A push to make ecocide an international crime
Why do we wait until someone has passed away before we honour them? I believe we should overcome our embarrassment, and say it while they are with us. In this spirit, I want to tell you about the world-changing work of Polly Higgins.
She is a barrister who has devoted her life to creating an international crime of ecocide. This means serious damage to, or destruction of, the natural world and the Earth’s systems. It would make the people who commission it – such as chief executives and government ministers – criminally liable for the harm they do to others, while creating a legal duty of care for life on Earth.
It would force anyone contemplating large-scale vandalism to ask themselves, ‘Will I end up in the Hague for this?’
I believe it would change everything. It would radically shift the balance of power, forcing anyone contemplating large-scale vandalism to ask themselves: “Will I end up in the international criminal court for this?” It could make the difference between a habitable and an uninhabitable planet.
There are no effective safeguards preventing a few powerful people, companies or states from wreaking havoc for the sake of profit or power. Though their actions may lead to the death of millions, they know they can’t be touched. Their impunity, as they engage in potential mass murder, reveals a gaping hole in international law.
Last week, for instance, the research group InfluenceMap reported that the world’s five biggest publicly listed oil and gas companies, led by BP and Shell, are spending nearly $200m a year on lobbying to delay efforts to prevent climate breakdown.
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—— Ugarteche, Puyana and Madi ——
Gerson Lima / Maria Alejandra Madi
Edward Fullbrook and Jamie Morgan
————— Michael Hudson ————–
Maria Alejandra Madi / Jack Reardon
————- Edward Fullbrook ————-
—————— Steve Keen —————–
————— Richard Smith —————
————– Gustavo Marques————
– Victor Beker and Beniamino Moro –
————– Lars Pålsson Syll ————-
—————– Stuart Birks —————-
Edward Fullbrook and Jamie Morgan
———— Armando Ochangco ———-
Shimshon Bichler / Jonathan Nitzan
————— Mauro Gallegati ————–
————— Herman Daly —————-
————— Asad Zaman —————
—————– C. T. Kurien —————
————— Robert Locke —————-
George – Thanks are due you and God/Goddess and/or Buddha and all your holy angels. I had given up on mentioning Polly’s crusade many years ago. We should all get behind her and support the initiative with all our available time & energy. You are absolutely right, making ecocide a capital crime against humanity and nature would initiate a radical evolutionary change for the better, globally.
It seems to me that making laws for what you are not allowed to do is a favorite past time of keyboard warriors. These laws are summarily bypassed and ignored by the movers and shakers. Welcome to the Matrix
The problem with international laws is that they are simply ignored or dismissed by the governments of large countries whenever it suits their convenience. The same contempt for international laws and treaties occurs when large powers engage in military action and/or the invasion of smaller countries in contravention of their obligation to adhere to the rules for military behavior established by the United Nations. Sadly. we have to accept that the problems of the non-compliance with and non-enforcement of international legal rulings, and even non-recognition of the authority and jurisdiction of such bodies as the World Court, are intractable at this point in time.
I have long had a fantasy: Dick Cheney in stocks next to Henry Kissinger in stocks in front of The Hague, available for pelting with ripe beefsteak tomatoes (yes, what a waste; better used for BLTs). These international criminals, along with the Bush and Clinton Crime Families are war criminals who long ago should have been summoned by the International Court. Problem is, abuse of power by The Empire. These existing international laws have been toothless for a long time.
I have a few bottles of expensive bubbly for a special occassion. One has Cheney’s name on it and the day he drops dead I’ll crack it open and celebrate his untimely (should have been a long time ago) demise.
I commented on Ecocide very recently, and have nothing valuable to add to the comments.
There is, as I am sure you are aware, little international judicial infrastructure left to which such matters can be referred. The only thing economists can do is to routinely teach these realities without spending precious time discrediting what has clearly been bankrupt for decades and decades. One wishes that a new institute were established for the minority of students who are interested in studying the multifaceted realities of a failed system and what upcoming activists and lawyers might do to change it.
U.S. does not recognize the Rome Statute, or jurisdiction of the ICC (most of the time), no?
It’s a great shame to see Prime witch hunter and thought crime prosecutor polluting these pages with his usual assinine drivel. #WrongKindofGreen.
https://longhairedmusings.wordpress.com/2019/02/03/monbiot-attenborough-and-greta-thunberg/
Monbiot is usually thoughtful and on the money, But not always and her he’s just thinking because action will never be taken. His final sentence tells why
A name which should be entered alongside Rachel Carson, Lois Gibbs, Alice Hamilton, and now AOC & Greta Thunberg.