Summary
On March 22, 2022, an ecocide resolution was submitted to the national parliament of Iceland calling for the government to recognize ecocide as both a national and international crime and advocate for its inclusion in the Rome Statute. The document states “Alþingi [national parliament of Iceland] resolves to instruct the government to submit a proposal to the parliament of the member states of the International Criminal Court that ecocide be recognized in the Rome Statute as a violation of international law that falls under the court’s jurisdiction, and also to submit to Alþingi a bill to prohibit ecocide under national law.” The proposal also mentions the Rights of Nature, as well as the duty of everyone to respect and protect Iceland’s nature, and states that its purpose is “to ensure the legal status of nature so that individuals can undertake to fight for justice in the interest of nature and the common future of all of us.
The proposal received cross party support from four out of the eight parties in parliament, and was referred to the government on 16 June 2022. Further steps have not yet been taken.