The Promise Institute
for Human Rights (Europe) News
We are pleased to share our 2025–2026 Annual Report, offering an overview of our work, achievements, and developments over the past year and between our two locations, at a time when the international human rights system is under strain worldwide.
The Promise Institute is working to meet these challenges through education, legal advocacy, and scholarship. We are expanding our courses, continuing the work of our clinical teams at home and abroad, and developing materials to promote accountability for the human rights impact of environmental destruction as the climate crisis accelerates. Throughout, we remain committed to centering traditionally marginalized voices and placing affected communities first.
We thank Professor of Law Anna Spain Bradley for her leadership as Faculty Director and welcome Professor Kal Raustiala to the role. We are also delighted to welcome incoming Los Angeles Executive Director Hadar Harris. A UCLA Law alumna and longtime advocate for justice, equity, and human rights, Harris brings more than two decades of experience in over 25 countries.
🌍 Understanding the Elements of Ecocide Law: A Seven-Part Series 🌍
Part 2: The Definition of Environment
As ecocide encompasses harm to the environment, the definition of environment governs what kinds of harm can be criminalized. While there is no accepted definition of the environment in international law, the International Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide follows the language of the Environmental Modification Convention to define the “environment” as “the earth, its biosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, as well as outer space”.
The International Law Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross both consider that the concept of the environment includes both human and natural elements as they constitute a complex system of interconnections that cannot be treated as discrete.