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ECOCIDE: A THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
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ECOCIDE: A
THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
AUTHORED BY - PRANITHA P PAI
Assistant Professor, Soundarya
College of Law
“To destroy nature is to destroy
ourselves”-
Mark Allen Gray
INTRODUCTION
When Fat Man and Little Boy were
dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the world stopped for a minute. But these
cities came to a devastating end. When one hears about atom bombs, the first
thing that comes to one’s mind is death of people. But what about the death of
the environment? Even after 79 years, these cities have not recovered from the
devastating effects of the atom bombs. Weaponry such as the atom bomb are known
as weapons of mass destruction. The name itself talks about complete
annihilation. Time and again we have seen that man and war always been
together. Where there is man there is war. Be it fight between cave men for
food, or fight between kings for the expansion of their kingdoms or fight
between religions wanting to show who is superior, or the fight between
countries, since time immemorial war has been fought by man which has led to
destruction. War can have its effect on various different things, it can be
loss of lives, animals and environment. The first two can replenish after a
passage of time, but environment once destroyed cannot be replaced. What is gone is gone. There is no coming
back. Us humans have been lucky, in the sense that Mother Earth has her own
ways of repairing herself, but there will come a point in time, wherein our activities
will be the cause of our own demise. And this we are experiencing with our own
eyes. “Global Warming”. This term was first used in 1975 by Wallace Smith
Broecker for the journal Science in which he wrote his paper “Climatic
Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?”[1].
Since then, this term i.e. Global Warming has been used frequently. There are
various of causes of global warming and one of them is war, as discussed above.
Man cannot survive without environment! this is what we believed in, but in
recent years, it looks like man cannot survive without war. Half of the
population wants to save the environment by discussing different ways of
sustainable development, while the other half is inventing new weapons of mass
destruction. These weapons of mass
destruction are not just violating various environmental rights, but they are
also violating the human rights of all. Since right to safe and clean
environment is intrinsic part of human rights, wars fought with such weaponry
become causes of violations of such rights. With an advent in technology, the
use of such weapons has increased which in turn has led to a rise in mass
destruction of environment. This mass
destruction has now got a new name- it is known as Ecocide.
From the academic point of view,
there is very less literature on this concept of Ecocide, and there is a need
to have a legal framework to regulate the same. Although we see that this
concept is in trend, yet there is dearth of proper laws, and understanding of
this concept. It is high time that we start to take Ecocide in its full
seriousness and discuss the issue of its devastating effect and the need for an
Indian and international legal framework. This paper aims at discussing the
already existing laws on genocide in and outside India, and the need for new
laws and the loopholes in the current laws.
DEFINITION
OF ECOCIDE-
The word Ecocide sounds similar to
Genocide. The term ‘genocide’ was first used after the World War II, to
describe the Holocaust. When an entire race of people is discriminated and
killed based on their nationality, religion or ethnicity it is known as
Genocide. Hence it is considered as one of the worst forms of acts against
humanity. Similarly, the word ecocide means “killing our home”[2].
“Eco” in Latin means home and “cide” means to kill. Thus, the term Ecocide
means to kill our home i.e. kill the natural environment. As discussed above,
humans are a part of the environment or the entire ecological system thus
damaging the environment means violating the human rights[3].
And this new generational war is ecocide, i.e. destructing the environment of a
country to target the people living in it. This type of war not just ensures
mass destruction of the present generation, but also makes sure that for the
next few generations to come, they do not have a place/ ecosystem to survive
in. Ecocide harms both the human and the non-human life present. Richard Falk was the first person who
discussed about the concept of ecocide in 1973 at an International Convention
on the crime of Ecocide[4].
Since then, only few scholars or academicians have discussed this issue of
Ecocide. Despite it being one of the most heinous and dangerous forms of crime,
it is the least talked about. With the increase in the number of such cases in
the 21st century, it is important for us (not just India, but at the
international level as well) to enact laws that protect us from Ecocide.
WHAT ARE
HUMAN RIGHTS?
Human rights as the name suggests are
the rights enjoyed by all the humans on this planet regardless of their age,
gender, race, nationality etc. If one is born as a human, he/she is bound to
enjoy these rights. As per the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (herein referred to as the UDHR) human rights recognise the inherent
dignity of all the human beings which are inalienable. Recognition of such
human rights is essential as they are the foundation of freedom, justice and
peace in the world[5]. There
are 30 Articles in the UDHR which describe the various types of human rights.
These are categorised under civil, political, economic, social, and cultural
rights. Therefore, based on these rights, we have the International Bill on
Human rights which includes the UDHR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR). These instruments not just highlight the rights but also establish
mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing them globally.
HUMAN
RIGHTS IN INDIA-
In India, we have the concept of
fundamental rights enshrined in Part III of the Indian Constitution. Article 12
to 35 of the Constitution discuss the various types of fundamental rights which
are basic to all the humans in India. While drafting the Indian Constitution,
UDHR was one of the sources/ inspiration from where we got the idea to include
some of the fundamental rights. One can find a lot of similarities between the
human rights mentioned in the UDHR and Chapter 3 of the Indian Constitution.
One of them being Right to Life under Article 21. The Article is as follows- “Protection
of Life and Personal Liberty: No person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty except according to procedure established by law[6].”
This article begins by saying – “No person”, this implies that it is for all
the humans in India, be it a citizen or a foreigner. The next words used are
“life and personal liberty”. The article does not explain what is the meaning
of the words, and thus the Supreme Court in India, has taken upon itself to
explain the ambit of these words in the judgements that it has passed. And the
ambit of Article 21’s right to life is wide. It starts from right to be treated
humanely to right to environment, right to privacy and so on. The list is
endless. But for the purposes of this paper, we are only concerned with right
to environment as right to life.
Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar[7],
is one of the important judgements, as the Supreme Court identified the right to
clean and healthy environment as part of right to life under Article 21. The court went on to say that for all humans
to grow we need a healthy environment which is free from all sorts of pollution
and that ecological imbalance will cause negative effect on the quality of life[8].
Again in the case of Vellore Citizens
Welfare Forum v. Union of India[9]
the Supreme Court said that all of the humans under Article 21 of the
Constitution have the right to life, which includes in itself the right to a
clean and healthy environment. And that the duty to ensure that the humans
enjoy their right to clean and healthy environment lies with the state. In this
case, the Supreme Court stated that the industries operating in the country had
the duty to not pollute[10].
The Supreme Court in the case of
Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India[11]
went on to explain how protecting the forest and maintaining the wildlife was
part of balancing the ecological system which in turn led to healthy and safe
environment, which was part of right to life under Article 21[12].
Later again in 2012, the Supreme
Court in the case of T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India[13]
held that protecting the forest and the wildlife was part of ensuring that
there were no violations of the human rights of the tribal communities living
in those forests[14].
Thus, these are just some of the many
judgements which explain how right to environment is part of the human rights.
HOW IS
ECOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS RELATED?
As mentioned above, the term Ecocide
means to kill out natural home i.e. the environment. mass destruction of Mother
Earth is Ecocide. There is no proper legal definition for the term Ecocide. One
of the earliest definition of Ecocide will be found when Richard Falk explained
this concept. He said that when the environment was damaged due to the result
of war actions such as use of weapons of mass destruction, bulldozing of
forests or crops for military purposes it is known as Ecocide[15].
Later Lynn Berat in 1993 gave a more wider meaning to Ecocide, and he compared
it with genocide. He said that Ecocide/ Genocide is- “intentional
destruction, in whole or in part, of any portion of the global ecosystem.” he
also went on to say that when bodily or mental harm is committed against the species
which not only causes death but also prevents birth and leads to birth defects,
that too is known as Ecocide/ Genocide[16].
Three years later in 1996, Mark Allen Gray, a Canadian lawyer gave a
three-point definition for Ecocide. The definition is as follows-
“(1) the act must have caused serious
and extensive or long-lasting ecological damage
(2) the damage must have had an
international dimension, and
(3) the act must have been wasteful
(inflicting higher costs on society than benefits).”[17]
The more latest definition was given
in 2010 by ecocide law expert Polly Higgins. This is now widely used everywhere[18].
She is the one who began demanding Ecocide to be considered as one of the war
crimes at the International level. She says that ecocide is an act by which
there is extreme damage to the ecosystem by human agency or by other factors[19].
And such extreme damage effects the peaceful enjoyment of the inhabitants (be
it human or animal). She has also identified two types of Ecocide- 1) Due to
Natural Causes and 2) due to human intervention. She goes on to say that both
are equally bad for the ecosystem and its inhabitants.
After going through nearly 4
definitions of Ecocide spanning from 1973 to 2010, one thing remains constant
in the definition and that is total or mass destruction of the environment
ending in hurting us humans. Therefore, it can be concluded that Ecocide is a
product of violating human rights while destroying the environment. Currently
our situation is such that we are facing the threat from all the sides i.e.
natural and man made. Be it war and use of such mass destruction munitions, we
are also facing some of the worst glacier melts, rise in sea level, temperature
rise and change in the weather pattern[20].
Be it natural or man made threat to the environment, Mother Nature is facing
the crisis from all the sides. Time and again we have seen mother nature rises
from the dust/ ashes like the phoenix and restore everything when it was
natural cause of destruction. But maybe now we have gone too far. With
extensive use of such weapons perhaps now we have crossed the limits on how
much the ecosystem can handle. As per the United Nations Environment Programme
(herein after referred to as the UNEP), it was seen that in the last 60 years,
40% of the wars are linked with the depletion of the natural resources[21].
Which is why now there is a pressure on the state and the non state actor to
participate in sustainable development. Time and again it has been mentioned
that ecocide not only effects the environment, but it effects the humanity in
the present generation and the future generation.
WARS WHICH
WERE ECOCIDE-
“Earth provides enough to satisfy
every man's need, but not every man's greed.”-
Mahatma Gandhi
Apart from the atom bombs in Japan,
the next example would be the use of chemical Agent Orange by USA in Vietnam.
This chemical is known as “jungle eating defoliant”[22].
It not just destroyed the mangroves of South Vietnam, but it also caused high
rates of miscarriages and birth defects among the local women. Till today the people are facing the
consequences of this chemical use[23].
If we look at the latest news, the
Russia and the Ukraine war too has its toll on the environment. Due to heavy
use of machinery and clearing of lands for fortification purposes, there is
deforestation, poisoning of the land and the water bodies. Many national parks
and biosphere reserves have been destroyed completely. Because of this, Ukraine
has had to suffer a loss of €52.4 billion just in environmental damages[24].
Ukraine’s agricultural and arable land has now been permanently effected and
its farming sector has had a severe impact. Apart from this, the Russian troops
also destroyed the largest dam in Ukraine known as the Kakhovka Dam, which led
to so much flood and destruction that now it is being considered as the worst
ecological damage in Europe since the Chernobyl disaster[25].
Thousand of people were displaced, animals died and natural flora has been lost
permanently. Land mines were dislodged and nearly 150 tonnes of industrial
waste was found to be floating all around[26].
Now comes the Israel and Palestine
war. This ongoing war has had some major impact not just on the people, but
also on the environment. The UNEP has not yet been able to calculate the impact
of the war, as they have not been able to conduct a survey[27].
But one thing is for sure that due to the continuous bombings the water sources
have become polluted and thus there is dearth of clean drinking water. Because of contamination of the water bodies,
there has been an increase in water borne diseases. Again, due to the dumping
of waste on the ground itself, it has led to polluting of the main source of
water for the Gaza strip[28].
The rubble and the debris are also a point of major concern as they contain in
them harmful substances like asbestos, heavy metals, fire contaminants,
unexploded ordnance, and hazardous chemicals. During the initial days of the
war, there was a survey conducted by the UK and USA which showed that 281,000
tonnes of planet-warming gases were released in the first 60 days of the war[29].
LEGAL
FRAMEWORK REGULATING ECOCIDE
In 2012, the UN Human Rights Council
appointed an independent expert which investigated the matter of how human
rights includes in itself right to clean and safe environment. This same issue
was made into a Special Rapporteur mandate in 2015[30]. This was later converted into a resolution in
October 2021 and the issue was recognising the independent human right to a
clean, healthy and sustainable environment[31].
This resolution will look at the various ways to tackle the adverse effects of
climate change.
Regarding Ecocide, there is an
increase in the trend of trying to make ecocide an international crime. In this
trend the people are bringing in evidence which is showing the devasting effect
of ecocide and then they are comparing it with genocide. Thus, they want to put
individual responsibility over the state and non-state actors, whoever is
liable for such acts. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court describes
genocide as “unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of
humanity” and which “threaten the peace, security and well-being of the
world”. Thus, if ecocide is now being put on the same pedestal as genocide,
then it means that it is equivalent to genocide in terms of damage and
destruction[32]. Nearly
12 countries have enacted laws which makes ecocide a crime, and these are-
Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Georgia etc. Unfortunately other
major countries do not have such laws[33].
Another sad information for the
Indians, is that in India ecocide is not yet criminalised. Even though the
Supreme Court time and again has acknowledged ecocide as a crime, yet there are
no enacted laws. The Madras High Court in the case of Chandra CFS and Terminal
Operators Pvt. Ltd. v. The Commissioner of Customs [34] said
that some people have been committing the act of ecocide by removing valuable
timber. Even though India has laws such as Environmental (Protection) Act of 1986, The
Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, and the Compensatory Afforestation
Fund Act, 2016 (CAMPA) and other such laws, there is no mention of ecocide in
these. There is an urgent need for India to enact a new law. Unfortunately,
India has abstained from signing the October 2021 UN resolution on the human
right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. In some aspects of
environmental protection India has worked through the National Green Tribunal
and the Supreme Court, yet there is a long way to go.
CONCLUSION
Mankind has been digging his own
grave by engaging in activities that have led to extensive damage to the
environment. Due to the ongoing climate crises, the biodiversity is collapsing
and so is the support system of planet earth. It is now an established fact that
one of the most basic human rights is right to clean and safe environment and
this can now be only protected if we have strict rules in place. One of the
most common reasons for environmental degradation is war i.e. ecocide. It not
only effects the humans, but the most vulnerable among us like tribal groups,
elderly, women and children are seriously effected. It is now high time that
ecocide be recognised as a fifth international crime. The already existing four
specific types of criminal acts:
genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.
One act of Ecocide leads to all these 4 types of crimes, then why is it that
ecocide is still left unattended? If there is no nature there will be no man.
We cannot sustain without mother nature, and this we have taken for granted.
This inclusion of ecocide is a must, and the reason is that mother nature will
gain her importance back. We greedy humans have lost sight of the results of
our action. We are talking about technological advancement while we already
have one foot in our grave. We are the monsters who are damaging our own house.
We had a peak of what the environment will look like if there were no humans.
The Covid -19 era. The world came to a standstill and mother nature was
thriving. There were no travels, no industries and no weapons of mass
destruction. As humans we have to keep one thing in mind and that is that this
planet has been living for the past billions of years and it will continue to
live on no matter what. But we humans have nowhere to be. This is it. No other
planet and no other solar system. A slight rise in the temperature and we can
see the devastating effect. Cities are drowning and some cities are drying up.
If we have to live here, then we need to respect mother nature, and this can be
achieved only if we put our egos aside and start to live in harmony, otherwise
the day is not far when the entire planet will be barren and too toxic for
anything to grow. The entire planet will be like the aftermath of Chernobyl.
As Indians, let us not forget our
fundamental duty i.e. “to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for
living creatures.”[35]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles/ Journals-
1. Andrea Curcio Lamas, “Ecocide:
addressing the large scale impairment of the environment and human rights, CA’
Foscari University of Venice, European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and
Democratisation, (2016-2017)
2. Lisa Oldring and Kate Mackintosh,
“The Crime of Ecocide Through Human Rights: A New Tool For Climate Justic”
International Crime Database, (May,
2022)
Websites-
1. Ecocide: Will it be the Fifth
International Crime, Kerti Sharma, available at: https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/11/26/ecocide/ (last visited on January 15, 2025)
2. Special Rapporteur on the human right
to a healthy environment, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-environment (last visited on January 15, 2025)
3. The UN is investigating the
environmental impact of the war in Gaza. Here’s what it says so far, Euro News,
available at: https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/03/06/the-un-is-investigating-the-environmental-impact-of-the-war-in-gaza-heres-what-it-says-so- (last visited on January 15, 2025)
4. Russia's war on Ukraine: High
environmental toll, European Parliament, available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2023/751427/EPRS_ATA(2023)751427_EN.pdf (last visited on January 15, 2025)
5. Vietnam Still Suffering With
Pollutants From Agent Orange, available at: https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/vietnam-still-suffering-with-pollutants-from-agent-orange-316112 (last visited on January 15, 2025)
International Documents-
1. UN General Assembly, Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, GA Resolution 217A (December 10, 1948)
2. UN Human Rights Council resolution
‘The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment’,
A/HRC/RES/48/13 (21 October 2021)
Indian Legislation-
1. The Constitution of India
Indian Case Laws
1. Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, 1991
AIR 420
2. Indian Council for Enviro-Legal
Action v. Union of India, [1996] Supp. (1) S.C.R. 507
3. Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v.
Union of India, 1996 5 SCR 241
4. T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union
of India, (1997) 2 SCC 267
5. Chandra CFS and Terminal Operators
Pvt. Ltd. v. The Commissioner of Customs 2015 (326) ELT 122(Mad)
[1] This Day In History, available
at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/global-warming-appears-first-time-paper-science (last visited on January 11, 2025)
[2] Andrea Curcio Lamas, “Ecocide:
addressing the large scale impairment of the environment and human rights, CA’
Foscari University of Venice, European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and
Democratisation, (2016-2017)
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] UN General Assembly,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Resolution 217A (December, 10,
1948)
[6] The Constitution of India,
Article 21
[7]
1991 AIR 420
[8] Ibid
[9] 1996 5 SCR 241
[10] Ibid
[11] [1996] Supp. (1) S.C.R. 507
[12] Ibid
[13] (1997) 2 SCC 267
[14] Ibid
[15]Andrea Curcio Lamas, “Ecocide:
addressing the large scale impairment of the environment and human rights, CA’
Foscari University of Venice, European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and
Democratisation, (2016-2017)
[16] Ibid
[17] Ibid
[18] Ibid
[19] Supra Note 15
[20] Lisa Oldring and Kate
Mackintosh, “The Crime of Ecocide Through Human Rights: A New Tool For Climate
Justic” International Crime Database, (May, 2022)
[21] Andrea Curcio Lamas, “Ecocide:
addressing the large scale impairment of the environment and human rights, CA’
Foscari University of Venice, European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and
Democratisation, (2016-2017)
[22] Supra Note 21
[23] Vietnam Still Suffering With
Pollutants From Agent Orange, available at: https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/vietnam-still-suffering-with-pollutants-from-agent-orange-316112 (last visited on January 15, 2025)
[24] Russia's war on Ukraine: High
environmental toll, European Parliament, available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2023/751427/EPRS_ATA(2023)751427_EN.pdf (last visited on January 15, 2025)
[25] Ibid
[26] Supra Note 24
[27] The UN is investigating the
environmental impact of the war in Gaza. Here’s what it says so far, Euro News,
available at: https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/03/06/the-un-is-investigating-the-environmental-impact-of-the-war-in-gaza-heres-what-it-says-so- (last visited on January 15, 2025)
[28] The UN is investigating the
environmental impact of the war in Gaza. Here’s what it says so far, Euro News,
available at: https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/03/06/the-un-is-investigating-the-environmental-impact-of-the-war-in-gaza-heres-what-it-says-so- (last visited on January 15, 2025)
[29] Ibid
[30] Special Rapporteur on the human
right to a healthy environment, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-environment (last visited on January 15, 2025)
[31] UN Human Rights Council
resolution ‘The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment’,
A/HRC/RES/48/13 (21 October 2021)
[32] Lisa Oldring and Kate
Mackintosh, “The Crime of Ecocide Through Human Rights: A New Tool For Climate
Justic” International Crime Database, (May, 2022)
[33] Andrea Curcio Lamas, “Ecocide:
addressing the large scale impairment of the environment and human rights, CA’
Foscari University of Venice, European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and
Democratisation, (2016-2017)
[35] The Constitution of India,
Article 51A (g)
Article Information
ECOCIDE: A THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Authors: PRANITHA P PAI
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2025/04/28
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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