Today the International Criminal Court (ICC) celebrates 20 years since it opened its doors in July 2002. A one-day conference was held in The Hague to mark the occasion, and the last session of the day, focusing on the future of the court, prominently featured discussion of ecocide as a possible fifth Rome Statute crime.
Professor Phoebe Okowa (Queen Mary’s University, London) specifically addressed the consensus definition of ecocide drafted by the Independent Expert Panel (June 2021) convened by our Foundation, highlighting areas of interest and contention.
Of particular focus were political considerations, inter alia: definition of the term “wanton” and how developing states will view this; justice and accountability for existing destructive acts (a new crime would not be retroactive); and whether corporate responsibility should be considered (the definition accepts only individual responsibility, as a given from the Statute as it stands).
Professor Okowa’s intervention shows how seriously the ICC is taking this strategic legal initiative, and her points are extremely useful aspects to highlight and discuss as the legal definition gains traction around the world, and consideration of a Rome Statute amendment gathers momentum.
As the Former ICC President and now President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi*, pointed out today :
“It is a living document and ecocide does deserve very serious discussion. […] It is for states to decide […] if they want to add - or not - additional crimes, and this will require very broad agreements among them.”
The list of states engaging with this strategic legal initiative is growing all the time - just this week, at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, co-host country Kenya announced it will be proposing creation of an offence of ecocide as part of an extensive package of environmental law reforms including protection for environmental defenders.
There are now 23 States Parties to the Rome Statute with discussion of ecocide on public record at parliamentary and/or government level.
*Shown below with our Strategic Projects consultant in the Hague, Shirleen Chin