Collection of essays
Toetsing van:
Writing for Impact
HBR-OM18-IM Writing for Impact
Aantal woorden: 2.472
Hogeschool Leiden Opleiding HBO-Rechten
16 november 2018
Reguliere kans
Collegejaar 2, blok 1
, Ecocide as the fifth international crime against peace
The Rome Statute is probably one of the most powerful legal documents in the world. It has established four
core criminal crimes: crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and the crime of aggression. Even though
there are many crimes against humanity, not one of them also protects the Earth against the crime of ecocide:
a crime against the living natural world. The Earth needed a lawyer and that lawyer became Polly Higgins.
Polly Higgins is a former advocate from Scotland. About seven years ago, Higgins gave up her own law firm in
London to dedicate her career to the protection of the Earth against the crime of ecocide. Higgins describes
ecocide as the extensive damage to, or loss of ecosystems of a territory, whether by human agency or by other
(natural) causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants has been or will be diminished.
Higgins argues that despite the existence of many laws that protect the well-being of life, it’s time to expand
our cycle of concern to the well-being of all life. Higgins’ idea is to make ecocide the fifth international crime
against peace under the Rome Statute by creating an international law that imposes a legal duty of care on all
nations, businesses and persons with a certain superiority, to give assistance to other nations and persons who
are facing ecocide and to pre-empt decision-making of a political, business and financial nature that may lead
to significant harm to ecosystems.
Furthermore, by implementing an international law of ecocide and criminalising ecocide in the Rome Statute,
prosecutions shall be taken by the 122 state parties to the Rome Statute. Ecocide as the fifth international
crime against peace makes it possible to ensure that persons with a certain superiority become individually
responsible for serious environmental damage. By punishing those persons, we can put an end to the state-
sanctioned immunity of worldwide ecological polluters. In 2010, Higgins submitted the proposal of an
international ecocide law into the United Nations International Law Commission. In 2017, Mission LifeForce
was launched. Its mission is to protect the Earth by establishing ecocide as a crime.
In my opinion, Higgins’ idea is a huge step forward for the environmental movement. Like Higgins, I believe that
we have an obligation to promote the well-being of the Earth. By implementing a criminal law of ecocide, state
parties have a duty not only to prosecute, but also a duty to give assistance in the event of an ecological
catastrophe. For example, my hometown Rotterdam must cope with rising sea levels. An ecocide law prevents,
prohibits and pre-empts natural catastrophes such as rising sea levels. I’m convinced that ecocide isn’t only a
crime against future generations. Moreover, it’s a crime against peace. I believe that an international criminal
law of ecocide is the only way to stop the ‘criminal’ activities of the biggest polluters: the nations, businesses
and us.
Toetsing van:
Writing for Impact
HBR-OM18-IM Writing for Impact
Aantal woorden: 2.472
Hogeschool Leiden Opleiding HBO-Rechten
16 november 2018
Reguliere kans
Collegejaar 2, blok 1
, Ecocide as the fifth international crime against peace
The Rome Statute is probably one of the most powerful legal documents in the world. It has established four
core criminal crimes: crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and the crime of aggression. Even though
there are many crimes against humanity, not one of them also protects the Earth against the crime of ecocide:
a crime against the living natural world. The Earth needed a lawyer and that lawyer became Polly Higgins.
Polly Higgins is a former advocate from Scotland. About seven years ago, Higgins gave up her own law firm in
London to dedicate her career to the protection of the Earth against the crime of ecocide. Higgins describes
ecocide as the extensive damage to, or loss of ecosystems of a territory, whether by human agency or by other
(natural) causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants has been or will be diminished.
Higgins argues that despite the existence of many laws that protect the well-being of life, it’s time to expand
our cycle of concern to the well-being of all life. Higgins’ idea is to make ecocide the fifth international crime
against peace under the Rome Statute by creating an international law that imposes a legal duty of care on all
nations, businesses and persons with a certain superiority, to give assistance to other nations and persons who
are facing ecocide and to pre-empt decision-making of a political, business and financial nature that may lead
to significant harm to ecosystems.
Furthermore, by implementing an international law of ecocide and criminalising ecocide in the Rome Statute,
prosecutions shall be taken by the 122 state parties to the Rome Statute. Ecocide as the fifth international
crime against peace makes it possible to ensure that persons with a certain superiority become individually
responsible for serious environmental damage. By punishing those persons, we can put an end to the state-
sanctioned immunity of worldwide ecological polluters. In 2010, Higgins submitted the proposal of an
international ecocide law into the United Nations International Law Commission. In 2017, Mission LifeForce
was launched. Its mission is to protect the Earth by establishing ecocide as a crime.
In my opinion, Higgins’ idea is a huge step forward for the environmental movement. Like Higgins, I believe that
we have an obligation to promote the well-being of the Earth. By implementing a criminal law of ecocide, state
parties have a duty not only to prosecute, but also a duty to give assistance in the event of an ecological
catastrophe. For example, my hometown Rotterdam must cope with rising sea levels. An ecocide law prevents,
prohibits and pre-empts natural catastrophes such as rising sea levels. I’m convinced that ecocide isn’t only a
crime against future generations. Moreover, it’s a crime against peace. I believe that an international criminal
law of ecocide is the only way to stop the ‘criminal’ activities of the biggest polluters: the nations, businesses
and us.
