Subtitles EN , ES, IT, NL
Polly Higgins and Jojo Mehta
There are hundreds of thousands of
wonderful environmental initiatives out there,
that we all support,
that all aim to protect our Earth.
This campaign
to make ecocide an international crime…
can unlock the potential of all of those.
In 2010 I proposed into the United Nations
that we criminalize ecocide.
Ecocide is the extensive damage,
destruction to or loss of ecosystems.
And what I propose is an amendment…
to possibly the most important legal document
we have in the world: the Rome Statute.
That document sets out the
existing international crimes.
And I propose that ecocide become
a standalone international crime…
alongside genocide, war crimes
and crimes against humanity.
So how does this work?
To amend the Rome Statute…
it simply requires a head
or heads of state to propose that amendment.
Who has the greatest incentive to do that?
Small climate vulnerable states…
like the small islands in the Pacific
who are going underwater…
who are feeling the sharp end
of climate ecocide.
But these are the very states
that don’t have the funds…
to fly over to the Hague, to New York
to go to the conferences and be present…
at the International Criminal Court
to make that amendment.
So our campaign is funding them…
and it’s funding them on the basis
of a legal document, a Trust Fund document.
When you sign up you’re gifting funds
to help this process,
but you’re also legally
becoming an Earth Protector.
So in a few short months…
with a tiny team of volunteers
we’ve really come a long way.
We’ve accompanied small island representatives
into the International Criminal Court.
We’ve created enormous visibility
in the United Nations.
This is a legacy mission like no other.
It stops the cycle of harm
at the highest level…
and it unlocks the potential of countless
other initiatives to protect our Earth.
We really would love you to be part of this.
Sign up as an Earth Protector
at www.MissionLifeForce.org
and spread the word in
your personal networks.
– Jojo, why on Earth are we doing this?
– Why are you doing it?
Because, you know, for me I really recognize
the historic significance of this.
This is going to be huge
and I have my skills as a lawyer…
that I can put to good use here
and that’s what I’m doing.
But you know, it’s more than that.
I can’t square it with my conscience
to walk away from this.
What about for you?
For me, I think I came to this
through my children.
You know, they’re going
to be growing up in this world.
It’s going to be a world that we have no idea
what it’s going to look like.
And like you, I cannot sit by
and see serious harm continuing…
knowing that my children
are going to grow up in that.
So for me, it’s about the Earth as I know it,
but it’s also about the Earth that’s going
to be lived in by the future generations…
by our children
and our children’s children.
– We’re gonna make it happen.
– We are!
And we’re going to find people
who can help us make it happen.
– Absolutely!
– So help make this happen 🙂
become an Earth Protector too:
www.StopEcocide.earth
