The event will be held on November 20, 2024 from 11:00-12:00, Kyiv time (UTC/GMT +2 hours), zoom link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6727159476?omn=89973905508 as a part of Ukrainian Pavilion of COP29.
The opening speech of the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Viktoria Kireeva will be devoted to the irreparable losses of the environment of Ukraine due to the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, the losses and challenges faced by Ukrainian society in the field of environmental protection.
Military actions pose a threat to the life and health of citizens, as well as the environment and climate of Ukraine. Their impact is complex and encompasses all components of nature — air, soil, water, biodiversity, surface sediments, climate, and terrain. Kateryna Polianska, senior analyst, environmental scientist of the ICO «Environment-People-Law», PhD in Geography, will talk about the direct consequences and hidden threats, the impact of military actions on the natural complexes of Ukraine.
The scope of war-driven environmental damage is unprecedented and thus in many cases it can be qualified as ecocide. The second part of the event will be devoted to environmental and legal issues of ecocide at the national level in Ukraine and at the international level. It covers the legal definition and regulation of ecocide at the national and international levels, proposals for improving the existing legal regulation to ensure inevitability of punishment of the russian aggressor for damaging Ukrainian nature.
Part of the discussion will be devoted to the criteria for ecocide, which were for the first time developed by lawyers and environmental scientists in Ukraine and will be presented to the participants of the event for their discussion with a view to further implementation at the national and international levels. It is the new definition of ecocide, supported by the criteria, that will help ensure the inevitability of punishment for those responsible for the destroyed environment and the deteriorated climate in Ukraine and in Europe as a whole.
Solomiia Baran, a lawyer of the ICO «Environment-People-Law» will speak about legal aspects of the crime of ecocide through the prism of the russian invasion of Ukraine.
The event will also include a discussion on the issues:
- Environmental ruins: ecocide as a weapon of war
- War-driven ecocide for climate and environment in Ukraine
Participation in the event is open, without prior registration.
For the event organization, please contact to Oksana Abduloieva, oksana.abdulaieva@reforms.in.ua
