At AMCEN, the DRC reaffirmed its leadership in the push to recognise ecocide as an international crime. In a national statement, Her Excellency Ève Bazaiba Masudi, State Minister and Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, announced the DRC’s official submission of a motion calling for ecocide to be treated as a serious environmental crime. Highlighting decades of armed conflict and environmental degradation, she emphasised that such crimes affect entire communities. The DRC was the first African country to endorse the international campaign to criminalise ecocide at the ICC and continues to lead global and regional dialogue on the issue. Watch here.

At the 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Nairobi, Burundi joined the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in formally backing efforts to secure the criminalisation ecocide. In a national statement, H.E. Mr. Prosper DODIKO, Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, and Acting President of COMIFAC, described ecocide as 'a major threat requiring urgent legal attention'. Watch here.

At AMCEN 2025, a speech delivered on behalf of Her Excellency Mrs. Arlette Soudant-Nonault, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin, reaffirmed the Republic of the Congo’s call to recognise ecocide as a crime. Quoting the Independent Expert Panel's definition of ecocide, the statement highlighted its potential as a legal tool to 'deter environmental destruction, hold polluters accountable, and protect affected communities'. The Republic of the Congo stressed that criminalising ecocide would strengthen existing legal frameworks and promote environmental justice. Watch here.