Writing for Impact
Toetsing van:
Project Migratie
_M_HBR-2-OM-18-MI
Aantal woorden:
Assignment 1: 458
Assignment 2: 493
Assignment 3: 481
Assignment 4: 400
Assignment 5: 485
Hogeschool Leiden Opleiding HBO-Rechten
1
, Portfolio assignment #1- Ecocide
Ecocide
Ecocide is activity that causes mass damage, ecological loss and destruction of the ecosystem. As
there is no law preventing ecocide, barrister Polly Higgins dedicated her life to creating one. To
understand her life mission it is good to know that there are two sorts of ecocide. The first type is
corporate ecocide including events such as deforestation and the destruction of the amazon. The
second and last type is naturally occurring ecocide for example earthquakes and rising sea levels.
Barrister Polly Higgins has committed her life to the law of ecocide. Her decision stemmed from the
fact that the needs of shareholders and corporate interests are prioritized over protecting the
planet. This led to her pushing for corporations to be held legally responsible for the protection and
conservation of the environment from otherwise damaging practices which pollute the atmosphere.
Take Coca Cola for example. They would be obliged to commit to using bio-degradable and reusable
packaging. That would be a solution for what was noted in the introduction. Higgins also wanted to
conserve the environment in order to save an unharmed Earth for future generations to live on. She
was very proactive in support of her beliefs. For instance, she organized trust mocks and proposed the
statute of Rome (Global Documentary, 2014). Furthermore, she wrote a book called Eradication
Ecocide, made documentaries and advised governments of their responsibilities (Watts, 2019).
Polly Higgins introduced a proposal to the UN Law Commission in 2010. It proposed reforming the
Rome Statute to denote ecocide as a fifth crime against peace alongside genocide, crimes of
aggression, crimes against humanity and war crime. This would allow ecocide activities to be brought
to trial and the protection of the environment. Ecocide was included in each draft from 1985 till 1996.
Despite that, it was vetoed by France, The Netherlands and Britain (Extinction Rebellion Nederland,
2019). Polly Higgins sadly passed away at age fifty. Her work inspired many including Extinction
Rebellion, a fast-growing climate activist movement. Their non-violent movement orders the
recognition of ecocide as an international crime. So they were inspired by Polly Higgins, but it was not
what led to Extinction Rebellion (Gaia Foundation, n.d.).
In my opinion, her idea to give ecocide a legal definition is necessary to combat damage to our
environment. In doing so ecological loss, mass damage and devastation of the planet would be
criminalized. That way big billion-dollar heavily-polluting organizations would be compelled to accept
responsibility for their damaging practices. Additionally, it encourages individuals to think twice before
damaging the environment and to consider the environmental impact of their actions before their own
needs first. Last but foremost, it will give future generations an unharmed environment and a safe
place to live.
Portfolio assignment #2- Human Rights
The GDPR
2
Toetsing van:
Project Migratie
_M_HBR-2-OM-18-MI
Aantal woorden:
Assignment 1: 458
Assignment 2: 493
Assignment 3: 481
Assignment 4: 400
Assignment 5: 485
Hogeschool Leiden Opleiding HBO-Rechten
1
, Portfolio assignment #1- Ecocide
Ecocide
Ecocide is activity that causes mass damage, ecological loss and destruction of the ecosystem. As
there is no law preventing ecocide, barrister Polly Higgins dedicated her life to creating one. To
understand her life mission it is good to know that there are two sorts of ecocide. The first type is
corporate ecocide including events such as deforestation and the destruction of the amazon. The
second and last type is naturally occurring ecocide for example earthquakes and rising sea levels.
Barrister Polly Higgins has committed her life to the law of ecocide. Her decision stemmed from the
fact that the needs of shareholders and corporate interests are prioritized over protecting the
planet. This led to her pushing for corporations to be held legally responsible for the protection and
conservation of the environment from otherwise damaging practices which pollute the atmosphere.
Take Coca Cola for example. They would be obliged to commit to using bio-degradable and reusable
packaging. That would be a solution for what was noted in the introduction. Higgins also wanted to
conserve the environment in order to save an unharmed Earth for future generations to live on. She
was very proactive in support of her beliefs. For instance, she organized trust mocks and proposed the
statute of Rome (Global Documentary, 2014). Furthermore, she wrote a book called Eradication
Ecocide, made documentaries and advised governments of their responsibilities (Watts, 2019).
Polly Higgins introduced a proposal to the UN Law Commission in 2010. It proposed reforming the
Rome Statute to denote ecocide as a fifth crime against peace alongside genocide, crimes of
aggression, crimes against humanity and war crime. This would allow ecocide activities to be brought
to trial and the protection of the environment. Ecocide was included in each draft from 1985 till 1996.
Despite that, it was vetoed by France, The Netherlands and Britain (Extinction Rebellion Nederland,
2019). Polly Higgins sadly passed away at age fifty. Her work inspired many including Extinction
Rebellion, a fast-growing climate activist movement. Their non-violent movement orders the
recognition of ecocide as an international crime. So they were inspired by Polly Higgins, but it was not
what led to Extinction Rebellion (Gaia Foundation, n.d.).
In my opinion, her idea to give ecocide a legal definition is necessary to combat damage to our
environment. In doing so ecological loss, mass damage and devastation of the planet would be
criminalized. That way big billion-dollar heavily-polluting organizations would be compelled to accept
responsibility for their damaging practices. Additionally, it encourages individuals to think twice before
damaging the environment and to consider the environmental impact of their actions before their own
needs first. Last but foremost, it will give future generations an unharmed environment and a safe
place to live.
Portfolio assignment #2- Human Rights
The GDPR
2
