Monday 26 September 2011

Ecocide – the Fifth Crime Against Peace

It is transparently obvious that if we do not rein in our impacts on the biosphere in very short order, the prospects for humanity and more or less everything else living are very grim indeed.

Unfortunately nothing of consequence is happening on this front, as our emissions rise daily and our destruction of the biosphere continues apace to satisfy the perceived needs of what is sometimes referred to as the ‘human project’ but may more objectively be described as the consumer or civilisation project.

That the global community is rendered absolutely impotent in the face of a known, unprecedented, irreversible, and life-threatening danger is a measure of the catastrophic failure of governance globally (the way in which we govern ourselves or are governed, as you will) that is taking place.

At all levels this has proved itself totally dysfunctional in its attempts to evaluate and address the trajectory on which we seem stubbornly and obstreperously stuck; absolutely unable to respond rationally to a fundamental change in paradigm resulting from radical advances in scientific knowledge.

Instead, its institutions have drifted along in the old model, unable to cope, clinging to bankrupt values which are transparently untenable, as if ignoring our predicament will somehow cause it to spontaneously evaporate.

It is entirely clear that the only way to address the ecological disaster unfolding in excruciatingly slow motion is to cut back radically on activities giving rise to the damage, and as a matter of the utmost urgency. But so far all attempts to do this have foundered on the cross of economic ‘imperatives’ and political expediency. Governments having failed, lamentably it has fallen to individuals to take this imperative expedient forward.


Polly Higgins is an exemplar for us all: a barrister who has renounced a promising career and the secure and comfortable life which is the natural corollary to such a calling, to dedicate herself absolutely to the cause of saving the world from ecological catastrophe. If everyone would only recognise that life changing decisions and a certain measure of renunciation are demanded of each one of us by the perilous position we find ourselves in entirely as the result of our own folly, how different our prospects would be.

Recognising the urgency of the need to address the immediate causes, last spring Polly lodged a proposal with the UN Law Commission calling for ecocide to become the fifth crime against peace, alongside the existing crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. These crimes against peace are international and can be tried by the International Criminal Court.

She followed up with a book entitled Eradicating Ecocide published last September, which quickly found its way onto the syllabus of various law schools internationally. Since, the campaign has been gathering pace in many quarters, resulting in speaking engagements and tours on various continents.

This Friday, 30 September, the world’s first trial of the crime of ecocide will take place at no less a venue than the Supreme Court in London. This is a mock trial, obviously, designed to illustrate how the crime of ecocide would work in practice should it become law.

Anyone willing to chance their health in the hazardous airs of London can attend, though space is limited so the advice is to arrive early, although the trial will also be shown on CCTV in the lobby of the court.

Happily for those not inclined to run up the carbon, the trial will be televised on Sky News, enabling anyone, anywhere to have a virtual presence.


All this is very good news indeed. That notwithstanding, there remain a couple of serious loopholes in what has been proposed which render it questionable as to how effective the crime of ecocide would prove to be as currently put forward.

The aspiration is that the next two posts will deal with those, in the hope that by so identifying those weaknesses, they can be addressed before the crime of ecocide becomes set in law.

For there is unlikely to be a second chance at this, and it is vital that it should work - for all of life.




Anyone for dinner?