Lawyers working on implementing the international crime of Ecocide were in Salford this week gathering evidence at the Barton Moss exploratory drilling site.
"I've come for a site visit to see what's going on here and to talk to some of the activists and lawyers" said Polly Higgins who has helped draft legislation to get Ecocide included in the Rome Statute, alongside War Crimes, Genocide, Crimes of Agression and Crimes Against Humanity.
"After being in Dakota, North Montana, where you can drive for miles and miles and miles through fracking sites, I know what's it's like when it's really geared up in a big way" she explained "I know how infrastructure and local communities implode very fast as a result."
"I was in Australia too and what I saw there was pretty sizeable and pretty horrific" she added "Now people are mobilising around this, and more and more experts are coming to the fore bringing evidence as to, not just the adverse environmental impacts, but also the human impact as well. I'm keeping a watchful eye on what's happening here, and am very interested in how it's beginning to be reframed morally as a crime but not yet legally recognised as a crime."
Polly is working with a host of global organisations to create an international crime of Ecocide which would criminalise mass damage and destruction to, or loss of, ecosystems, which she argues would have huge implications for fracking.
While unconventional energy companies like IGas and Cuadrilla would argue that fracking is perfectly safe and won't harm the environment or humans, Polly argues that, if that is the case, then these companies should be backing calls for Ecocide to be made an international crime…
"I'm sure IGas would be perfectly happy for a law of Ecocide to be put in place because they will have no fear of having their evidence tested in court" she said "They should be more than happy for a court case to be taken against them so they could establish that fracking is, indeed, perfectly safe."
When an IGas executive was interviewed by the Salford Star in December, he explained that what would be happening in the UK would be different from what has been happening in other countries (earthquakes, water contamination, radioactive waste etc) because the industry would be `highly regulated'. Given that no-one is yet commercially fracking using new techniques in this country, how can anyone evidence what might happen in the UK in the future?
"That is why we need to examine this before we even begin to proceed" Polly responded "I kind of wonder whether or not we need to be looking at what's going on elsewhere and actually say `Well hey, hang on, we've got evidence of how dangerous this is as an industrial activity in other territories'.
"If there is a significant harm to play out here, all the more reason for a law of Ecocide and all the more reason for companies like IGas to support it" she added "If they think it will cause no harm then they will fully understand how important it is to put in place an international crime that prevents significant harm from playing out, and allow themselves to be transparent and accountable to that process."
And if fracking does cause `significant harm', the top government politicians who are currently encouraging the controversial energy policy would also be held to account in a criminal court.
"My concern is that we end up with ministers who are complicit in significant harm and are failing to take action on something that can really cause risk of injury to people as well as land" Polly explained "And with a law of Ecocide looming over the horizon it begs the questions of decisions being made in government as well."
Polly is the leading world exponent of getting Ecocide on the international statute books by 2020. The aim is to put an amendment to the Rome Statute, or the International Criminal Court, to get the crime of Ecocide tabled by one head of state next year, and ratified by two thirds of the 122 countries which are signed up to the Statute.
"82 people in the world can make Ecocide an international crime" she said "Ecocide very nearly became an international crime in the mid-nineties but lobbying happened behind closed doors. However, we're in a very different place now…
"I was interested to read on the side of the police vehicles at Barton Moss `Protecting people, preventing crime'" Polly added "If we're looking at a potential crime, whose interests are really being protected here?"
The Ecocide lawyers were brought to Barton Moss by Simon Pook of Robert Lizar Solicitors, who is representing the vast majority of campaigners who have been arrested during the anti-fracking protests and is continuing to build links with the United Nations on issues around the Salford `fracking front line'.
"The concerns with regard to the environment must be fully explored by an independent body" he explained "Perhaps that international body is the United Nations."
For full details of all the Polly Higgins work see her website – click here
And for details of all the Ecocide draft legislation and support bodies see the eradicating ecocide website – click here
Photo by Steven Speed
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