In a groundbreaking move, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched a pioneering policy initiative in February 2024 dedicated to bolstering accountability for environmental crimes under the framework of the Rome Statute through the development of a Policy on Environmental Crimes.

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, alongside other civil society organizations and academic institutions, has joined MADRE’s comprehensive Civil Society Open Letter on the Policy Paper.

We call on the OTP to recognize the link between gender-based violence and environmental crimes, as well as meaningful recognition the impacts of environmental crimes on Indigenous Peoples and People of African Descent across the globe, especially women, girls, and/including LGBTQI+ persons.

The submission seeks to contribute to the debate on addressing environmental harm in line with a contemporary reading of the Rome Statute, rooted in established International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Criminal Law (ICL).

With a better understanding of how human rights and criminal law interplay, we can strengthen work to support victims and survivors and end cycles of environmental crimes and their impacts on gender-based harms in communities across the globe.

Read the full submission here.