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Ecocide, A New Crime
Global campaigners are asking governments to introduce a new crime in national laws: ecocide.
A movement called End Ecocide on Earth is seeking to have the wholesale destruction of ecosystems ranked alongside offences such as genocide and war crimes. Environmental destruction should be prosecuted in full, they say. The International Criminal Court (ICC) would then be able to prosecute companies over major pollution incidents, such as the oil spills that have contaminated large areas of the Niger Delta region for half a century.
The End Ecocide in Europe campaign has gathered more than 170,000 signatures in support of creating a law in the European Union. The petition is to be presented to the European Parliament in the hope that MEPs will back the idea and persuade the European Commission to issue a directive.
A movement called End Ecocide on Earth is seeking to have the wholesale destruction of ecosystems ranked alongside offences such as genocide and war crimes. Environmental destruction should be prosecuted in full, they say. The International Criminal Court (ICC) would then be able to prosecute companies over major pollution incidents, such as the oil spills that have contaminated large areas of the Niger Delta region for half a century.
The End Ecocide in Europe campaign has gathered more than 170,000 signatures in support of creating a law in the European Union. The petition is to be presented to the European Parliament in the hope that MEPs will back the idea and persuade the European Commission to issue a directive.