schemes?
An Earth Protector Town starts with the principle: first do no harm. It puts in place a strategic framework of ‘managed preparedness’ to act in accordance with the seriousness of the climate and ecological crisis. In addition the Council pledges to support the global movement to amend international criminal law to make Ecocide a crime.
A Council will collaborate and cooperate with local communities, businesses, and organisations to act locally and urgently in response to the current international climate and ecological emergency.
Stop Ecocide is an dynamic campaign requiring active support and global engagement to halt and prohibit current destructive industrial practices. When ecocide is criminalised, the current cycle of harm in pursuit of profit is disrupted. Our earth and life everywhere will be protected.
What can be more urgently important?
Learn more: https://www.stopecocide.earth/ecocide
Become an Earth Protector.
For more on Earth Protector Towns and how to get involved please contact us at:
hello@earthprotectortowns.earth
Stop Ecocide: Change the law - An Overview
Stop Ecocide: Change the law - An Overview
The world is in climate and ecological crisis. And right now ECOCIDE (large-scale destruction of the natural living world) is legally permitted. Current regulations simply do not stop the harm.
We believe that the most effective way to turn the planetary ship around is to make ECOCIDE an international crime - and we are already partway down the road to making this happen.
Our non-profit Ecological Defence Integrity, founded in 2017 by UK barrister the late Polly Higgins and environmental campaigner Jojo Mehta, is working on adding Ecocide to the list of crimes prosecuted at the International Criminal Court (ICC), to sit alongside War Crimes, Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and - more recently - Crimes of Aggression.
Our work has two key elements:
Diplomatic/legal - our international team is already working with small, climate-vulnerable states which have the power to propose an Ecocide amendment at the ICC. The ICC’s annual conference in The Hague in December is the key forum for advancing this work. We have accompanied Pacific island representatives and enabled their voices and concerns to be heard there for 3 consecutive years, as the nations most impacted by climate emergency. This year we are taking four Island States with us.
Campaigning - our public-facing STOP ECOCIDE CAMPAIGN is both funding this work and raising global awareness of ecocide crime as a concrete solution capable of addressing our global crisis.
Supporters declare themselves Earth Protectors, providing visible support for the campaign and for Small Island Developing States (Global South) progressing a law of ecocide, and contributing into a fund to support legal, diplomatic and practical assistance for those states.
Who are we?
We have a core team of lawyers, academics, researchers and diplomatic contacts working with Pacific island states towards proposing a crime of ecocide at the ICC.
We have a second growing team of campaign and outreach staff taking forward the Stop Ecocide campaign internationally, supported by a team of volunteers.
Contact: PRESS & PR
press@stopecocide.earth
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website
About Stop Ecocide
Stop Ecocide is a public-facing campaign managed by Ecological Defence Integrity Ltd (EDI), a UK non-profit incorporated in 2017 for the purpose of forwarding an international law of ecocide.
Further legal and historical information can be found at www.ecocidelaw.com
Recent coverage:
CBC Radio (from 1min50in)
BBC World Service (between 8.50-13.08 mins)