Jennifer Whitmore
Question:656. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Justice her plans to promote the recognition of ecocide in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. [31922/22]
View answerTuesday, 21 June 2022
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As the Deputy will be aware, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established by the 1998 Rome Statute as the world’s first permanent international criminal court, with the purpose of ending impunity for perpetrators of the world’s most heinous crimes. Ireland is a State Party to the Rome Statute and a strong supporter of the ICC as the cornerstone of a system of international criminal justice. The ICC currently exercises jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and the crime of aggression.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has informed me of the initiative launched in June 2021 by the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide . The Independent Expert Panel proposal provides a new definition of the crime of ecocide, which seeks to serve as the basis for consideration of an amendment to the Rome Statute of the ICC. The purpose of such an amendment would be to include ecocide as a new crime under the jurisdiction of the Court.
I am further informed by the Department of Foreign Affairs that the proposal to agree a legal definition of ecocide and to subsequently include it as a new international crime in the Rome Statute is still at its early stages and will require careful consideration and analysis. The Department of Foreign Affairs officials continue to engage in discussions on the important implications of this proposal with international partners, both within the EU and with other fellow States Parties to the Rome Statute.
As with all proposed amendments to the Rome Statute, it is for States Parties individually to assess the merits of the proposal in the first instance. If there is sufficient support among States Parties for an agreed definition of ecocide, a formal amendment can be considered by the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute. Any decision in relation to such a measure will be for those government departments with responsibility for environmental protection to take.