Press conference at IUCN challenging rejection of stop ecocide motion
Stop Ecocide International (SEI) calls press conference at IUCN World Congress following unprecedented use of IUCN rule to challenge it's rejection of SEI motion
Stop Ecocide International (SEI) calls press conference at IUCN World Congress following unprecedented use of IUCN rule to challenge it's rejection of SEI motion
Stop Ecocide International today held a press conference at the IUCN World Congress, having made unprecedented use of a IUCN rule to challenge rejection of a motion supporting an international crime of ecocide.
The motion, led by Stop Ecocide International, urged the IUCN Assembly to encourage member states which are parties to the Rome Statute to consider the new legal definition of ecocide and treat it as a springboard for serious discussion on amending the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The establishment of a crime of ecocide would support everything the IUCN does and stands for. Yet, the IUCN stated that the motion was neither new, nor urgent, thus missing a historic opportunity to place themselves on the right side of history, and to stand for the strong protection of ecosystems in law, in solidarity with future generations of all species.
Stop Ecocide International is now calling publicly on all IUCN member organisations to keep a close eye on the progress of advancing an international crime of ecocide. We know the conversation is only going to get louder.
Watch press conference highlights:
** Co-sponsors supporting this appeal ***
Born Free Foundation (Mark Jones) - UK
Both Ends (Natalie van Haren) - The Netherlands
Center for Biological Diversity (Tanya Sanerib) - USA
Center for Environmental Legal Studies, PACE University (Smita Narula) - USA
Environmental Law Program at the William S. Richardson School of Law (David Forman) - USA
ERuDeF (Louis Nkembi) - Cameroon
Gallifrey Foundation (Antoinette Vermilye) - Switzerland
Natural Resources Defense Council (Paul Todd) - USA
Synchronicity Earth (Jessica Sweidan) - UK
Sylvia Earle Alliance / DBA Mission Blue (Deb Castellana) - USA
Vereniging Milieudefensie / Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Donald Pols) - Netherlands
Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (Raheela Ahmed) - Malawi
French citizens’ assembly votes to make ecocide a crime
French citizens’ assembly votes to make ecocide a crime
Over 99% in favour of ecocide crime, 63% for a national referendum on it.
Pictured above: Jojo Mehta, co-founder Stop Ecocide, Valérie Cabanes, international law expert (human rights), Élisabeth Borne, French Minister for Ecological Transition
Following the “gilets jaunes” crisis last year, President Macron convened a “citizen’s climate assembly” – the Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat (CCC) of 150 randomly selected French citizens – and gave them a mandate to discuss and propose policies for addressing the climate crisis.
The CCC has just voted on its final proposals. Foremost among these is a crime of ecocide, intended to remove the impunity of big polluters acting in full knowledge of the risks to ecosystems. The crime is defined using the concept of “planetary boundaries”, developed by the Stockholm Resilience Institute and influential in the drafting of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The framework lists nine connected “planetary boundaries” (eg CO2 levels, ocean acidification, biosphere integrity) beyond which we cannot go without risking irreversible damage to the Earth’s ability to sustain human life.
Valérie Cabanes, lawyer, activist and established voice for ecocide law in France and beyond, presented to the CCC in January the law proposal for which she had previously been lobbying. Inspired by the work of late British lawyer Polly Higgins, Cabanes has dedicated many years to legally enshrining the protection of nature. She is thrilled:
“The approval of the Citizen's Climate Convention reflects and speaks for a French population ready to adopt a law that respects the Earth’s ecosystems. The CCC also proposed that this law be decided via referendum, to avoid censure by parliament - letting the French population choose their own destiny: living in harmony with nature and protecting future generations - or not. It’s a symbolic and powerful step. Now we wait for our leaders to listen - and act in accordance with the proposals.”
Jojo Mehta, co-founder with Higgins’ of the Stop Ecocide campaign, works closely with Cabanes and others around the world to progress a crime of ecocide at the International Criminal Court. She said today:
“The news from France is phenomenal. It clearly demonstrates that citizens feel the urgent need for an enforceable deterrent to prevent ecosystem destruction. We trust the French government will respond positively and step up at the national level – even take the opportunity to lead at the international level, where Macron has already stated he believes this crime belongs (*20h04 in the timeline). The ball is already rolling… climate-vulnerable states we have been working with have called for ecocide crime to be considered at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. This vote is a huge pointer for France to move in the right direction, and will undoubtedly inspire other countries.”
Elisabeth Borne, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, has said she is in favour of the proposal and will meet with the citizens’ assembly tomorrow Monday 22nd. President Macron is due to meet with them a week later on the 29th.
Pictured above:
Valérie Cabanes, international law expert (human rights)
Élisabeth Borne, French Minister for Ecological Transition
Jojo Mehta, co-founder Stop Ecocide
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
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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)
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)
french government betrays demands of citizens’ assembly
French government betrays demands of citizens’ assembly by misleading use of the term “ecocide”
French government betrays demands of citizens’ assembly with weak use of the term “ecocide”
In an unexpected move, the French government announced yesterday the creation of a new crime of “ecocide” which appears to be little more than a stronger enforcement of environmental obligations under existing law. The claim of government ministers is that this is an adequate response to proposals submitted by the Citizens’ Climate Assembly (Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat) earlier this year.
This use of the term doesn’t come close to what President Macron implied in his supporting statement in June when he promised to champion recognition of ecocide at the international level, and nor does it address the broader framework of planetary boundaries as strongly urged by the Convention.
Stop Ecocide Foundation’s advisory board member Valérie Cabanes, also a member of the recently convened Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide, was due to discuss today the developments on including ecocide in the French penal code, along with representatives from the government and the CCC. She was incensed at yesterday’s pre-emptive announcement.
“I am deeply disappointed with the French government's announcement concerning an ‘ecocide’ law. This crime against planetary safety, recognition of which was requested by the Citizens’ Climate Assembly in terms which echo the campaign led by the Stop Ecocide Foundation, has been relegated to the status of existing environmental crimes.
“Ecocide crimes should refer to acts on the scale of crimes against humanity or genocide, because the destruction of the Earth's ecological balance threatens the very survival of all populations, human and non-human. The French government has done well by finally complying with the 2008 European Union directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. However under no circumstances is it recognising here a new crime against peace and human security that would allow it to embark on a responsible path to protecting the planet's major ecosystems.
“To use the term ‘ecocide’ while emptying it of substance is a nasty trick to play on citizens, giving them the illusion that they have got what they wanted.”
Jojo Mehta, Chair of the Stop Ecocide Foundation, is in agreement: “We have just convened a world-class legal drafting panel of international criminal lawyers and judges to address the definition of ‘ecocide’ as an international crime for potential addition to the Rome Statute. It is intended to address the worst excesses of environmental damage and destruction: acts which threaten the ecosystems on which humanity and life on Earth depend.
“While of course any enforcement of environmental laws is welcome, this proposed use of ‘ecocide’ by the French government is certainly not going to do that job, nor is it going to encourage offenders to take the term seriously. Indeed, it doesn’t reflect what President Macron himself described when he asserted before the Citizens Climate Assembly in the summer that we need ‘to ensure that this term is enshrined in international law so that leaders … are accountable before the International Criminal Court.’ Clamping down on a few pollution offences and imposing fines is hardly on this scale.
“That said, the French government is among the first to be seriously discussing the term, and we congratulate it on doing so. We trust there will be plenty of French interest in the report of the Independent Drafting Panel when it emerges with a robust legal definition of ‘ecocide’ in a few months’ time.”
top international lawyers to draft definition of “ecocide”
Top international lawyers to draft definition of "Ecocide"
Top international lawyers to draft definition of "Ecocide"
75 years after Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide coined at Nuremberg
International lawyer Philippe Sands QC and international judge Justice Florence Mumba* are to co-chair an expert drafting panel on the legal definition of “ecocide” as a potential international crime that could sit alongside War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. Launching with preparatory work this month, and set to draft the definition over the early months of 2021, the panel has been convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation on the request of interested parliamentarians from governing parties in Sweden.
The concept of criminalising mass damage and destruction of ecosystems or “ecocide” at a global level has been steadily gaining traction in recent months since small island states Vanuatu and the Maldives called for “serious consideration” of it at the International Criminal Court’s annual Assembly of States Parties in December last year. President Macron of France has actively promised to champion the idea and the newly formed Belgian government has pledged diplomatic action to support it. Now an impressive list of top international and environmental lawyers will be tackling how best to define it.
The timing is powerful. 20th November marks exactly 75 years since the opening of the Nuremberg trials of high-ranking Nazi officers in 1945, and Philippe Sands QC, co-chairing the Ecocide drafting panel, will be among the speakers at a ceremonial event to be held in Nuremberg’s historic Courtroom 600 where the trials took place. Sands’ award-winning book East West Street documents the origins of - and the lawyers behind - the terms Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide, first used in that very courtroom. The story intertwines with Sands’ own family history as those lawyers (Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin respectively) studied in the hometown of Sands’ Jewish grandfather. Now, Sands’ own choice of career and specialisation in international public and environmental law brings him full circle to the defining of a new international crime - Ecocide - in the context of a new global threat: the climate and biodiversity crisis.
““The time is right,” says Sands, “to harness the power of international criminal law to protect our global environment - seventy five years ago, ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘genocide’ were spoken for the first time, in Nuremberg’s Courtroom 600, and my hope is that this group will be able to draw on experience since that day to forge a definition that is practical, effective and sustainable, and that might attract support to allow an amendment to the ICC Statute to be made. It is a privilege to work with such a fine and representative group, in the shadow and spirit of those who gave us ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘genocide’, Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin.”
Sands is joined on the drafting panel by a heavyweight list of judges and lawyers. Co-chair Justice Florence Mumba is a judge at the ECCC (Khmer Rouge Tribunal) and former supreme court judge in Zambia. “I am honoured to participate. An international crime of ecocide may be important in that individual/State responsibility may be regulated to achieve balance for the survival of both humanity and nature,” Mumba suggests.
Jojo Mehta, Chair of the Stop Ecocide Foundation commissioning the panel’s work, explains the significance of the project: “There have been working definitions of ‘ecocide’ over the years and the general concept - of mass damage and destruction of ecosystems - is reasonably well understood. However when parliamentarians from a number of countries, from European states to Pacific islands, will be considering this definition in the light of possible proposal at the ICC, the text that emerges over the coming months must be both clear and legally robust. It is vital that the drafting panel has in-depth relevant legal expertise as well as a breadth of geographical perspective.”
She is thrilled with the line-up of the panel: “We couldn’t be happier with the calibre of expertise this project has attracted. It demonstrates a recognition in the legal world that Ecocide can, and now perhaps should, be considered alongside Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity as one of the ‘most serious crimes of concern to humanity as a whole’. It’s an honour to be working with these judges and lawyers, and an extraordinary moment to be launching the project as the first international trials are remembered at Nuremberg.”
Panellists and comment:
Also on the panel are former ICC Judge Tuiloma Neroni Slade from Samoa in the Pacific, where island states are already feeling the impacts of climate change in the form of rising sea levels and extreme weather events; and Pablo Fajardo, the award-winning Ecuadorean lawyer who took on Chevron over massive oil pollution in the Amazon rainforest. Fajardo explains: “I live in the Ecuadorean Amazon. From here I am a witness to the way in which crimes are committed against Nature, against life, on a daily basis. These crimes take their toll on humanity, they do not remain confined to Ecuador… and they go unpunished due to the great legal vacuum that exists globally.”
Professor Christina Voigt (University of Oslo), Chair of the Climate Change Specialist Group of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law and Member of the IUCN Task Force on Climate Change, sees a potential deterrent in the new crime: “We see both systemic, wide-spread and deliberate destruction of the environment without any obvious consequences. Establishing that - above a certain threshold of severity - such actions or omissions are crimes could not only bring those responsible to justice, but also more importantly prevent further destruction.”
International criminal lawyer Richard J Rogers, founding partner of Global Diligence LLP, executive director of Climate Counsel and Co-deputy chair of the panel, sketches out the challenge of developing a definition: “On the one hand, any new crime must attempt to address the worst violations committed against the natural environment or atmospheric systems. On the other hand, it must satisfy the basic norms of criminal law, including legal certainty and causation.”
Rodrigo Lledó is director of renowned criminal lawyer Baltasar Garzón’s international foundation FIBGAR. His interest is to “contribute to building a very consistent definition of Ecocide, applicable by any judge… whoever carries out an activity that creates a high risk of causing severe damage to nature must take adequate precautions, and if this is not the case, the person must be held responsible.”
Growing state support
There is growing state support for the move to make ecocide an international crime: last December the small island states of Vanuatu and the Maldives called for serious consideration of ecocide crime at the International Criminal Court’s assembly; earlier this year the Swedish workers movement urged Sweden to lead on proposing it; in June President Macron of France promised to champion it on the international stage. Pope Francis has also stated that he believes ecocide should be added to the list of international crimes; he received Stop Ecocide’s Advisory Board member Valérie Cabanes for an audience recently. Last month the newly formed Belgian government pledged to “take diplomatic action to halt ecocide crime”, and two motions on ecocide have recently been submitted to the Swedish parliament, one from the Left Party and one from the Greens/Social Democrats.
Full drafting panel details:
Co-chairs
Philippe Sands QC (UK/France), Matrix Chambers / UCL
Justice Florence Mumba (Zambia), international judge, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, former Supreme Court judge, Zambia
Co-deputies
Kate Mackintosh (UK/USA), executive director, Promise Institute, UCLA
Richard J Rogers (UK), founding partner, Global Diligence LLP, executive director, Climate Counsel
Panel members
Rodrigo Lledó (Chile), director, Baltasar Garzon's International Foundation FIBGAR (Spain)
Judge Tuiloma Neroni Slade (Samoa), former ICC judge
Syeda Rizwana Hasan (Bangladesh), director of Bangladesh Environmental Law Association
Prof Charles Jalloh (Sierra Leone), Florida International University / Int. Law Commission
Valérie Cabanes (France), international jurist and human rights expert
Pablo Fajardo (Ecuador), key lawyer in Chevron case, Goldman Prize and CNN Hero Award winner
Prof Christina Voigt (Norway), climate law expert, Univ. of Oslo
Alex Whiting (US), former ICC Prosecutions Co-ordinator, Professor of Practice, Harvard Law School
Convenor
Jojo Mehta, Chair, Stop Ecocide Foundation
*Dior Fall Sow replaces Florence Mumba who had to withdraw from the panel in December 2020 for personal reasons. Please read more here
Sweden to discuss ecocide law
Sweden to discuss ecocide law - Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party submit motions
Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party submit motions
Sweden has become the latest European state this year to discuss criminalising ecocide (mass destruction of nature). Two separate motions have been submitted to the Swedish parliament by a combination of three political parties.
The Left Party motion, submitted by MP Elin Segerlind and colleagues, stated: “It would send an important signal to make destruction of nature in itself a crime. Sweden should, within the UN and EU, act to update the legal framework so that it becomes a powerful tool to prohibit crimes against nature (ecocide) through including ecocide in the Rome Statute.”
The Greens/Social Democrats motion, submitted by MP Rebecka Le Moine and colleagues for the Greens and Magnus Manhammar for the Social Democrats, recalled that: “All countries which have signed the Rome Statute have the power to propose an amendment. Sweden should take the initiative together with other states which have expressed interest. Let us complete the circle that Olof Palme started and initiate the process towards an international ecocide law.”
Both motions refer to Sweden’s particular history on the subject: Olof Palme was the first Head of State to refer to mass destruction of nature as “ecocide” (at the 1972 UN Conference on the Environment in Stockholm) and to declare that it “requires urgent international attention.”
Nearly 50 years later, both parliamentary motions underline that those suffering the most from ecocide are often least responsible for creating it - “An international law on ecocide is especially urgent for poorer countries which are socio-economically vulnerable since that often implies weak environmental legislation. It is these countries whose populations are the ones contributing least to the problem, who are hit hardest by the dark sides of globalization like exploitation and pollution” (Greens/Social Democrats).
Last week as her motion was submitted, Ms Le Moine hosted a meeting in the Swedish parliament building bringing together delegates from Original (Indigenous) Nations and youth activists, MPs and representatives of Stop Ecocide International and End Ecocide Sweden to discuss the global ecological crisis, its colonialist origins and how ecocide law can help restore harmony with nature.
Jojo Mehta, co-founder of Stop Ecocide International and Chair of the Stop Ecocide Foundation said: “It was a huge privilege to be in dialogue with this remarkable gathering. Ecocide law has a particular resonance in the context of indigenous wisdom. It speaks to a universal law of reciprocity which is deeply understood by the Original Peoples of the world. If you damage Mother Earth, there are consequences. This is simply a fact - one we are now tragically witnessing on a global scale. It’s high time for our legal system to recognise and reflect this reality, and it’s fitting that Sweden should be picking up the baton of former premier Olof Palme to discuss this.”
VIDEO (2 mins): Mother Earth Delegation and Stop Ecocide at the Swedish Parliament (Jojo Mehta introduces meeting in Swedish Parliament with Elders, Youth & MPs)
Expert panel to draw up “ecocide” definition
An expert panel of international criminal lawyers, advised by top climate and environmental scientists, is currently being convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation in response to requests from parliamentarians. The panel’s remit is to draft a legally robust definition which can be proposed at the International Criminal Court by interested states.
There is growing state support for the move to make ecocide an international crime: last December the small island states of Vanuatu and the Maldives called for serious consideration of ecocide crime at the International Criminal Court’s assembly; earlier this year the Swedish workers movement urged Sweden to lead on proposing it; in June President Macron of France promised to champion it on the international stage. Pope Francis has also stated that he believes ecocide should be added to the list of international crimes; he received Stop Ecocide’s Advisory Board member Valérie Cabanes for an audience recently. Last month the newly formed Belgian government pledged to “take diplomatic action to halt ecocide crime”.
Photo credits: Magnus Åkerlind
Video credits: Tommy Gärdh, Visionary Films Stockholm