1. Honourable Speaker, I rise today with a profound sense of urgency and responsibility to speak on a matter that transcends partisan politics, economic growth, and short-term development agendas. I speak to the need for legislative action against ecocide — the mass destruction of ecosystems — and for Ghana to align itself with a growing global movement to make environmental devastation a punishable crime both domestically and internationally.
2. Mr Speaker, Ecocide, as defined by an independent expert panel convened by Stop Ecocide International, refers to “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment”. This is not abstract rhetoric; it is a legal concept with measurable criteria — damage that is severe, widespread, or long-term. It goes far beyond regulatory fines or administrative sanctions — it is about criminal accountability for decisions and actions that destroy the very foundation of life and livelihood.
3. Mr. Speaker, the current legal framework in international law — notably the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court — lists genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. Ecocide is not yet recognised as a standalone international crime during peacetime, even though environmental destruction today causes consequences on par with the gravest human rights abuses.
4. Mr. Speaker, this absence in international law creates a legal vacuum: corporations, state actors, and individuals can commit ecological destruction — deforestation, industrial pollution, oil spills, and climate-amplifying activities — with limited criminal liability. This is not just a theoretical concern. The Nigerian Niger Delta, for example, has suffered over 7,000 oil spills from 1970–2000, devastating water, soil, and human health, with full environmental restoration estimated to take decades. Such destruction is paradigmatic of ecocide.
Globally, however, momentum is building to fill this void. At least 11 countries have already incorporated ecocide into domestic law, including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Ecuador, Chile, France and Belgium. In 2023, Belgium became the first European Union country to criminalise ecocide as part of its penal code revisions, demonstrating political will to hold those who cause severe ecological harm to account. Across the world, Brazil, Mexico, The Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, French Polynesia, India, Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru who are advancing legislative proposals aimed at similar goals.
5. Mr. Speaker, this is not merely environmental law — it is justice law. Recognising ecocide as a crime embeds a moral framework into our legal system. As noted by legal scholars and advocates, criminalisation signals a societal consensus that destroying ecosystems is morally and legally unacceptable, similar to how criminal law treats theft or harm to persons.
In Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo publicly endorsed ecocide as an international crime at the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference, joining the calls from Pacific states like Fiji, Vanuatu, and Samoa to strengthen environmental protection through criminal law.
Why should Ghana act now?
- Ecological Boundary Crossing: As a country affected by deforestation, illegal mining (galamsey), and water pollution, Ghana’s ecosystems are under severe stress. Recent reports indicate that up to 60% of our water bodies have been polluted by illegal mining — a form of uncontrolled environmental degradation that threatens health, agriculture, and future prosperity.
- Moral Responsibility: Environmental stability is foundational to food security, human health, and sustained economic development. The consequences of ecological damage are intergenerational — they affect our children, their livelihoods, and their right to a healthy environment. Criminalising ecocide affirms our collective duty of care towards nature and future generations.
- International Leadership: By legislating ecocide as a crime, Ghana can position itself as a leader in environmental justice in Africa — much like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgium on their respective continents — showing that environmental protection is inseparable from human rights, climate justice, and sustainable development.
Recommendations for Legislative Action
- Pass a Domestic Ecocide Law: Introduce a standalone legal provision defining and criminalising ecocide with clear thresholds for severity, duration, and impact, modelled on the Stop Ecocide International definition.
- Align with International Law: Advocate at the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court to include ecocide as the fifth international crime, thereby enabling prosecution of the most severe environmental harms globally. Ghana has an opportunity to be a regional and continental leader championing ecocide law to protect not only Ghana but at the African Environment Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and at the African Union.
- Strengthen Enforcement Mechanisms: Empower Ghana’s environmental protection agencies and judiciary with investigative authority, evidence standards, and prosecutorial capacity to ensure accountability.
- Penal Sanctions and Remedies: Ensure penalties are proportionate and deterrent — including custodial sentences as well as financial penalties for individuals and corporations, and mandatory environmental restoration orders.
6. Mr. Speaker, protecting our ecosystems is not an optional policy. It is a fundamental commitment to future generations, to human dignity, and to the harmony between economic development and environmental stewardship. Let us give meaning to that commitment by making ecocide a crime under Ghanaian law and by supporting its recognition under international law.
I commend the government in proposing the creation of a national crime of Ecocide as part of the proposals made by the Constitutional Review Committee (Transforming Ghana: From electoral democracy to developmental democracy – Chapter 111, para 3.18) and I urge a swift progression in the creation of national ecocide legislation to protect our economy now and into the future. Thank you.
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