Pacific Island Nations Submit ICC 'Ecocide' Proposal

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Facts

  • On Monday, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa presented a court proposal to the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting the classification of environmental destruction, or 'ecocide,' as a crime on par with war crimes and genocide.[1]
  • According to the proposal, ecocide is defined in the proposal as '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.'[2]
  • Vanuatu was reportedly the first nation to request the ICC ecocide designation in 2019. According to the country's special envoy for climate change, Ralp Regenvanu, legal recognition of ecocide is an important step towards justice and deterring further environmental destruction.[3]
  • Professor Philippe Sands KC of University College London said that the ICC legislation has a major gap and that ecocide should be included for implementing effective international law.[3]
  • The Stop Ecocide Foundation argues that individuals should face criminal ICC penalties for creating severe environmental damage, such as oil or chemical spills, rainforest clearcutting, or river system destruction.[2]
  • The ICC in The Hague has tried genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity since 2002. Beyond 120 states, including the UK and EU, the ICC may have limited influence because major greenhouse emitters like the US, China, India, and Russia are not members.[1]

Sources: [1]Guardian, [2]RNZ and [3]NZ Herald.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by CounterPunch and ReliefWeb. Ecocide, the destruction of nature, should be a global crime. An ICC designation would enable the Paris Agreement to force nations to reduce emissions. A global climate emergency would require nations to modify laws — existing regulations won't save the planet. For Pacific Island nations like Fiji, Vanuatu, and Samoa ecocide is an ever-present and existential threat — countries on the front lines of environmental crisis especially deserve a legal recourse.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Competitive Enterprise Institute. 'Ecocide' comes from a long tradition of climate change and environmental alarmism, dating to the hyperbolic 'eco-catastrophe' rhetoric of the late 1960s. It's one thing to discuss some common-sense adaptation approaches to a changing environment, but it's a slippery slope to indulge in apocalyptic environmental catastrophizing that has real legal and policy implications. It's far more effective to go down a path of thoughtful analysis and pragmatic solutions.

Predictions