History

UN Special Rapporteur on genocide Benjamin Whitaker suggests a definition of ‘ecocide’ to add to the Genocide Convention, following the recommendation of the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities 1978 study. The inclusion of a crime of ecocide in the Genocide Convention is ultimately not adopted or pursued further by the Sub-Commission.

The International Law Commission includes article 26: “willful and severe damage to the environment” in its Draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind. This draft states: “An individual who willfully causes or orders the causing of widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment shall, on conviction thereof, be sentenced.”

The Russian Federation includes a crime of ecocide in its domestic law. Article 358 of the Criminal Code provides: “Massive destruction of the animal or plant kingdoms, contamination of the atmosphere or water resources, and also commission of other actions capable of causing an ecological catastrophe, shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of 12 to 20 years.”

The Kyrgyz Republic codifies ecocide in its domestic law. Article 374 of the Criminal Code states, “Massive destruction of the animal or plant kingdoms, contamination of the atmosphere or water resources, and also commission of other actions capable of causing an ecological catastrophe, shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of 12 to 20 years.”

Tajikistan codifies ecocide in its domestic law. Article 400 of the Criminal Codes states, “Mass destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning the atmosphere or water resources, as well as commission of other actions which may cause ecological disasters is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 15 to 20 years.”

Belarus codifies the crime of ecocide in its domestic law. Ecocide is defined in article 131 of its Criminal Code as “mass destruction of the fauna and flora, pollution of the atmosphere and water resources as well as any other act liable to cause an ecological disaster”.

Moldova codifies the crime of ecocide in its domestic law. Article 136 of the Criminal Code states, “Deliberate mass destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning the atmosphere or water resources, and the commission of other acts that may cause or caused an ecological disaster shall be punished by imprisonment for 10 to 15 years.”

Armenia codifies the crime of ecocide in its domestic law. Article 394 of its Criminal Code states: “Mass destruction of flora or fauna, poisoning the environment, the soils or water resources, as well as implementation of other actions causing an ecological catastrophe is punished with imprisonment for the term of 10 to 15 years”.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court releases a Policy Paper on Case Selection and Prioritisation. This paper states that the impact of a crime is a factor in assessing gravity, and that: “The impact of the crimes may be assessed in light of, inter alia, the increased vulnerability of victims, the terror subsequently instilled, or the social, economic and environmental damage inflicted on the affected communities. In this context, the Office will give particular consideration to prosecuting Rome Statute crimes that are committed by means of, or that result in, inter alia, the destruction of the environment, the illegal exploitation of natural resources or the illegal dispossession of land” (para. 41).

Vanuatu and the Maldives call for consideration of adding the crime of ‘ecocide’ to the Rome Statute at the 18th Meeting of the ICC Assembly of States Parties.

VANUATU
Official statement

MALDIVES:
Official statement

Proposed draft of amendment to the Rome Statute to include a crime of ‘ecocide’ completed by the Independent Expert Panel, convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation, for the Legal Definition of Ecocide.

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Support was gathered for a motion to the Scottish parliament submitted by MSP Monica Lennon welcoming the new definition of ecocide.

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Bangladeshi parliamentary committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change recommends adding a provision to the Code of Criminal Procedure or drafting a new legal framework to codify ecocide.

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A proposal was registered at the Ecological Transition Committee of the Congress asking the government to support the creation of Ecocide crime. (P. 50)

Senator Raúl Paz Alonzo asked the Mexican Government to recognise ecocide as the fifth Crime against World Peace and Security.

The provisional government of West Papua launches its Green State Vision in Glasgow during COP26, explicitly including the criminalisation of ecocide.

Belgium supports raising awareness of ecocide internationally in its official statement to the International Criminal Court’s Assembly and intervenes (see 1h26m) in official ICC side event.

Finland’s foreign minister supports the ecocide conversation at the ICC in his official statement to the Assembly of States Parties.

Vanuatu, Bangladesh & Samoa support the ecocide conversation at the ICC by co-hosting an official side event and providing supporting statements:

Samoa
Bangladesh
Vanuatu

European Parliament Report on Human Rights & Democracy recommends EU member states support criminalising ecocide at the ICC & also examine relevance to EU law.

Ecocide parliamentary resolution submitted to Icelandic Parliament calling for support for international crime of ecocide as well as national ecocide legislation. With cross party support from Pirate Party, Liberal reformation, Social Democrats and Left Green.

Danish parliament discusses ecocide following a question submitted to the Foreign Minister and resolves (see 15.22: A. Lind), by large majority, to follow ecocide conversation internationally.

Issue of criminalising ecocide raised during parliamentary speech given by Member of the House of Representatives, Ms. Alexandra Attalides, from Movement of Ecologists-Citizens Cooperation.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Forests, Mr Keriako Tobiko, revealed a landmark legislation proposal, stating that said proposal “contains critical principles”, which include the “recognition of the right to nature and, most importantly, creation of the crime of ‘ecocide’.”

Senator David Shoebridge (Australian Greens), in his first speech to the Australian Senate Chamber on 2nd August, declares he believes it is “time to enact a new criminal offence of ecocide. Ecocide is the mass, widespread damage and destruction of ecosystems in nature”.

UN General Assembly: President Vurobaravu urges states to support including a crime of ecocide in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), telling the Assembly that “acting with knowledge of severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment can no longer be tolerated”.

UN General Assembly: the Vice President of the Republic of Panama, José Gabriel Carrizo, argued that “the time has come for the world to have an international body to hold accountable all those who cause damage to the planet. […] When is ecocide going to stop?”

At the G20 summit in Indonesia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine set out in a speech to world leaders a 10-point Peace Formula aimed at restoring just and long-lasting peace for Ukraine.  Covering nuclear safety, food and security, ceasing of hostilities and the upholding of the UN Charter, point 8 of the plan addresses the challenge of “countering ecocide.”

General Debate, Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib reiterates Belgium’s “willingness to engage in consideration of the introduction of a crime known as ‘ecocide’ into the Rome Statute system.”

General Debate, Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: Aotearoa/New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Hon. Nanaia Mahuta made a strong statement in support of “future discussions around the concept of ecocide as an international crime to address environmental destruction at a global level.”

General Debate, Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto welcomes “every effort to use international criminal justice to respond” to the threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, and notes the Assembly provides a context to “continue discussions on the ecocide initiative.”

Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe adopts resolution and recommendation calling for recognition of ecocide, based on report from its Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development on the Environmental impact of armed conflicts.

Via announcement at a monthly plenary session, the European Parliament officially declared its support of the inclusion of ecocide-level crimes into the European Union’s revised Directive on protection of the environment through criminal law.

Following the direction of travel established in the 4 previous consultative committees, the last and most important of these in the context of this Directive, the legal affairs (JURI) committee, unanimously voted to include the most serious environmental crimes widely known as “ecocide” – in its proposed text for the Directive which will be presented in the EU Parliament on 17th April.

Governments of Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Fiji, Niue, and the Solomon Islands collectively call to phase out fossil fuels, support a rapid and just Pacific transition to renewable energy, and strengthen related legal obligations – including to “prevent Ecocide.”

Türkiye has seen cross-party momentum for recognising ecocide in law. In November 2023, a citizen petition for a criminal ecocide law gained support from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Separately, CHP MP Orhan Sarıbal submitted a draft ecocide law under administrative law, last updated in October 2023.

In early 2025, Nimet Özdemir, also from CHP, proposed a penal code amendment to criminalise ecocide, aligning with international efforts at the International Criminal Court. These developments signal broadening political and public backing for ecocide legislation in Türkiye.

Calls for criminalising ecocide have also been backed by members of several other political parties, including İbrahim Akın MP of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), as well as representatives from the İYİ Party and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), reflecting increasing cross-party recognition of the need for stronger legal protections for nature.

The Brazilian political party PSOL (Partido Socialismo e Liberdade) submitted a new Ecocide Bill to the Brazilian Congress. The proposed ecocide law seeks to criminalise “performing illegal or wanton acts with the knowledge that they generate a substantial probability of serious and widespread or long-term damage to the environment.”

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has called on parliaments of its participating States to enshrine the concept of ecocide in national and international law.

Member of Parliament Lammert van Raan of Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals), officially launched a law proposal to criminalise ecocide in the Netherlands.

The proposal is currently subject to four weeks of public consultation prior to being submitted for advisory opinion to the Council of State. For the bill to become law, it will then need to be approved by Parliament.

The Catalan Parliament initiated a procedure to bring before the National Congress of Deputies a bill to include the crime of ecocide in the Spanish Penal Code. From here, the proposal will continue its progress. There will be several months of hearings in which amendments can be introduced to the text, after which a final vote will take place at the Catalan Parliament.

The Belgian Council of Ministers approved the second reading of a bill outlining proposed reforms to the nation’s penal code. Among the new crimes listed for inclusion is Ecocide. Pending approval by Parliament later this year, the development sees Belgium set to become the twelfth country to add the crime to its statute books.

Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (Greens and Left Alliance), supported by Stop Ecocidio Italia and Stop Ecocide International, has submitted a bill aimed at preventing and criminalising ecocide to the Italian Parliament.

The proposed bill, which is directly based on the wording of the legal definition of ecocide formulated by the Independent Expert Panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation in 2021, has been formally submitted to parliament, with debate and votes due to take place in the coming months.

On August 17, a new law,  Law 21.595 was published in Chile.  It modifies the Penal Code in terms of economic crimes and incorporates a new section on “Attacks against the environment”, which includes several elements of the legal definition of ecocide formulated by the Independent Expert  Panel, convened by Stop Ecocide Foundation in 2021.

The Nordic Council voted unanimously in a session in Oslo, Norway to adopt a recommendation calling for ‘the Nordic governments to participate in relevant international discussions to criminalise serious crimes against the natural environment in both wartime and peacetime.’

A Private Members Bill dubbed the ‘Ecocide Bill‘, introduced by Baroness Rosie Boycott, aims to close an existing gap in UK criminal law which allows perpetrators of the most severe environmental harms to escape accountability.

The EU has agreed to enshrine in law a new offence that aims to punish the most serious crimes against the environment. The final text emerged following several months of negotiation (“trilogues”) between the European Council, Commission and Parliament considering, inter alia, the establishment of a “qualified offence” aimed at preventing and punishing the gravest environmental harms including, as the accompanying recitals specify, “cases comparable to ecocide”.

The Environment and Sustainable Development Committee of the Deputies Chamber of the Brazilian Congress approved Bill No 2933/2023 which aims to criminalize the most serious cases of illegal or wanton destruction of the environment, known as “ecocide”. This Bill has been authored and submitted by the PSOL party and supported by a coalition or organisations including Ecoe Brasil, Climate Counsel, Observatório do Clima and Stop Ecocide International.

Monica Lennon MSP lodged proposals for a Members’ Bill in the Scottish Parliament asking people to support an ecocide prevention law that could see big polluters jailed for between 10 and 20 years.

Belgium’s Federal Parliament voted in favour of a new penal code for the country, which, for the first time in Europe, includes recognition of the crime of ecocide at both the national and international levels. Nationally, the new crime of ecocide, aimed at preventing and punishing the most severe cases of environmentaldegradation, such as extensive oil spills, will apply to individuals in the highest positions of decision-making power and to corporations.

On February 20, 2024, a group of Finnish Green MPs, including former Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo, submitted a formal written question to the government, inquiring about the administration’s intentions to promote the establishment of a new standalone international crime of ecocide via the International Criminal Court.

The European Council formally adopted a new environmental crime directive, which includes provision to criminalise cases ‘comparable to ecocide’. This is the latest and final vote on the new Directive and follows approval by the European Parliament in February and a landmark political agreement between the European Council, Commission and Parliament in November 2023.

Member states will now have a 24 month period, via the so-called ‘transposition’ process, in which to align national legislation with the newly adopted directive.

The Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) voted on a total of six motions, from four political parties, that contain proposals to make ecocide prohibited under international law within the framework of the International Criminal Court.

The vote in parliament was close – 153 MPs voting in line with the Foreign Affairs Committee’s recommendations (i.e. against the motions) and 150 voting in favour.

Two new ecocide bills have been introduced in Peru’s parliament by members of the Perú Libre and Cambio Democrático parties, adding to a previous submission and signalling a concerted move towards amending the penal code to include ecocide, based on the Independent Expert Panel’s consensus definition formulated in 2021.

On 1 July 2024, Italy’s Green and Left Alliance proposed a bill to criminalise “ecocide,” based on the Independent Expert Panel’s 2021 definition.

A new report by France’s international development financing agency, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), highlights the role that ecocide law would play in “ensuring the planet’s habitability”.

Peru takes a significant step toward criminalising ecocide, as a national congressional Technical Committee successfully consolidated three separate proposed ecocide bills into a unified legislative text.

The crime of ecocide was formally introduced for consideration by member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa —an event that represents a major step forward in the global effort to enshrine mass environmental destruction as a crime under international law.

Azerbaijan’s parliament, the Milli Majlis, has passed the first reading of a bill that would introduce the crime of ecocide into the country’s Criminal Code. Proposed by President Ilham Aliyev, the bill seeks to impose custodial sentences of 10 to 15 years for those convicted of committing severe environmental damage.

DRC becomes first African nation to formally endorse the creation of an international crime of ecocide, following September 2024 proposal from Pacific nations to add ecocide to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

On November 27th, the Justice and Human Rights Commission of the Peruvian Congress approved a motion to criminalise ecocide, incorporating key elements of the 2021 IEP consensus legal definition. This significant step toward adding ecocide to the Penal Code now awaits plenary approval by Congress and presidential promulgation to become law.

Türkiye has seen cross-party momentum for recognising ecocide in law. In November 2023, a citizen petition for a criminal ecocide law gained support from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Separately, CHP MP Orhan Sarıbal submitted a draft ecocide law under administrative law, last updated in October 2023.

In early 2025, Nimet Özdemir, also from CHP, proposed a penal code amendment to criminalise ecocide, aligning with international efforts at the International Criminal Court. These developments signal broadening political and public backing for ecocide legislation in Türkiye.

Calls for criminalising ecocide have also been backed by members of several other political parties, including İbrahim Akın MP of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), as well as representatives from the İYİ Party and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), reflecting increasing cross-party recognition of the need for stronger legal protections for nature.

On April 1st 2025, MP Margarita Stolbizer introduced a new bill in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies addressing environmental crimes, including ecocide, using the definition developed by the Independent Expert Panel in 2021.

The move follows devastating wildfires across Patagonia. SEI’s Jojo Mehta called it “another important step” toward recognising ecocide as a serious crime. The bill marks the latest step in the growing momentum for ecocide law in Latin America. Read the bill (Chapter VII, Articles 337–341) here.