The Promise Institute
for Human Rights (Europe) News
The Manual on Prosecuting International Environmental Crimes is based on expertise we gained supporting Ukraine’s efforts to investigate and prosecute environmental harm resulting from the Russian aggression. Drafted in partnership with Climate Counsel, the Manual takes the lessons learned from the Ukraine context to build a guide that applies in both conflict and peacetime in any jurisdiction around the world.
The Manual sets out the legal architecture for prosecuting environmental destruction demonstrates how these legal tools can be applied in practice. It offers a step-by-step guide to what can be done within existing legal frameworks while helping to build the practical foundations that any future international crime of ecocide will also require.
It also includes five case studies that work with fictionalised examples of contemporary environmental destruction to demonstrate how legal accountability can be pursued in practice.
The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion: A Potential Game-Changer for Climate Accountability
This December, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins hearings on a historic request for an advisory opinion on climate change.
These proceedings represent a pivotal moment for global climate governance, offering the potential to clarify States’ legal responsibilities to address the climate crisis.
In anticipation of this critical moment, our May conference brought together experts and advocates to explore the very issues now taking center stage in The Hague.
‘Ambition as a Benchmark’: The Fight for Climate Justice at the ICJ
“Since about four years ago, I can count the times we’ve been told that what we’re trying to do is too ambitious. But with the UNGA resolution adopted by consensus, and over 90 states’ and IO submissions before the ICJ, I guess ‘ambitious’ has become the benchmark for us. So if it seems too ambitious, that must be the way to go, precisely because what we need is more ambitious action.”
Nicole Ponce - Environmental and human rights lawyer-advocate
Legal recognition alone is not enough; it must lead to accountability and real-world solutions!
“The pending advisory opinions on climate change are excellent opportunities to reinforce the clear duties of States to protect the human rights of all people, without discrimination, against the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.”
-Volker Türk - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Small Island States and the Fight for Climate Justice
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are among the least responsible for climate change but face its most severe consequences, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity, and even the existential threat of submersion. In response to this crisis and the international community’s inaction, COSIS was established in 2021 by Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu, later joined by other SIDS, to amplify their voices in international legal forums. COSIS aims to use international law to protect the rights of SIDS, holding States accountable for their obligations to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
Rewriting Justice for a Burning Planet: ICC Deputy Prosecutor Khan on the Role of International Criminal Law
In a compelling keynote speech delivered at the UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe, Nazhat Shameem Khan explored the pivotal role international law must play in addressing the pressing ecological crises of our time. Her address emphasized the need for flexibility, innovation, and collective effort to adapt legal frameworks to the realities of environmental degradation and climate change.