Literature Review

Arguably, all human rights which find affirmation and recognition in international agreements trace their origin back to the customary recognition that international actors have either a “duty to protect”, a “duty to respect” or a “duty to fulfil” a certain value. This is now also applicable to the international right to a healthy environment.

A French court dismissed a landmark case against TotalEnergies for a massive oil project in Uganda and Tanzania after several NGOs filed a suit to suspend the controversial project.It was the first case of its kind in France, and activists had hoped it would set a legal precedent to halt projects deemed harmful to the environment and human rights.

The United States has long recognized the relationship between human rights and environmental protection, and advancing environmental justice.  We have a history of promoting environmental protection and believe that every person should live in a healthy environment. We also believe that a healthy environment supports the well-being and dignity of people around the world and the full enjoyment of all human rights.

Human rights are essential to the flourishing of all human beings regardless of their nationality or another status. Despite existence of the numerous documents and mechanisms created to protect human rights internationally, the full protection is far from being achieved. Linking human rights to environmental justice has been an arduous task, but contemporary environmental ethicists argue that giving a human face to the environment that nurtures and sustains us is a precondition for sustainable development. Violation of peace, pollution or exhaustion of the environmental resources jeopardizes the development not only of people, who have suffered from these violations directly but also that of future generations. The concept of sustainability addresses the issue of economic growth at present and how this impacts future generations. The three global values – peace, a healthy environment and sustainable development – are the principles of international cooperation. The understanding of the interdependence between these values and people marks the beginning of the search for a legal definition of ways to protect the physical existence and rights of individual human beings and humanity. In this article, the environmental human right to sustainable development is discussed as one of the human rights. It also discussed the lack of success of many of the Rio initiatives makes that make it appropriate to consider new approaches and that such approaches should be rooted in recognition of an inalienable right to a safe and healthy environment.

As the impact of our species on the natural world intensifies, so does the knowledge of our dependency on it: from crop-pollinating critters and wild fish populations that nourish millions, to ecosystems that inhale carbon emissions and filter air and water.

The UN Conference of Parties that occurs every year, the most recent being COP27 in Egypt last month, develops additional accords to enforce environmental rights, such as the Loss and Damage Fund intended to assist people in places most negatively affected by climate disasters.

A resolution by the UN General Assembly was passed effectively declaring access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental human right. The resolution calls on international organizations and business enterprises to increase efforts to ensure everyone has access to a clean environment.

Abstract: The concept of ecocide was developed in response to the ecological war of the Vietnam through a legal simulation by Galston. In Galston's view, just as the destruction of human groups is a crime against humanity and has been criminalized as genocide, the destruction of ecosystem(s) is a crime against humanity and must be criminalized as ecocide in a treaty. However, the international community has so far failed to implement Galston's idea and criminalize ecocide as an international crime. Using a descriptive-analytical approach and library resources, this research examines the process of developing this concept as well as its essence in Galston's legal perspective and to evaluate it. It aims to familiarize the legal community with the theory of ecocide crime, to provide a ground for ecocide criminalization at the four levels of local, national, regional, and international, as well as for the emergence of an universal criminal policy to protect the Earth against severe, widespread, or long-term ecological damages.

Abstract: This article discusses the effect of Ecocide on the environment. The human activities have led to the destruction of the ecosystem. As a result of this destruction, the vegetation that plays a vital role in supporting the healthy and peaceful existence of human in their natural habitat has been greatly affected by the pollutant arising from these human activities. These activities arise from nuclear warfare exploitations of resources, dumping of harmful chemicals and other human activities that negatively impact on the ecosystem. This paper is of the opinion that the globe should come out with enabling law to persecute individuals and nations. Currently, there is only one provision in the Rome Statute which mentions environmental damage. It is Article 8 (2) (b) (iv). Article 8 is concerned with war crime. Ecocide is part of several domestic criminal codes, but it has not yet been accepted as an international crime by the UN. Stop Ecocide foundation strives to make ecocide an international crime by recommending amendments to the Rome Statute of international criminal court. Ecocide should be made the fifth crime against humanity. There should be an award of fine and penalties against defaulters as this will go a long way in protecting the environment.

Increasing demand for avocados to export to the U.S. has led to an illegal practice in Mexico where avocado trees are planted in fir forests, then fir trees are cut down to allow the avocado trees to thrive. This practice violates Mexican legislation that translates to the General Act for Sustainable Forestry Development, aimed at protecting vulnerable forest ecosystems. Hansen discusses Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), a method of conservation through incentives which allows for benefits to be derived from the environment in exchange for supporting services, one example being soil formation. In Mexico, the profitability of farming avocados outweighs the profitability of participating in PES programs, which has led to disregard for the government’s efforts to encourage sustainable farming practices. Though Mexico’s PES is written into national law, it fails to take into account the value of avocados as a cash crop export, and Hansen concludes that more regulations need to be put into place by the government to implement and enforce PES programs to protect forests.

Anastacia analyzes the movement to include “ecocide” as a fifth crime against peace, which could then be heard by the International Criminal Court. The term “ecocide” was first used in the 1970s in reference to American chemical warfare in the Vietnam War and now more broadly refers to substantial destruction or unreasonable degradation of a particular ecosystem or the environment in general. Greene examines how recognizing environmental damage as a crime can fit into international law, but deciding whether there should be a criminal intent requirement poses a major roadblock. In the 1980s, the International Law Commission considered whether environmental damage should fit into the code, analogizing it to genocide in the eyes of the law. Greene details how individual countries have made ecocide a crime, including the theories driving the imposition of a duty of care to the environment, ecocide and morality, and deficiencies in current international law seeking to protect the environment. Greene concludes that establishing ecocide as a punishable crime requires defining the term, implementing an intent requirement, and determining causation.