On Monday September 9, Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa proposed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that ‘ecocide’ be added to the crimes that come under its jurisdiction. If adopted by the States Parties to the ICC, this would allow for the prosecution of individuals such as the heads of large polluting companies, or heads of state who are responsible for causing “severe, wide-spread or long-term damage” to the environment.
“Environmental and climate loss and damage in Vanuatu is devastating our island economy, submerging our territory, and threatening livelihoods,” says Ralph Regenvanu, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Environment for the Republic of Vanuatu. “This tragedy is not unique to Vanuatu but is shared by many small island nations that, despite bearing the least responsibility for the crisis, suffer most from its impacts. Legal recognition of severe and widespread environmental harm holds significant potential to ensure justice and, crucially, to deter further destruction.”
Developing ecocide law
Key to this development has been the work of global NGO Stop Ecocide International (SEI), whose charitable Foundation brought together an Independent Expert Panel of lawyers from around the world to define and outline the legal basis for the crime of ecocide. SEI has been advocating for many years for ecocide laws to be adopted nationally and at the ICC. The IEP definition has already resulted in a number of ecocide laws being introduced – and some adopted – in domestic and regional parliaments around the world.
“Introducing ecocide as an international crime is crucial because it holds those in positions of superior responsibility—senior executives and policymakers—accountable for decisions that could lead to severe environmental destruction,” says Jojo Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Stop Ecocide International and Chair of the Stop Ecocide Foundation. “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.”
“Adopting ecocide as a crime under the jurisdiction of the ICC is an important measure to ensure legal accountability of individuals in power regarding acts which would severely harm the environment,” says Alyn Ware, International Representative of Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Program Director for World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy and Steering Committee Member of Mobilizing an Earth Governance Alliance (MEGA).
“It complements efforts to ensure legal accountability of States to prevent severe harm to the environment, such as the Climate Change case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is also being led by Vanuatu, the proposal for all multilateral environment treaties to include ICJ jurisdiction for environmental disputes and the proposal to establish an International Court for the Environment.”
Proposal submitted to the ICC
Following notification of UN Secretary General António Guterres, a formal proposal to amend the Rome Statute to include the crime of ecocide was submitted to the ICC Assembly’s Working Group on Amendments by Vanuatu, co-sponsored by fellow Pacific island nations Fiji and Samoa. Vanuatu has invited all States Parties of the ICC to enter into discussions on the proposal with a view to its adoption as an amendment to the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court.
Established in 2002, the ICC is the pre-eminent tribunal with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals in positions of superior responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, or the crime of aggression. Under the newly proposed ecocide amendment, such individuals could be held criminally accountable if their actions result in severe environmental damage, such as massive oil or chemical spills, the clearcutting of primary rainforests, or the destruction of entire river systems.
“There is a manifest gap in the Statute of the ICC, and Ecocide is now firmly on the agenda, a vital and necessary moment for an effective international law,” says Professor Philippe Sands KC, Professor of Law at University College London and Co-chair of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide. “This development reflects a growing recognition that severe environmental destruction deserves the same legal accountability as other grave international crimes.”
For further information, see Mass destruction of nature reaches International Criminal Court (ICC) as Pacific Island states propose recognition of “ecocide” as international crime, STOP Ecocide International and Pacific islands submit court proposal for recognition of ecocide as a crime, The Guardian, September 9, 2024.
