Thursday, 8 September 2011

Free lecture at JCU, Eradicating Ecocide


Internationally-renowned environmental lawyer and activist, Polly Higgins, will discuss her book Eradicating Ecocide: Laws and governance to prevent the destruction of our planet, at a free public lecture on Monday evening.

Higgins is a barrister and environmental lawyer, and has proposed a United Nations law against ecocide, to be classed as a fifth crime against peace – along with genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.

 She urges the UN to create a duty of care to protect the planet by enacting a law that could see individuals and companies involved in destructive industries facing trials in the International Criminal Court.

 Higgins defines ecocide as ‘the extensive damage, destruction to or loss of ecosystems of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished’.
  • Monday 12th September
    Crowther Lecture Theatre, JCU Cairns Smithfield Campus
    5:30pm book signing
    6pm lecture
    Refreshments served after.
  • Admission is free, however please register online

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pity she has the obligatory plastic water bottle in front of her.

Apart from the enormous pollution and environmental damage the plastic bottles are causing world wide, it must be one of the biggest con jobs ever to sell, at an incredibly inflated price, a product that is freely available in most Western countries.

Not a good look!

Anonymous said...

Will the use of depleted uranium by the Americans and Israelis be considered "Ecocide" or will the law be applied selectively to those who don't play the Globalist ball, per usual as with all UN dictates.

Syd Walker said...

I certainly support a RAPID transformation of our way of life on this planet to genuine ecological sustainability and I agree that willful acts of environmental desecration are essentially criminal.

However, I also support human rights and protecting civilians.

Having just witnessed those fine principles mangled by the UN Security Council (under heavy pressure from Australia's key allies in the UNSC) to such an extent that they've been used to justify dropping 30,000+ (and counting) bombs over a six month period on a nation that, until bombing began, had the highest life expectancy and UNDP Human Development Index in Africa... I have to say my faith in "international law" and its media-promoted NGO cheersquads is a tad shaken.

What guarantees can the proponent offer - were this new idea to get up - against its use by the UN to justify YET MORE invasions of resource-rich nations to steal their wealth & subvert their independence? Can we expect to invade PNG to save its endangered species? Anyone for saving pandas (the gutsy way)?

If there were any signs the legal community was rising up to protest gross misuse of international law to rationalise new wars of aggression, I might feel more relaxed about new legal initiatives such as this.

Are there? I haven't noticed.