Finland: MPs call for new international crime of ecocide

Summary:

• On February 20, 2024, a group of Finnish Green MPs, including former Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo, submitted a formal written question to the government, inquiring about the administration's intentions to promote the establishment of a new standalone international crime of ecocide via the International Criminal Court.

• In a press release, Ohisalo made the case for the new crime, saying, ‘large-scale, long-lasting and serious destruction of the environment is now a crime in times of war, but not in times of peace. This is unreasonable and the matter must be fixed.’

• Referring to Ukraine, with which Finland signed a Memorandum of Understanding whilst Ohisalo was Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, she said, ‘‘those who are guilty of natural destruction during the war should be held accountable for their actions’ and that, ‘repairing the environmental damage caused by the war is a key part of Ukraine's reconstruction’. 

• Finnish parliamentary procedure dictates that the minister responsible - in this case the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen - will now have to address the issue in parliament or offer a formal written response to the submitted question. 

Read the full written question submitted to the Finnish government here. 
Read the Vihreät (Greens) press release here