The Promise Institute
for Human Rights (Europe) News
About the Conference
This one-day hybrid conference will convene scholars, activists, diplomats, and lawmakers from across the globe for a dialogue on the intersection of international law, human rights, and ecological justice.
The daytime programme will feature presentations by the authors of selected papers from the forthcoming Special Issue of the International Journal on Human Rights dedicated to Ecocide, Human Rights and Environmental Justice. A strong emphasis will be placed on voices from the global majority, ensuring that diverse perspectives are brought to the forefront of this critical debate.
In the evening, the focus will broaden beyond academia. Campaigners, activists, lawmakers, and representatives of states at the forefront of the ecocide campaign will share reflections and experiences on the path towards ecological justice.
The conference is proudly organised by UCLA Law’s The Promise Institute for Human Rights Europe and The Institute for Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Studies, University of London.
🌍 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.