Ecocide: Global Push to Amend the ICC Statute Gains Momentum
By Daniel Otunge
On 9th September this year, a significant milestone was reached in the quest to include Ecocide as the fifth crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
On that day, the crime of ecocide was formally introduced for consideration by ICC Member States. This represented a significant step forward in the global effort to enshrine mass environmental destruction as a crime under international law.
The ICC is the only international tribunal mandated to prosecute individuals in positions of superior responsibility for four crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, or crimes of aggression. Ecocide will soon be the fifth international crime.
The proposed ecocide crime will enable the ICC to hold individuals criminally accountable if their actions are found, through due process, to result in severe environmental damage, such as massive oil or chemical spills, the clearcutting of primary rainforests, or the destruction of entire river systems, among others.
For starters, ecocide is defined 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.”
This definition was agreed on in 2021 by an Independent Expert Panel of lawyers convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation and has gained significant legal and political traction.
Ecocide crime will enable the ICC to hold individuals criminally accountable if their actions are found, through due process, to result in severe environmental damage.
Following the formal introduction of ecocide for consideration by the ICC Member States, Prof Philippe Sands KC, Co-chair of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide, said, “This development reflects a growing recognition that severe environmental destruction deserves the same legal accountability as other grave international crimes. I urge Member States to support this initiative and recognize that the drafted Rome Statute cannot adequately address environmental harms.”
Vanuatu—a low-lying archipelago of 80 islands in Oceania—was the first nation to call for international recognition of ecocide at the International Criminal Court in 2019. The call has iron-clad backing from other Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Fiji and Samoa.
In the past two years, a wave of new ecocide legislation has made progress at domestic and regional levels. At the start of 2024, Belgium introduced a national crime of ecocide, while the European Union included a ‘qualified’ offense in its newly revised Environmental Crime Directive to tackle ‘conduct comparable to ecocide. Draft ecocide laws are under review in Peru, Brazil, Scotland, Italy, and Mexico.
In a historic statement at the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) became the first African country to endorse an amendment of the ICC’s Rome Statute to include ecocide as an international crime.
The DRC Minister of the Environment, Hon. Eve Bazaiba, emphasized the importance of linking this legal framework to broader biodiversity protection goals, insisting that recognizing the crime of ecocide would strengthen global commitments made under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
This is particularly important for Central African countries like the DRC, which are experiencing the full brunt of climate and ecological crises. It is hoped other African countries will follow the Congolese example.
“Recognizing the crime of ecocide would strengthen global commitments made under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” -Hon. Eve Bazaiba, DRC Environment Minster
With its vast rainforests and exceptional biodiversity, the DRC faces severe environmental threats, including deforestation, illegal mining, and climate change.
It is instructive to note that ecocide is gaining crucial public support globally. A recent poll by Ipsos commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance—revealed that an overwhelming majority (72%) of people in rich countries support ecocide law. Nearly three out of four people surveyed across G20 countries (excluding Russia) backed criminalizing actions causing widespread, long-term, or irreversible harm to nature and climate.
As Jojo Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Stop Ecocide International, rightly observed: “…Criminal law creates powerful moral and legal boundaries, making it clear that extreme levels of harm are not just unlawful but unacceptable. By establishing legal consequences, we create a guardrail that compels decision-makers to prioritize safety for people and the planet….”
The writer is an expert in environmental law.