Environment and Land Disputes

Environment and Land Disputes

As human rights lawyers, we understand the nexus between human wellbeing and the environment. Protecting our planet is of crucial importance to individuals, groups, and indeed the human race.

Global Diligence is dedicated to using international law to tackle environmental destruction and climate change. Whether spearheading international action against mass land-grabbers, supporting frontline environmental defenders, or working with businesses to mitigate impact, we find creative ways to use the law. To support this work further we have founded Climate Counsel which pursues environmental justice through international criminal law, more info here.

The ICC: Land grabbing in Cambodia

Global Diligence’s case on land grabbing in Cambodia is the first international case to qualify land grabbing and associated corruption and political persecution as a crime against humanity. This case, together with consorted advocacy efforts with international partners, has changed the discourse on land grabbing and contributed to making it and other forms of environmental destruction a new focus for International Criminal Court prosecutions.

Environmental Defenders:

Environmental and land defenders are on the frontline in the fight to protect our planet. But they face enormous risks. In 2017, 207 defenders were murdered worldwide.

Since speaking at the first environmental defenders conference, organised by N1M and hosted at Oxford University, Global Diligence has been working with N1M and Open Briefing to develop a strategic framework to support frontline defenders worldwide, called the Environmental Defenders Security Framework.

Ecocide

GD is at the forefront of the campaign to make ecocide the Fifth Crime Against Peace in the Rome Statute of the ICC. GD Partner, Richard Rogers, has been engaged by Ecological Defence Integrity to develop a new definition of ecocide, and is currently working with a pool of international experts and UCLA's Promise Institute. Richard spoke to the issue at a side event at the ICC's 2019 ASP."  

In January 2020, the Vatican wrote to Richard, expressing interest in receiving updates on this work and offering a 'remembrance' by the Pope

Responsible Business:

Businesses have a crucial role to play in protecting the environment. Global Diligence works with businesses to ensure their social and environment impact is minimised.