Protecting the "home of the younger generation": the education sector calls on the Belgian government to support recognition of the crime of ecocide.
“ECOCIDE”
literally means “to kill our house”.
It's a word that describes what's happening to Earth right now:
the massive damage and destruction of the natural living world that has been occurring for decades and that has led us to the global climate and ecological crisis we find ourselves in today...
and for now, those responsible are getting away with it.
The climate and biodiversity crisis is a crisis of children's rights. The normalized misuse of the environment and the failure to comply with existing environmental regulations have jeopardized the future of our children, our young people and future generations. Up to half of the world's 2.2 billion children are at serious risk by the effects of climate change, and this situation will only worsen in the coming decades.
Principals and teachers can contribute to opening the consciences of students to this very difficult reality and to educate students to protect the living in order to reverse the trend in which our beautiful planet is dragged.
The crime of ecocide does not yet exist as such in national legislation (or only very marginally) and it is not yet recognized at the international level. Therefore, today, those responsible for behavior likely to be considered "ecocidal" only receive fines that they can easily integrate into their spending budget.
As members of the education community, we therefore call on the Belgian government to support the recognition of the crime of ecocide in its own legislation as well as at the International Criminal Court, by engaging positively in the ongoing global process in order to achieve it.
You can share it with other organizations and share it on your social networks. Don't forget to tag us @StopEcocideBelgium and use the hashtag #StopEcocideBelgium to reach more people.
This open letter is exclusively intended for organisations & associations.
For companies, clickHERE.
Thank you!
Discover the educational dossier of the European Foundation for the Rights of Life.
Discover the ecocide dossier of the League for Education and Continuing Education.
