Ukraine must gather evidence against Russian crimes against nature and the environment to force Russia to repay that ecocide. That is what European Commissioner Frans Timmermans told Europe reporter Geert-Jan Hahn today. A few hours ago, the Vice-President of the European Commission traveled by train from Kiev to the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Timmermans then called on the Ukrainians to record everything meticulously. “The same goes for human rights violations, or war crimes,” he says. “After the war you will have to take Russia to court for this. You really have to force them to fix, and that’s only possible if you’ve recorded the facts and evidence correctly.’
According to Timmermans, hard work is being done on this and the EU also wants to support Ukraine in this. ‘It is extremely important that it is also recorded exactly what damage nature is experiencing here. It’s huge,” he continues. Which runs into the billions. Especially when you see what it does for the flora and fauna. Ukraine has a lot of biodiversity and beautiful nature, but a lot of things are destroyed in the war zone.’
Russia pays
But, he stresses, whoever causes the destruction must also bear the costs. So Russia. “They ultimately have to answer for it,” says Timmermans, who dares to speak of ecological crimes. «After the Second World War, a new field in the legal system was also discovered: genocide. Crimes against humanity. And I think at this stage in our development we should also look at the acts that lead to ecocide. Crimes that have a direct impact on the survival of our species. They need to receive more attention and be taken much more seriously than they have in the past.’
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
