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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCEOs Can Now Be Prosecuted Like War Criminals at the Hague
Published 16 September 2016
[font size="4"color="navy"]The court's new focus on land grabbing and environmental destruction could help put a dent in corporate impunity.
The International Criminal Court announced Thursday it will now hold corporate executives and governments legally responsible for environmental crimes.[/font]
RELATED:
Land Grabs Soar, Worsening Land Conflicts and Climate Change
The Hague court made explicit references to widening its approach to include land grabbing, which has allowed private corporations, with the help of governments, to take over large areas of foreign land to exploit natural resources. It will also prosecute for environmental destruction.
Chasing communities off their land and trashing the environment has become an accepted way of doing business in many resource-rich yet cash-poor countries, said Gillian Caldwell, executive director at Global Witness. "Company bosses and politicians complicit in violently seizing land, razing tropical forests or poisoning water sources could soon find themselves standing trial in the Hague alongside war criminals and dictators. The ICCs interest could help improve the lives of millions of people and protect critical ecosystems.
The violence surrounding environmental conflicts also often leaves corpses in its wake. In 2015, more than three people were murdered each week attempting to defend their lands from land grabbing, according to Global Witness. The group estimated that an area the size of Germany has been leased to international investors in developing countries since 2000.
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The court's decision was sparked by a case filed by a group of Cambodians who alleged that authorities, including the government, military, police and the courts, have been complicit in land grabbing since 2002, which has led to the forced eviction of more than 300,000 people. International legal experts say the courts widened focus could potentially open up criminal prosecutions for climate change.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/CEOs-Can-Now-Be-Prosecuted-Like-War-Criminals-at-the-Hague-20160916-0013.html
annabanana
(52,791 posts)dembotoz
(16,808 posts)our corporate overlords will protect the corporate overlords
always have always will
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)No more overseas trips for them.
ffr
(22,670 posts)madokie
(51,076 posts)right now I have fall mushrooms to go look for
Oh, yes, it's about time this step, (ICC,) was taken
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)The free market makes it so.
I'll have to show my libertarian friend.
Ligyron
(7,633 posts)sub-titled, but worth a watch.
GummyBearz
(2,931 posts)Thanks for that. I will bet a nickle that no CEO will ever be prosecuted at the Hague
bucolic_frolic
(43,182 posts)exploited anything to make money
It was easy in the 1500's with the slave trade, land and labor
for free, all you had to do was pay people to carry it out and
sit in your castle
Then it was coal, and whale oil
Then more mining
Indigenous natives always being separated from their land
to make profits for others
Nature of the system to some extent. It could be humanized,
and degradation could be reduced.