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The country is the first in Europe to recognize ecocide as a crime at both national and international levels.
Belgium’s federal parliament today voted in favor of amended criminal law making ecocide punishable at both national and international levels, making the country the first European country to recognize ecocide under international law.
“Belgium is now at the forefront of a truly global dialogue around the criminalization of the most serious harms to nature and must continue to insist that ecocide be recognized at the International Criminal Court alongside genocide. “No,” says Patricia Willock, director of Stop Ecocide Belgium. “To fully protect nature, we need to criminalize acts that intentionally destroy large areas of the natural world and, as a result, cause untold human harm.”
Nationally, this new crime aims to prevent and punish the most serious cases of environmental damage (such as large-scale oil spills) and applies to individuals and companies with the highest decision-making power. Ru. The penalties could include up to 20 years in prison for individuals, and fines of up to €1.6 million for companies. Furthermore, Belgium is currently Ecocide is the fifth “international crime” after war crimes, crimes of aggression, crimes against humanity and genocide.
At the 2021 COP26 held in Glasgow, the world’s first global citizen assembly expressed the view that ecocide should be recognized in international courts, and the European Union called on member states to recognize ecocide in international courts. Encouraging exercise.
“There is real momentum building right now around the ecocide law debate at all levels,” says Jojo Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Stop Ecocide International. “Over the past year, we have seen a growing list of countries take concrete steps to create new domestic environmental crimes, including the Netherlands, Scotland, Mexico, Brazil, England, Italy and Spain. I have no doubt that it will be internationally recognized in the near future.”
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