Led by Belgium, parliamentarians worldwide support ecocide law
Resolution adopted almost unanimously at global gathering of parliaments
NEDERLANDS / FRANÇAIS / DEUTSCH / ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ /
Today the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), representing 179 parliaments around the world, adopted a resolution calling on all “IPU Member Parliaments to reinforce criminal law to prevent and punish widespread, long-term and severe damage to the environment, whether caused in peacetime or war, and to examine the possibility of recognizing the crime of ecocide to prevent the threats and conflicts resulting from climate-related disasters and their consequences.” (paragraph 31) All countries supported the ecocide clause except India, Nicaragua and Turkey.
Samuel Cogolati, chair of the Belgian delegation behind this historic proposal was unequivocal: “It is the first time such a broad international consensus has emerged for the recognition of ecocide as a crime. The tide of political opinion is now with us.”
This resolution follows last week’s adoption of two key reports in the European Parliament containing proposals addressing ecocide - one urging members to support an international crime of ecocide and a second calling on the Commission to consider it in EU law.
Barely a year ago, the concept of ecocide was virtually unknown in Belgium, but now the country is a front runner in the growing movement to recognise mass destruction of nature as a serious crime. A parliamentary motion in June 2020, government pledges in September and a strong statement to the International Criminal Court in December have made Belgium a key voice in this fast-growing movement to prevent ecocide through criminal law. With this vote at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Belgium has taken that advocacy to a global level.