That the Parliament notes reports that an Ecocide Bill has been submitted to the Brazilian Congress; understands from reports that the proposed law seeks to criminalise "performing illegal or wanton acts with the knowledge that they generate a substantial probability of serious and widespread or long-term damage to the environment"; further understands that the wording of the bill strongly reflects the international definition of ecocide released by the Independent Expert Panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation in June 2021; understands that this bill, if passed, would represent the first ecocide law in Latin America, and that similar bills are under preparation in Argentina and Chile; further understands that France, Belgium and Ukraine have already introduced domestic ecocide laws and that the European Union is currently considering criminalising ecocide under a revised directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law, and commends what it sees as the progress that is being made by Stop Ecocide campaigners around the world towards making ecocide an international crime, and a crime under national legislation.
Supported by:
Colin Beattie, Maggie Chapman, Foysol Choudhury, Katy Clark, Pam Duncan-Glancy, Bill Kidd, John Mason, Stuart McMillan, Carol Mochan, Alex Rowley, Mark Ruskell, Paul Sweeney, Mercedes Villalba