On the occasion of COP 21, the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), End Ecocide on Earth (EEE), NatureRights and Attac France are joining forces to have land rights recognised in international standards as an innovative solution to the challenges of climate change. The Earth Rights Tribunal took place on 4 and 5 December.
QHowever much agreement was reached at COP 21, mere "declarations of intent" are not enough. Binding agreements are needed in order to make the major emitters of greenhouse gases legally and morally responsible.
Building on the systemic approaches developed over the years to guarantee the right to existence of ecosystems, the duty of humanity to respect the integrity of their life cycles and the recognition of environmental crimes, GARN and EEE call for the recognition of the rights of nature as defined in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth - and according to the principles proposed for the recognition of the international crime of Ecocide in EEE's proposed amendment to the Statute of the International Criminal Court.
This paradigm shift, changing the philosophy of law to take into account the principle of interdependence between man and nature, would make it possible to prevent and punish those responsible for climate and environmental crimes, as well as change the status of ecosystems to ensure their regenerative capacity and thus guarantee viable living conditions for future generations.
On 3 December, the Conference "Towards New International Standards" brought together a panel of French and international experts to present and discuss converging legal initiatives and the growing number of participants in a historic movement to adapt international standards in the face of the destruction of living conditions on Earth.
A panel of 20 experts including: Mireille Delmas-Marty (Principle of anticipation), Roger Cox (Climate Justice), Corinne Lepage (Declaration of the Rights of Humanity), Valerie Cabanes (International Crime of Ecocide), Yann Aguila (International Charter for the Environment), William Bourdon (Binding Treaty on Multinationals)
On 4 and 5 December, the International Tribunal for Land Rights applied these new legal concepts, and is now making jurisprudence. Internationally renowned lawyers and experts ruled on emblematic cases of environmental violations such as climate crimes, agro-industry, hydraulic fracturing, mega-dams and oil spills in the Amazon, based on the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature and the proposed amendment to the Statute of the International Criminal Court for the recognition of the crime of ecocide.
A panel of more than 50 experts, including: Vandana Shiva (Navdanya), Pablo Solon (Focus on the Global South), Alberto Acosta (Former President of the Constitutional Assembly in Ecuador), Tom Goldtooth (Indigenous Environmental Network), José Bové (Green MEP), Dominique Bourg (University of Lausanne), Christophe Bonneuil (Attac), Cormac Cullinan (En-Act), Osprey Orielle Lake (WECAN), Shannon Bibgs (Movement Rights)...
(Source: CP Attac - December 3, 2015)
