The Pope’s “ecological conversion”
On 3rd September Valérie Cabanes, ecocide law advocate and member of Stop Ecocide’s Advisory Board, personally presented to Pope Francis a request from Stop Ecocide: for him to use his diplomatic and spiritual influence to build on his call last year for ecocide to be made a “fifth category of crimes against peace” at the International Criminal Court.
Part of a special eco-delegation from France, Cabanes and colleagues (including writer Pablo Servigne and actress Juliette Binoche) found the encounter “intensely moving”. Francis set aside his prepared speech and spontaneously recounted the “ecological conversion” he experienced through encountering indigenous elders in the Amazon and Canada, who knew how to “live in harmony with creation.” They helped him see “the way all things connect. Everything is connected, everything is in relationship. In our human societies we have lost this understanding… this sense of roots, of belonging.”
Pope Francis signalled his new direction in 2015 with the encyclical Laudato Sí, a papal document based on expert scientific advice on climate and ecology. Since then Francis has increasingly broken with Catholic tradition in his strong advocacy for harmony with nature.
A Beatle on board!
This summer has brought another globally revered name on board: last month Paul McCartney discovered Stop Ecocide: “Recently heard about this campaign […] the idea is clearly catching on... and not before time if we are to prevent further devastation of the planet. I've just signed up as an “Earth Protector” to support”. Thank you Paul! All you need is love… and a law of ecocide. (You can find him on our list here…)
Meat Free Monday, the charity founded by McCartney and daughters Mary & Stella, also published a great piece about our campaign. MFM promotes reducing meat consumption as a response to the ecocidal practices of industrial livestock farming and overfishing. We’re delighted to have them as partners.
At last, our international petition
We’ve often been asked if people can sign up to the campaign without actually becoming paid-up Earth Protectors - in particular young people and those on low incomes or without online payment means. Well now you can! All you need is an email address.
The signup page is now an international petition, which has significant benefits for the campaign:
Gathering signatories ourselves - this enables us to visibly grow our support base and (for example) contact signatories in a particular country if a national government petition or new branch of the campaign is started;
Keeping the petition open - this way we can periodically use the figures, both total and by individual state, to demonstrate to governments the building level of civil support. The more signatures we have, the more pressure we create.
Once people have signed the petition, they can go on to join as an Earth Protector if they wish to. Already existing Earth Protectors will be automatically included in the petition - after all, you’ve already said you want ecocide to become an international crime! www.stopecocide.earth/become
Canada government petition
Talking of national government petitions - a new one has launched in Canada recently, so if you’re a Canadian resident or citizen, sign here
Reports: peace, harmony & extinction
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Harmony with Nature report and supplement this summer mentions ecocide 3 times, documenting the proposals of the French Citizens’ Climate Assembly and the Swedish workers’ movement as well as the recommendation from last year’s “Wuppertal Call” conference of churches to explore “the recognition of ecocide as a criminal offence”.
The Institute for Economics & Peace’s newly published Ecological Threat Register shows strong correlation between least peaceful and most ecologically threatened areas of the world - a clear vindication for approaching ecocide as an international “crime against peace” (as ICC crimes are frequently known).
WWF’s latest Living Planet report is an “SOS for Nature”, documenting “devastating” animal population losses of over ⅔ since 1970. At a press conference last week, director Marco Lambertini was unequivocal: “We are the cause of this ecocide.”
And in the UK last weekend, revered presenter Sir David Attenborough presented a stark BBC documentary Extinction: The Facts. It underlined the urgent need for stronger laws to address issues such as the habitat destruction driving extraordinary rates of biodiversity loss.
Making ecocide a crime is becoming an increasingly obvious step.
Rebellion around the globe
This month sees Extinction Rebellion (XR) once more out in force around the globe with a range of (at times highly controversial) civil disobedience. Not everyone may feel aligned with their tactics, but it’s only now - thanks to XR and the youth strikes forcing serious conversation on climate and ecological emergency - that people are listening to what we’ve been saying about ecocide for years. That is hugely important. It’s humbling that thousands are willing to peacefully challenge rules and even risk arrest for what they know to be right - and most historic legal changes have been triggered this way.
Click below to watch our co-founder Jojo Mehta and activist barrister Paul Powlesland in conversation about how these Conscientious Protectors can reframe in the courtroom what it means to stand up for the Earth.
From the Spanish campaign
Ecocide in the Mar Menor “worst in Spanish history”
Our Spanish campaign co-ordinator Maite Mompó was interviewed by major Spanish publication El Diario on the combination of contamination and extreme weather events which last year created “an unprecedented catastrophe that shook up the political and environmental landscape at national level, reviving criticism of the use of agro-pesticides and the dumping of waste from Murcian agriculture into the Mar Menor.”
The campaigners involved are now strongly demanding the criminalisation of ecocide. This is exactly the kind of horrific situation that we encourage campaigners around the world to frame as ecocide, just as these campaigners are doing. The more the term is used, the clearer the demand for its recognition as a crime.
Spanish webinar this Sunday!"Legal instruments to protect the Earth and its protectors". In collaboration with Re.Earth, Fridays for Future, Latinas for Climate and #FIBGAR, we will discuss how international law can benefit frontline communities defending lands and waters, as well as how it can benefit Nature. There will be presentations on two campaigns: the Escazú Agreement and Stop Ecocide, and an introduction to the work of FIBGAR (Baltasar Garzón’s Foundation). The whole event will take place in Spanish. Join us and share the event to your Spanish speaking circles!
What to share this month:
Courtesy of climate solutions amplifier Grounded.org, we had an amazing sponsored piece in the Guardian this week as part of their Climate Academy series. Please share widely - it’s a comprehensive and well-written introduction to the campaign.
This next one’s fun!
A collaboration with Fridays For Future, Youth Strike for Climate, Eco Action Families and XR, it’s a pop video created to promote youth climate action. The 30-second piece below is the one specially done for us… we LOVE it - it’s bubbly and joyous. You can share from our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. (Full song here)
Last but not least, keep encouraging your networks to help ecocide become a crime by adding their names to the international petition at www.stopecocide.earth/become - they can become an Earth Protector as a next step if they like!
Earth Protector Communities news
Our sister grassroots charity initiative, based in the UK, is examining ways that communities can begin to behave as if ecocide law were in place. This week their youth-created online mini-series Wildlife to the Rescue aired on IGTV - it’s an invitation for all young people to be informed, inspired and encouraged to take what positive actions they can within their immediate sphere of influence.
The amazing line up included interviews and conversations with (among others) Myra-Rose Craig, popularly known as #BirdGirl; Annabel Ross, BBC audio producer, nutritionist and entrepreneur; Nicola Peel, environmental activist extraordinaire, and Ian Redmond OBE, internationally renowned conservationist champion of gorillas and elephants.
And last but not least, integrating an Earth Protector approach into early years education is proving to be a key area of exploration - check out this article in Primary Times (officially the UK’s most highly circulated magazine!).