Legal News and Views - Asia Pacific and Beyond

Stop Ecocide – Latest Updates

The Ecocide (Scotland) Bill has just passed its first parliamentary stage with overwhelming cross-party support. This is timely news at a moment when even the UK’s own intelligence services are warning that ecosystem collapse threatens national security.

The world is changing at unprecedented speed, with universal justice feeling increasingly distant. And yet despite – perhaps even because of – the ever more obvious power asymmetries, ecocide law continues to advance, offering a foundational legal framework to build safety across multiple contexts without political bias. From the Congo Basin to Germany, from India to Ghana to Scotland, ecocide law is gaining ground through diplomatic channels, legislative chambers, and public discourse.

BREAKING NEWS SUMMARY
Thu, Feb 5

The Scottish Parliament has voted to advance the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill, placing Scotland on track to become the first UK nation to criminalise severe environmental destruction.
Mon, Dec 22

In a far-reaching package of reforms presented to President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s Constitution Review Committee has proposed establishing a domestic crime of ecocide.
Wed, Dec 17

At the United Nations Environment Assembly, the Congo Basin Climate Commission (CBCC) signalled firm support for recognising ecocide as an international crime. In a meeting with Stop Ecocide International, Her Excellency Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Republic of the Congo Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin and Executive Secretary of the CBCC, confirmed that the 17-nation Commission will support efforts to advance the issue within regional and continental processes.
Mon, Dec 15

Senator Cédric Ngindu Biduaya of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has formally lodged a bill in the national Parliament to establish ecocide as a domestic criminal offence, marking a decisive step towards strengthening legal protection for ecosystems across the country and the Congo Basin.
Mon, Dec 8

Germany has published a draft reform of its environmental criminal law, making an early move to translate the EU’s Environmental Crime Directive into national law. The Directive requires all Member States to introduce stronger criminal provisions for serious environmental destruction by May 2026, including qualified offences for widespread, long-lasting or irreversible damage “comparable to ecocide”.
Sun, Dec 7

A joint statement adopted at the 21st Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF-21) has called for ecocide to be recognised as a crime at national and international levels. Released ahead of this year’s UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), the text reflects the positions of NGOs, Indigenous Peoples and their communities, youth, women, farmers, workers, local authorities and the science and technology community.

The statement explicitly calls for ecocide – the most severe forms of environmental harm – to be prevented and criminalised in both times of peace and conflict.
Fri, Dec 5

On December 5, a Private Member’s Bill proposing the criminalisation of ecocide was formally introduced in the Indian Parliament.

The Ecocide (Prevention and Accountability) Bill, 2025 was introduced by Sujeet Kumar, an MP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament, which represents the states and territories.

The Bill defines ecocide as: “…any unlawful or wanton act or omission, committed with knowledge of substantial likelihood of severe, widespread or long-term damage to the environment, including harm to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources.”