SUPPORT EU RECOGNITION
OF A CRIME OF ECOCIDE

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Writing directly to Committee Members is a powerful and time-tested method of letting MEPs know what the public wants.

Copy and paste the example letter (below), add your own words if you want to, address it to the MEP you’d like to contact and sign it. Make sure to send your letter via your personal email address. 

 

The more personal you make your letter, the greater the impact it is likely to have. 

You can also find a full list of official Committee Member email addresses below. Ideally, you’ll contact MEPs from the state in which you are resident, but if you wish to contact others, please do. 

 

 

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EXAMPLE LETTER TO MEPS

 

To: XXX MEP, Chair/Vice-Chair/Member European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs (delete as applicable)

 

Subject: Inclusion of “Ecocide” in Revised Crime Directive

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Dear Chair/Vice-Chair/Name of Member (delete as applicable),

 

I am aware that in the coming weeks you will be voting, as part of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), on the European Commission's proposed revised directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. 

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This vote is in line with a global movement of which Belgium is also part. Indeed, in December 2021, the Federal Parliament adopted an ambitious resolution in favour of the recognition of the crime of ecocide at national and international level. As a result, Belgium at the forefront of history as the first European country to call for the recognition of the crime of ecocide in the Rome Statute. At the national level, this new crime has been included in our government's agreement and there is every reason to believe that it will be included in the new penal code.

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At the time of writing, the European Parliament's Petitions Committee (“PETI”), Development Committee (“DEVE”) and Environmental Affairs Committee (“ENVI”) have all called on the Commission to include the crime of ecocide in the revised  directive (i).

 

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has also overwhelmingly voted to urge all its 46 member states to “[update] their legal arsenal to criminalise and effectively prosecute ecocide”. (ii)

 

Recognition of a crime of ecocide in the context of the revised directive will strongly reinforce existing environmental laws, show both leadership and compassion, establish a moral as well as legal “red line” and create an essential steer for industry leaders and policy-makers. 

I urge you to seize this historic opportunity and vote for the inclusion of a crime of ecocide, as defined by the Independent Expert Panel (June, 2021), in the revision of the Environmental Crime Directive. 

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Ecocide is a key root cause of climate and ecological crisis. Recognising it is about facing reality - it’s about recognising that when we recklessly destroy the living world that sustains us, we put everything in jeopardy: our lives, our children, the future of our own species and so many others… 
 

By recognizing ecocide, the EU could take a leading role for the recognition of this crime at the international level.

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The decision you are about to make will have immense consequences. It will affect not only yourself and your loved ones, but countless people, species and ecosystems for many, many generations to come.

I strongly urge you to consider this legacy deeply, and vote for the inclusion of the crime of ecocide in the revised directive.  

 

Yours sincerely,

XXX

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(i)In defining ecocide, Committees have followed the definition proposed by the Independent Expert Panel (IEP) brought together by the Stop Ecocide Foundation in June, 2021.

 

(ii) Environmental Impacts of armed conflict, Resolution 2477, adopted 25.01.2023.

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