EUROPE/ITALY - Life on the planet is in danger, and those who suffer the consequences are always the poorer nations: a campaign to establish an international criminal court for crimes against the environment

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “The life of the planet is in danger and thus, we should make an effort to recover the needed balance for our life.” These were the words of Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and activist in the international campaign to collect signatures in favor of a European Environmental Criminal Court and an International Environmental Criminal Court, presented on June 5 in Rome. “We cannot allow crimes against the environment to go unpunished by European or international law. There are not only cases of serious damage, like Chernobyl, but also the damages from deforestation, pollution of land and water. With this campaign, we hope to motivate the governments to create this European Court and extend the competence of the Hague to include voluntary environmental disasters.”
The initiative, which began precisely on World Environment Day, is promoted by the International Academy for Environmental Sciences (IAES), with headquarters in Venice. The fight against pollution, the greenhouse effect, the reduction of harmful gases, are all fundamental issues not only for wealthier nations and their inhabitants, but for the poorer nations, as well, as these nations are at risk for paying “double” for these effects on their climate. They lack the financial and technical means for defense and investment in renewable sources, and as the most remote areas are often those that live off of subsistence farming and are scared by desertification, water scarcity, they often depend on the developed nations. This is why a new institution should be established in order to bring stability back to life on earth and not worsen the conditions in poorer nations. Their goal is to have 71 nations sign to proceed to the formal establishment of the institution. Many noteworthy figures, such as Nobel Prize winners, artists, scientists, and politicians have shown their support. The next event on the issue will be held on October 2, in Venice, for an International Forum, which hopes to see the inauguration of the Court's headquarters in Villa Herion, on the Venetian island of Giudecca. (MT) (Agenzia Fides 08/06/2009)