Ecocide: Campaign Pushes To Include Environmental Damage In ICC Crimes | Can Law Alone Bring Change?

While evaluating the severity of armed conflicts or large-scale disasters, the human toll is usually the focus - loss of life, suffering, and genocide. Yet the environment, our life-giving foundation, which endures irreparable damage, is often overlooked and unaddressed. Ecocide claims a silent victim, with far-reaching consequences.

Be it the manmade burning of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, torching of the Kuwaiti oilfields by Iraqi forces during the Gulf War, or the US military바카라�s use of Agent Orange to destroy crops and foliage during the Vietnam War, the plight of the Earth바카라�s environment has always been disregarded.

As discussions on measures to prevent environmental degradation are taking the centre stage at global conventions, an international campaign has been launched to recognise 바카라�ecocide바카라� as a core crime under international law. The campaign reflects the vital importance of environmental justice. 

However, the extent to which the addition of a new law can help bring about change remains a question.

Speaking to Outlook, Associate Professor of Calcutta University바카라�s Department of Environmental Science, Dr. Pritha Bhattacharjee said, 바카라�Despite ICC listing genocide and war as core crimes, we can see that wars are still happening. Listing ecocide as the fifth core crime is a good proposition. But the real question is, even if the law comes into force, how much will we implement it?바카라�

바카라�We need to think about why we need another law? We are failing to protect the environment despite having numerous global and national laws and regulations in place already. So, we need to identify the gaps first바카라�, she said.

Further continuing, Dr. Bhattacharjee said, 바카라�Illegal mining, illegal fishing, and several hidden, unlawful activities keep happening at the local level, which we first need to act on. So, if we are really thinking of a new law, it should have a holistic 바카라�local to global바카라� approach to mitigate the issues. Enforcing a law means we have to be accountable for every action. Both governments and individuals should have that kind of ownership to stop the exploitation of natural resources and establish a balance between the developed and developing nations.바카라�

What is Ecocide: Definitions And History

In simple words, the concept of ecocide is delineated as an act of violence to nature as genocide is to people. Back in 1970, the term was first used by an American biologist, Professor Arthur W. Galston, at the Conference on War and National Responsibility in Washington while describing the mass deforestation caused by the use of 바카라�Agent Orange바카라�, an herbicide and defoliant, by the US forces to deprive the Viet Cong of food and shelter during the Vietnam War.

In the ensuing decades, ecocide was raised as a matter of concern at several environmental summits before it died down in the 2000s. However, the importance of acknowledging the matter was further revived by a pioneering UK-based barrister, the late Polly Higgins. 

In 2010, Polly presented a definition of ecocide to the UN Law Commission, which read: 바카라�Ecocide is extensive loss, damage or destruction of ecosystems of a given territory(ies)바카라�such that the peaceful enjoyment of the inhabitants has been or will be severely diminished.바카라� 

Going further, in November 2020, the Stop Ecocide Foundation convened the Independent Expert Panel (IEP) to settle the legal definition of ecocide on the request of interested parliamentarians from the governing parties in Sweden.

The consensus definition, which was finalised in 2021, read: 바카라�Ecocide바카라� means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.바카라�

Is Ecocide Listed As A Crime?

Despite being part of a sub-clause of the International Criminal Court바카라�s (ICC) Rome Statute, ecocide is yet to be formally recognised as a core crime under international law.  

The Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of ICC바카라�s Rome statute specifies the act of 바카라�Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause [바카라�] widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be excessive about the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated바카라� as war crime within the context of an international armed conflict.

In 1978, the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities proposed adding 바카라�ecocide바카라� to the Genocide Convention. 

Push For Listing Ecocide Under ICC바카라�s Rome Statute

Campaigners demand the listing of ecocide as a fifth crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is a treaty that laid out four international crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Vanuatu, an archipelagic country in Oceania, was the first nation to call for international recognition of ecocide in 2019. 

Emphasising the need to enlist ecocide as a crime, Jojo Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of , said,  바카라�Introducing ecocide as an international crime is crucial because it holds those in positions of superior responsibility바카라�senior executives and policymakers바카라�accountable for decisions that could lead to severe environmental destruction. The primary goal is ultimately protective: it's deterrence. Criminal law creates powerful moral as well as legal boundaries, making it clear that extreme levels of harm are not just unlawful but totally unacceptable. By establishing legal consequences, we create a guardrail that compels decision-makers to prioritise safety for people and planet, fundamentally altering how they approach their obligations. We also create a route to justice for the worst harms, whether they occur in times of conflict or in times of peace.바카라�

Which Countries Are Supporting?

The countries that desperately support the introduction of criminal law are amongst the worst affected by environmental destruction. The nations include war-ravaged Ukraine, Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa, which are the archipelagic nations in Oceania struggling with sea-level elevation and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been outspoken over biodiversity.

Besides, Argentina recently introduced a new bill in the Chamber of Deputies addressing environmental crimes, including ecocide. Turkey is also witnessing momentum in recognising the ecocide law. The Justice and Human Rights Commission of the Peruvian Congress also approved a motion to criminalise ecocide.