Right after Rio+20, on 27th of June 2012 AEGEE-Europe organized a round table discussion on the Ecocide law proposal, where keynote speech was given by Polly Higgins, the lawyer of the earth.
Public authorities were presented by Prof. Dr. Mustafa Akaydın, the Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Region and former Rector of the Mediterranean University, Emir Kır, State Secretary of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Urban Development and Environmental Maintenance Minister and the youth opinion and highlights from Rio+20 were presented by Mathieu Soete, the speaker of Environmental Working Group of AEGEE-Europe. The roundtable discussion also attended by representatives from NGOs and the European Commission brought together various different opinions and positions for a common interest; ensuring environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet. Following the event, AEGEE-Europe states:
Today, when Europe is standing at a critical moment in its history by virtue of economic struggles, we, the European Students’ Forum, demand a Europe grounded on respect for the nature, human rights and economic justice.
Herein, deeply concerned with the unjust violation of ecosystems through human agency, we call for an action to pave the way for a green economy. In this regard, while declaring our responsibility, we will put our experience forward and support the European Citizens Initiative as a tool for participating directly in the development of EU policies and calling on the European Commission to establish a legislative proposal on this matter; a law of Ecocide.
In this process, while calling for a legislative proposal, AEGEE, a strong supporter and provider of non-formal education, will fulfill its responsibilities by training grass roots on sustainability and clean technologies and consequentially bridge the gap between the grass root and top down approaches that are equally required.
For Further information follow the official Ecocide website.
