Join us for a thought-provoking seminar that explores the intersection of environmental harm, animal protection, and international law. As discussions around adding ecocide to the Rome Statute gain momentum, this seminar will address the potential for recognising nonhuman animals as victims under international criminal law.
The seminar will cover key topics such as whether ecocide should be included in the Rome Statute, how the ICC can address animal abuse linked to environmental harm like climate change and biodiversity loss, and case studies on the impact of climate change and factory farming on nonhuman animals. It will also explore the challenges of recognising animal harm in international law, and whether doing so could strengthen human rights protections or shift focus away from human suffering.
33 Bedford Row's Diana Constantinide will be chairing the discussions, and our barristers Marie-Hélène Proulx and Michael Herz will also be on the panel.
Date: 26 May 2026
Time: 6 – 7.30pm
Location: Remote
Speakers:
Prof. Stacy Branwell, Professor of Criminology, University of Greenwich
Stacy Banwell is Professor of Criminology at the University of Greenwich and a leading scholar in non-speciesist and more-than-human criminology. She is a member of the Multi-species Collective. Her research examines conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence against human and nonhuman animals, the intersections of gender, climate change and atrocity crimes, and multi-species justice in conflict and post-conflict contexts. These themes are central to her two most recent monographs: The War Against Nonhuman Animals: A Non-Speciesist Understanding of Gendered Reproductive Violence and An Intersectional Analysis of Climate Change and Atrocity Crimes: Life on Earth is in Crisis. As part of the EU Horizon/UKRI project, Transformative Change for Biodiversity and Equity, Prof. Banwell is evaluating sustainability transformations through legal pathways such as rights of nature, ecocide, and restorative justice.
Dr. Emiline Smith, Lecturer in Criminology (Sociological & Cultural Studies), University of Glasgow
Emiline Smith is a Lecturer in Criminology at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, University of Glasgow in Scotland (UK). She is also a Fellow at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong, and a member of UK Blue Shield, the Trafficking Culture Research Consortium, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Emiline also acts as an advisor to several non/governmental organisations, such as Ocean Culture. Her research focuses on the protection, securitisation, and repatriation of cultural and natural resources, particularly within the Asia-Pacific region. More recently, her work has centred on issues relating to multispecies ocean justice.
Registration details coming soon.