Article for the 4th year

 

Ecocide could become an international crime   (5th December, 2020)

There could be a new law on the international statute books. Lawyers across the globe are drafting regulations to make ecocide a crime. Ecocide is the destruction of the world's ecosystems. Lawyers want to make it a legally enforceable crime, much like crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The initiative is being led by a professor from University College London (UCL) and a former judge at the International Criminal Court. It has attracted support from several European countries, notably France and Belgium. Island nations at risk from rising sea levels, such as Vanuatu and the Maldives, have voiced their support. A politician in the UK has called for ecocide to be incorporated into law.

Professor Philippe Sands of UCL spoke about why there is a need for ecocide to be made illegal. He said: "The time is right to harness the power of international criminal law to protect our global environment." He wants the law to hold governments and multi-national corporations accountable for the environmental damage they cause. The Stop Ecocide Foundation said: "In most cases ecocide is likely to be a corporate crime." It outlined the scale of destruction that would require an ecocide law being used. It said: "It would have to involve mass, systematic or widespread destruction. We are probably talking about Amazon deforestation on a huge scale, deep sea-bottom trawling or oil spills."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	statute	a.	A written law passed by a legislative body.
2.	drafting	b.	An act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation; a fresh approach to something.
3.	regulation	c.	Preparing a preliminary version of a text, report, law, etc.
4.	destruction	d.	About a law, rule, or obligation being able to be imposed so that it must be complied with.
5.	enforceable	e.	A rule or directive made and maintained by an authority.
6.	initiative	f.	The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.
7.	voiced	g.	Expressed an attitude or opinion.

    Paragraph 2

8.	harness	h.	Relating to, done by, or affecting large numbers of people or things.
9.	accountable	i.	The full range of different levels of people or things, from the lowest to the highest.
10.	corporate	j.	Control and make use of natural resources, especially to produce energy.
11.	scale	k.	An act of fishing in a boat with a very large net.
12.	mass	l.	Of a person, organization, or institution required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible.
13.	trawling	m.	Instances of liquids (e.g. oil) coming out of something and going into a river, sea or other place.
14.	spills	n.	Relating to a corporation, especially a large company or group.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

1. A new law on the environment has been passed into the statute books.   T / F
2. Lawyers want ecocide to be a crime like genocide.     T / F
3. The ecocide initiative is being led by a group of environmentalists.     T / F
4. Vanuatu and the Maldives backed the new ecocide law.     T / F
5. A professor said now was not the time to incorporate ecocide into law.     T / F
6. The professor wants to hold governments accountable for ecocide.     T / F
7. An ecocide foundation said most ecocide is caused by corporations.     T / F
8. The foundation highlighted oil spills and deep-sea trawling.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. statute
2. globe
3. initiative
4. attracted
5. voiced
6. harness
7. accountable
8. outlined
9. destruction
10. scale

1. proposal
2. won over
3. responsible
4. law
5. devastation
6. extent
7. expressed
8. exploit
9. defined
10. planet

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1. There could be a new law on the international
2. Lawyers across the globe are
3. Ecocide is the destruction of the
4. Lawyers want to make it a legally
5. Island nations at risk from
6. The time is right to harness
7. hold governments and multi-national corporations
8. In most cases ecocide is likely to be a
9. mass, systematic or widespread
10. Amazon deforestation on

1. a huge scale
2. enforceable crime
3. accountable
4. world's ecosystems
5. the power
6. destruction
7. statute books
8. rising sea levels
9. corporate crime
10. drafting regulations

Comprehension questions

1. What kind of books might the new law be on?
2. What does the article say lawyers are drafting?
3. Where did the judge behind the initiative used to work?
4. Which two island nations have backed the initiative?
5. Who called for ecocide to be incorporated into law?
6. What did a professor say was right to harness the power of criminal law?
7. Who does the professor want to hold accountable besides governments?
8. What kind of crime did a foundation say ecocide was most of the time?
9. What kind of destruction did the foundation say ecocide involved?
10. What did the foundation say would take place on a large scale?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What kind of books might the new law be on?
a) encyclopaedia
b) online books
c) the statute books
d) hardback books
2) What does the article say lawyers are drafting?
a) regulations
b) draughts
c) punishments
d) fines
3) Where did the judge behind the initiative used to work?
a) McDonald's
b) Greenpeace
c) the WHO
d) the International Criminal Court
4) Which two island nations have backed the initiative?
a) the UK and Fiji
b) Vanuatu and the Maldives
c) Japan and Sri Lanka
d) Madagascar and the Seychelles
5) Who called for ecocide to be incorporated into law?
a) a Hollywood actor
b) an environmentalist
c) A UK politician
d) a multi-national CEO

6) What did a professor say was right to harness the power of criminal law?
a) duty
b) time
c) history
d) the conditions
7) Who does the professor want to hold accountable besides governments?
a) loggers
b) all of us
c) the fishing industry
d) multi-national corporations
8) What kind of crime did a foundation say ecocide was most of the time?
a) a crime against humanity
b) a corporate crime
c) a heinous crime
d) a petty crime
9) What kind of destruction did the foundation say ecocide involved?
a) mass, systematic or widespread destruction
b) minor destruction
c) lasting and irreversible destruction
d) destruction to the biosphere
10) What did the foundation say would take place on a large scale?
a) logging
b) desertification
c) overfishing
d) Amazon deforestation

Put the words in the right order

1. international   A   on   law   the   new   statute   books   .
2. across   globe   the   Lawyers   are   drafting   regulations   .
3. want   make   to   Lawyers   it   legally   enforceable   .
4. has   attracted   support   from   several   It   European   countries   .
5. for   to   Called   incorporated   be   ecocide   into   law   .
6. need   to   ecocide   for   be   A   made   illegal   .
7. law   the   He   to   wants   governments   hold   accountable   .
8. likely   Ecocide   be   to   is   a   corporate   crime   .
9. that   would   require   Destruction   ecocide   an   law   .
10. probably   We   about   talking   are   Amazon   deforestation   .