ORIGINAL: End Ecocide Europe
Credits for this Fantastic Video go to http://www.polifilm.co.uk
Drawings - Oliver Pidanti
Video - Tomás Sheridan
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Ecocidio. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Ecocidio. Mostrar todas las entradas
lunes, 11 de marzo de 2013
End Ecocide in Europe in a Nutshell
lunes, 5 de noviembre de 2012
UN documents say Ecocide was to be the 5th Crime Against Peace
ORIGINAL: Eradicating Ecocide
Polly reports on a groundbreaking discovery; Ecocide was examined for decades by the UN to be included as the fifth Crime Against Peace.
Imagine my surprise when a journalist called me a year ago to ask for my comment on the news that a law of Ecocide had been considered an international crime over 15 years ago. All we had was one document that referred to 3 countries who had objected to it being included as Crime Against Peace.
Today we have a paper trail that takes us back to 1972. The call to make Ecocide an international crime is nothing new – over 7,000 people took to the streets in Stockholm in 1972 to demand that ecocide be a crime. It was the time of the Vietnam War and world leaders had met in Stockholm to resolve environmental issues at an international level for the first time. At the same time, The People’s Forum brought together some of the top experts of the day to discuss ecocide.
Fast forward a decade; 1985 saw the flame of the Law of Ecocide burn brightly again. Most significantly was the draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind (precursor to the Rome Statute) which included Ecocide. For a further 11 years the United Nations partook in concerted debate, discussion and research - one researcher even drafted the Ecocide Convention. What happened next is set out in the research paper, Ecocide is the Missing 5th Crime Against Peace.
This explains why there are already ten countries with national laws in place to make Ecocide a crime.
Launched 19th July 2012 by The Human Rights Consortium at the School of Advanced Studies, University of London, The Ecocide Project will continue to unravel the question as to why it was shelved. Dr Damien Short, who has just taken up the post of Director of the Human Rights Consortium said “the paper provides a foundation of understanding on which we must build; there is more vital work to be done.” The report draws attention to the preamble of the draft Ecocide Convention, where there is the explicit recognition that Ecocide is not always a crime of intent – and that Ecocide is caused in both times of war and peace.
These are words that have just as much relevance today as they did when they were written in the draft Ecocide Convention in 1973:
“Man has consciously and unconsciously inflicted irreparable damage to the environment in times of war and peace.“
My dream is for a world of peace, a world where mass damage and destruction no longer exists. I believe we can live in peaceful enjoyment where both people and planet are put first.
Like the name of the research paper, Ecocide is the missing 5th Crime Against Peace – just imagine; when we close the door to mass damage and destruction a new door will open. When it does close, our world of conflict will end. What will open is the door to the world of peace.
Payback time for Big Oil?
ORIGINAL: AVAAZ
by Avaaz Team
11 October 2012 12:59
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| Maybe oil and justice do mix (George Esiri/EPA) |
For decades, Big Oil has ruled supreme in the developing world. When western oil giants like Shell, Chevron and Texaco set up business in Africa, Asia and Latin America, they've throw their money around to get the cheap labour, lax environmental enforcement and legal immunity from local officials and courts.
But now, things may be changing. A pair of groundbreaking legal cases raises hope that the petro barons may at long last be held to account. Added to this: Nigeria's parliament may be about to approve a $5bn fine against serial polluter Shell for a disastrous spill that affected millions.
Game time for Shell
Last month, a court in the Hague heard a case against the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell. It was the first timea major Dutch corporation faced trial in a civil court in the Netherlands for damage caused in another country.
The case was brought by four Nigerian fisherman and farmers, with the support of Friends of the Earth. They are seeking damages for massive pollution caused by spills from Shell oil facilities in Nigeria, which devastated the land and waterways of the Niger Delta and ruined thousands of livelihoods.
Shell had tried to claim that its Nigerian subsidiary is responsible for any claims, so that a lawsuit could be filed only in Nigeria, where Shell's money and political clout could protect the company (although that may be about to change too). But Dutch courts ruled they had jurisdiction and allowed the case to be brought to the Netherlands.
The decision is long overdue. Last year, a damning report from the United Nations Environmental Programme found that over the course of 50 years, oil companies, including Shell, had caused deep environmental damage to the Niger Delta region.
The court isn't expected to rule on the case until next year, but if this case is successful, it could open the door to many others from exploited people all over the world.
Chevron smackdown
Good news, also, from Latin America: after decades of struggle, the people of the Lago Agrio region in Ecuador have just won a huge victory against Chevron, one of the largest oil companies in the world. The US supreme court has decided not to block a judgment from an Ecuadorean court that ordered Chevron to pay $19bn in damages.
This is the culmination of a 20-year legal battle for justice by the indigenous people of Ecuador who say that from 1964 to 1992, Texaco (recently bought by Chevron) illegally dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste in the Ecuadorean rainforest. In what became known as the "Amazon Chernobyl", the pollution decimated over 1,500 sq miles, triggered a spike in cancer rates and destroyed locals' livelihoods and habitats.
After the group finally won their case in Ecuador, Chevron immediately asked a New York court for an injunction against the decision, which would let them avoid paying any damages. Although initially granted, the injunction was soon overturned by an appeals court.
Chevron, of course, tried to take the case all the way to the US supreme court, hoping that this body would act to protect a US corporation's profits. Turns out they were wrong, leaving Chevron on the hook for the $19bn awarded in damages, one of the most costly rulings against a US company by a foreign court.
Chevron has said it will continue to fight the case. Nonetheless, the supreme court's move is a major blow to Big Oil.
Hope across the world
Real action is also happening outside of the courts. The Nigerian parliament now has a historic opportunity to hold Shell accountable for a massive spill – one of many that happen yearly in the country's once pristine Niger delta. In just days parliament could approve a fine of $5bn for the oil giant.
These are small steps but they are major reasons for hope. Not only will they galvanise the struggle to bring other oil behemoths to account, they should inspire all those fighting against corporate crime around the world.
Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, UNEP, Democracy Now!, Guardian, Bloomberg, Rainforest Action Network
Make Shell pay
In days, Nigeria's parliament could approve a $5bn fine against giant oil polluter Shell for a spill that devastated the lives of millions of people. This is a watershed moment – but unless we all speak out now, oil giants will crush it. Stand with the people of Nigeria and urge lawmakers to make Shell pay.
viernes, 19 de octubre de 2012
WISH20: End Ecocide by 2020
ORIGINAL: Wish20 End Ecocide By 2020
Imagine it’s 2020 and we’ve achieved the Green Economy.
Is it still possible that Ecocide, the extensive destruction of ecosystems, is still legal and profitable?
So what changed?
Could it be that the extensive destruction of ecosystems itself became illegal and provided an incentive for all the other changes that were necessary to enable the Green Economy?
In March 2010 international barrister and award winning author Polly Higgins proposed to the United Nations that Ecocide be made the fifth Crime Against Peace.
Ecocide is the extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished.
The law of Ecocide will enable sustainable development and the United Nations Environmental Program’s vision for a Green Economy. It is an innovative approach that will create a paradigm shift in the global economy and offers the promise that significant change is possible. The law of Ecocide is a new method for achieving a prosperous future for all people because it goes to the core of the environmental issues that are proving so difficult to tackle:
- It is not a small idea that will have incremental benefits;
- It does not treat the symptoms.
- The Law of Ecocide addresses the causes of many environmental issues directly;
- It will end the most extreme forms of environmental destruction;
- It can be realistically achieved because no country has a veto and it initially requires support from only 81 countries.
- It is the missing fifth Crime Against Peace.
The law of Ecocide will work because it will eliminate from most global supply chains the products and services that cause the greatest environmental destruction and so make companies that promote truly renewable solutions significantly more profitable. These companies will experience growth and so will create millions of jobs around the world. This will be good for people, societies, governments and shareholders everywhere. What is needed is an end to Ecocide.
If the world is going to achieve the Green Economy, where all humanity’s needs are delivered within the renewable capacity of the Earth, something significant has to happen to stop major environmental destruction taking place. That significant change, which many have predicted, is the law of Ecocide.
Polly and her legal team are determined to end this era of Ecocide. Find out how you can help.
Read about Ecocide
Read the Ecocide Act and sentencing guidelines
Read about our strategy to make Ecocide a crime
Read about what happened at Rio+20
domingo, 3 de junio de 2012
Love letter to the Earth
ORIGINAL: http://lovelettertotheearth.com/
LOVE LETTER TO THE EARTH
Earth law = people + planet
We believe that our Earth is precious. We are calling on our leaders of the world to create laws to protect it.
Your love letter will live on this website along with many others from people around the world. During 2012 these letters and images will also be sent to world leaders. When enough of us speak out on behalf of the Earth, our leaders will act.
With all our voices together we believe we can have Earth law in place before the end of 2012. In June 2012 in Rio leaders of the world are meeting to hold an Earth Summit to decide the fate for us all. Our ask is for them to make Earth law at the Earth Summit.
Earth law is law which places people and planet above profit. The most important Earth law we need to put in place is an international crime of Ecocide -- to prevent mass destruction of the Earth.
You can find out more about making Ecocide a crime at www.eradicatingecocide.com.
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