Could ecocide become a new international crime?

Earlier this fall, three Pacific island nations – Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa – officially proposed to include ecocide as a crime that can be tried and punished by the International Criminal Court, which currently tries individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, etc can provide. and the crime of aggression.

Any change to the Rome Statute of the ICC, particularly the addition of a new international crime, would require an enormous amount of diplomatic coordination and negotiation. But the crime of the future could hold individuals criminally responsible for serious environmental damage, such as massive oil or chemical spills or the destruction of rainforests.

What does the ecocide proposal now mean in practice? How might this potentially impact our understanding of ongoing environmental degradation and the role of international criminal law?

The show features Naima Fifita, Rebecca Hamilton and Kate Mackintosh to present the ecocide proposal.

Naima is a lawyer from Tuvalu. She is managing director of the Institute for Climate and Peace. Bec is Editor-in-Chief at Just Security and Professor of Law at American University. Kate is Executive Director of the UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe and Vice Co-Chair of the Independent Expert Panel on the Legal Definition of Ecocide.

Show notes:

• Summary of Just Security expert article: “Why ecocide is criminalized?” Experts weigh in”
• Just Security's climate change reporting
• Just Security's international law coverage
• Just Security's coverage of the International Criminal Court
• Music: “Broken” by David Bullard from Uppbeat: (License Code: OSC7K3LCPSGXISVI)

Listen to the episode, with a transcript coming soon, by clicking below.