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Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa have formally presented a proposal to the world's highest court this week, asking for an amendment to its principle treaty to include a crime of ecocide.
Vanuatu's special envoy for climate change Ralp Regenvanu said they were the first nation to call for the inclusion of ecocide as a crime at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2019.
"Vanuatu considers it imperative that the international community takes this conversation seriously," he said.
"Legal recognition of severe and widespread environmental harm holds significant potential to ensure justice and, crucially, to deter further destruction."
A formal proposal - submitted this week to the ICC Assembly's Working Group on Amendments by Vanuatu, and co-sponsored by Fiji and Samoa - asks the top UN Court to make a change to the Rome Statute to include a crime of ecocide.
Under the proposal presented, '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".
The International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands. Photo: AFP
This definition comes from an independent expert panel convened in 2021 by the Stop Ecocide Foundation, which has been pushing for ecocide to be included in the ICC's crime list for some time.
Professor Philippe Sands KC, Professor of Law at University College London and co-chair of the 2021 panel, said there is a manifest gap in the statute of the ICC, and ecocide is now firmly on the agenda, "a vital and necessary moment for an effective international law".
"This development reflects a growing recognition that severe environmental destruction deserves the same legal accountability as other grave international crimes that focus on the human.
"I urge member states to support this initiative."
The Foundation said under the proposed legislation, individuals could be held criminally accountable if their actions result in severe environmental damage, "such as massive oil or chemical spills, the clearcutting of primary rainforests, or the destruction of entire river systems".
The Guardian reported if the proposal is successful, it could allow for the prosecution of individuals who have brought about environmental destruction, such as the heads of large polluting companies, or heads of state.
The ICC has jurisdiction to prosecute four other international crimes, including genocide; however, the US, Russia and China, all large greenhouse gas emitters, are not parties to the ICC.
Belgium introduced a national crime of ecocide this year, while the European Union included a 'qualified' offence in its newly revised Environmental Crime Directive to tackle 'conduct comparable to ecocide'.
When contacted by RNZ Pacific, a Greenpeace spokesperson said it would not be able to comment on this as it is not something it is involved in.