Alternatives to Political Systems

Reframing Our Values With the Law of Ecocide (Plus TEDx Video)

I write to you from the UN in NY where I am in meetings and talks about the law of Ecocide. It’s been a busy few days; I have also been speaking at various classes in NYU and downtown to a group of students studying Corporate Governance. On Monday I shared a platform with Jill Stein, the US Green Party presidential candidate and we had a chance to touch base about the recent adoption of the motion to support a law of Ecocide by our Green Party back in the UK. I’m hoping she’ll do the same here. Then it was off down to Wall Street for a radio interview about Ecocide.

On Tuesday I met with a group of UN Ambassadors and other parties to discuss the legal implications of creating a global duty of care to assist nations most likely to be affected by rising sea levels; at the moment there are 54 small island states that have no recourse to emergency aid. A law of Ecocide will fast-track to a solution that can be implemented at the very highest level – unlike protocols and accords that have so far failed.

Ecocide is a law that puts in place a legal duty of care. All nations will be duty bound to put the interests of territories that become, or are at risk of becoming, non-self governing first. That is an intenational legal precept that already exists; it exists for territories that are termed ‘non-self governing’ and that is precisely what happens when a territory suffers from ecocide. Thus a law of Ecocide gives what is known as legal teeth – where a territory faces a future where they will become non-self governing due to ecocide (whether it be due to climate change or a naturally occuring catastrophe) I have proposed the UN Trusteeship Council be put into to good use once again.

Tomorrow I am speaking about ‘Ethics and the Environment’ – then back to the UN for another meeting. I was hoping to get a peek into the UN Trusteeship Council Hall – but sadly the place is under renovation. It is hoped that it can be put back to good use to govern the global commons. There’s even talk about democratically elected representatives from each country. A law of Ecocide imputes a duty to provide assistance for territories that become non-self governing and the Trusteeship Council Hall is the very place where representatives can gather to decide what needs to be done before, during and after.

My wish is to attain peace in my life-time; that’s why I am here in NY to speak about Ecocide. For me, peace is about each of us standing up for a law that can end the mass damage and destruction once and for all. That means reframing our values, where the very life of people and planet come first.

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