🌍 International Conference on Ecocide, Human Rights and Environmental Justice  
📅 31 October 2025 | 🏛 Senate House, London  

The full programme for the conference 10:00AM- 5:00PM and the evening event 6:00PM-7:30PM is now online here!

As seating is limited, please register separately for day and evening sessions. If you are unable to attend in person, kindly cancel your registration.

The conference brings together an exceptional group of speakers from across the globe to discuss critical questions at the intersection of law, human rights, and the environment. The daytime conference will open with a keynote address from Baroness Rosie Boycott, Vice-Chair of Peers for the Planet, and feature three legal expert panels: 

Panel 1: Corporations and Colonialism 

Panel 2: Accountability and Repair: Defining Justice for the Crime of Ecocide 

Panel 3: Human Rights and Environmental Stewardship 

In each session, authors will present and discuss papers selected for publication in a forthcoming Special Issue of the  International Journal of Human Rights. 

There will be a drinks reception between the day and evening programme.

Samia Dumbuya

Monica Lennon

In the evening we will focus on concrete action to advance the agenda of human rights and environmental justice. 

Her Excellency Macenje Mazoka, High Commissioner of Zambia to the UK will open the evening programme amplifying the need for environmental justice and measures to address climate breakdown from an African perspective.

Jojo Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO of Stop Ecocide International will update us on the progress in the ecocide movement.

Samia Dumbuya, climate educator from London and founder of The People’s Ark and Monica Lennon, Member of the Scottish Parliament who introduced the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill in May 2025, will join in a discussion moderated by Professor Damien Short on ecocide and environmental justice in the UK.

Kaeden Watts, Indigenous rights advocate and policy expert will dial in to share his perspective from Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Please note: registration is required  separately for the daytime conference and the evening event. 

Row 1 from left to right: Gita Parihar, Lovleen Bhullar, H.E. Macenje Mazoka, Baroness Rosie Boycott, Rosemary Mwanza, Kate Mackintosh. Row 2 from left to right: Jonathan Liljeblad, Michael Addaney, Tameka Samuels-Jones, Daniel Adjin Odonkor, Monica Lennon, Felix Dube. Row 3 from left to right: Olivia Lwabukuna, Lisa Oldring, Daley Birkett, Mordechai Nyamekye, Samia Dumbuya, Darryl Robinson. Row 4 from left to right: Gregory Gordon, Krishnee Adnarain Appadoo, Enam Antonio, Damien Short, Hector Herrera, Jeevesh Augnoo. Row 5 from left to right: Kaeden Watts, Xuchen Zhang, Diksha Jaggeshar, Jojo Mehta, Catherine Savard, Juliana Galindo

Three articles from the forthcoming Special Issue of  The International Journal of Human Rights  are already available online. For those who like to come prepared and read ahead, see links below!

Authors Catherine Savard, Héctor Herrera and Matthew Gillet will also present and discuss their contributions at the upcoming conference. 

Catherine Savard, "What mens rea for ecocide in the Rome Statute?"

This article addresses the challenge of defining the mental element of ecocide. It critiques the limits of the intent standard in the Rome Statute, and explores whether negligence, recklessness, or wilful blindness might offer a more appropriate framework for capturing severe environmental harm. 

Juliana Galindo & Héctor Herrera,  "From environmental war crimes to ecocide: lessons from Colombia’s transitional justice".

Drawing on the jurisprudence of Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace, the authors examine how environmental war crimes are adjudicated in transitional justice settings. Their analysis highlights the recognition of other-than-human entities as victims, the thresholds for ecological harm, and the integration of Indigenous and Afro-Colombian perspectives into legal reasoning. 

Matthew Gillett, "'Human, all too human’: the anthropocentricisation of ecocide".

This contribution applies the theory of co-optation to the ecocide movement, cautioning against overly anthropocentric interpretations. It considers how different formulations of ecocide within the ICC framework could either dilute its transformative potential or push the law toward more ecocentric approaches. 

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