Event information

11 April 2024, 12:30-14:00
Register start 25 March 2024
Register end 11 April 2024

Downloads

Flyer >

The Prosecution of Ecocide and Other Environmental Crimes: State of the Law and Way(s) Forward

IHL Talks

Burning oil fields in Kuwait Burning oil fields in Kuwait

Until recently, international criminal law has largely ignored crimes committed against the environment and maintained a highly anthropocentric approach. Under the Rome Statute, there is only one environment-specific war crime provision applicable in the context of international armed conflicts. Moreover, despite its 2016 policy paper stating that environmental crimes are among its priorities, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) appears not to have given precedence to investigations and prosecutions of such crimes. On 16 February, however, the Office of the ICC Prosecutor launched a public consultation on a new policy initiative to advance accountability for environmental crimes under the Rome Statute. While this is a step forward in ‘advanc-[ing] accountability for environmental crimes under the Rome Statute’, it focuses on crimes within the ICC jurisdiction that have been committed by means of, or have resulted in, environmental damage. As such, it does not provide for the possibility of including a fifth independent category of crimes prohibiting ‘severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the natural environment’ as such, namely ecocide.

This IHL Talk will explore various issues related to the prosecution of ecocide and other environmental crimes. In particular, it will discuss whether such crimes could be prosecuted within the existing framework of international criminal law and whether a new category of international crimes that departs from the prevailing anthropocentric approach would bring added value. It will further examine how domestic regulations and prosecutions, but also civil society initiatives such as people’s tribunals, could be considered as more efficient alternatives. Finally, this Talk will question the extent to which the technical skills required to effectively investigate those crimes are in practice hampering their prosecution.

Moderation

  • Dr Eugénie Duss, Research Fellow, Geneva Academy

Panelists

  • Dr Jelena Aparac, Lecturer, Researcher, Business and human rights in armed conflicts, UN SWTP
  • Dr Nataliia Hendel, Research Fellow, Geneva Academy and Professor of International Law, International Humanitarian University in Odesa
  • Dr Stavros-Evdokimos Pantazopoulos, Visiting Research Fellow, Geneva Academy, Post-doctoral Researcher, Toxic Crimes Project of the Erik Castrén Institute at the University of Helsinki and Senior Research Fellow, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy

About The IHL Talks

The IHL Talks are a series of events, hosted by the Geneva Academy, on international humanitarian law and current humanitarian topics. Academic experts, practitioners, policymakers and journalists discuss burning humanitarian issues and their regulation under international law.

Drinks

This event will be followed by drinks.

 

Disclaimer

This event may be filmed, recorded and/or photographed on behalf of the Geneva Academy. The Geneva Academy may use these recordings and photographs for internal and external communications for information, teaching and research purposes, and/or promotion and illustration through its various media channels (website, social media, newsletters, annual report, etc.).

By participating in this event, you are agreeing to the possibility of appearing in the aforementioned films, recordings and photographs, and their subsequent use by the Geneva Academy.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

An LLM class News

Apply to our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights!

27 November 2023

Applications for the 2024–2025 academic year of our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights are open. They will run until 26 January 2024 for applications with a scholarship and until 24 February 2024 for applications without a scholarship.

Read more

IHL in Focus Launch Meeting News

Opening Expert Meeting For 'IHL in Focus' Project

22 April 2024

To kick-start the activities of the 'IHL in Focus' project and refine its approach, a two-day expert meeting of representative practitioners and scholars from different disciplines was convened.

Read more

Iraq, Mosul. View of the west bank after the war. Project

IHL in Focus

Started in January 2024

As a yearly publication, it keeps decision-makers, practitioners and scholars up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges in IHL implementation in over 100 armed conflicts worldwide – both international and non-international.

Read more

Computer screen with warning: civilian infrastucture: do not attack Project

The Digitalization of Armed Conflict

Started in September 2020

This project will explore humanitarian consequences and protection needs caused by the digitalization of armed conflicts and the extent to which these needs are addressed by international law, especially international humanitarian law.

Read more

Cover of Report Publication

Artificial Intelligence And Related Technologies In Military Decision-Making On The Use Of Force In Armed Conflicts: Current Developments And Potential Implications

published on May 2024

Anna Rosalie Greipl, Neil Davison, Georgia Hinds

Read more