Belgian parliament calls for "ecocide" to be introduced in international law

The Belgian parliament has passed a resolution urging the government to advocate for the recognition and punishment of "ecocides" in international courts, following the model of prosecuting crimes against humanity. The majority vote in the committee has yet to be confirmed at a plenary session of parliament "in two to three weeks", which should be a formality, said one of the nominees, Green MP Samuel Kogolati.

The non-binding resolution calls on the Belgian government led by the liberal Alexander De Cro to initiate a new international agreement to punish ecocide.

The resolution proposes that Belgium join forces with the countries most committed to establishing such a tribunal, such as Luxembourg, Finland, Spain and France (where the "ecocide crime" was introduced in July).

Another option for the Belgian government is to follow the example of countries such as the islands of Vanuatu and the Maldives that have called for an amendment to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to include ecocide, war crimes and genocide.

"This reform of the Rome Statute (which established the ICC) is currently the most pragmatic path," said Samuel Kogolati. for AFP.