Ecocide Law Reaches the UN Security Council

Summary

Ecocide law was raised three times during the UN Security Council's session on environmental impact of armed conflict and climate-driven security risks, demonstrating growing diplomatic attention to establishing mass environmental destruction as an international crime.

During the meeting, Professor Charles C. Jalloh of the University of Miami Law School and member of the UN International Law Commission stated that severe environmental damage should be prohibited as a crime under international and national laws. Jalloh, who served on the Independent Expert Panel that developed the legal definition of ecocide, noted that "the definitions we developed, and variants of them, have already been included in the national laws of various states."

Sierra Leone's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Francess Piagie Alghali, speaking in her capacity as President of the Security Council, said: ‘we note the emerging discussions on recognising ecocide as a serious international crime and encourage continued reflection on accountability pathways consistent with international law.”

Panama's Permanent Representative to the UN, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, referenced Professor Jalloh's presentation, noting that "environmental degradation opens the door to a possible environmental crime that could be identified as ecocide."

Jojo Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Stop Ecocide International, said:

“It is very encouraging to see states raising ecocide law at the Security Council. It is also of fundamental importance to recognise that criminal accountability for ecocide must extend beyond conflict zones to include reckless acts causing severe and widespread or long-term harm whenever and wherever they occur. Such acts are by no means restricted to armed conflict, and deterring the worst harms in all contexts may well pre-empt and prevent additional conflict situations from developing.

“Already both the EU’s revised Environmental Crime Directive and the Council of Europe’s Draft Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law recognise ecocide-level offences in peacetime contexts. The International Court of Justice has affirmed states’ binding obligations to prevent environmental destruction, and Pacific Island nations together with the Democratic Republic of Congo are championing the establishment of ecocide as a standalone crime at the ICC.”

The full broadcast of the 10035th meeting of the Security Council, ‘Climate and security: environmental impact of armed conflict and climate-driven security risks’ can be viewed here.