Institute of Commonwealth Studies co-launches initiative for global environmental crime investigation guidelines
A new initiative to develop guidelines on documenting and investigating environmental international crimes has been launched today by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, in collaboration with a broad range of partners.
The initiative represents an important step toward greater accountability for environmental international crimes and the advancement of justice. By addressing a critical gap where no specialised guidance currently exists, the guidelines will provide essential tools to support the documentation, investigation and prosecution of such crimes. Their objective is to respond to the needs, priorities and lived-experiences of those most affected, as well as the insights and efforts of the activists and practitioners addressing them.
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, TRIAL International, Justice Rapid Response, Source International and Physicians for Human Rights are working in partnership on the joint initiative to develop practical, multidisciplinary guidelines.
Yesterday in Geneva, in parallel with 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, an expert consultation convened legal practitioners, scientists, human rights defenders, civil society representatives, academics, national grassroots organisations, and international stakeholders from around the world including from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Colombia Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and the Ukraine Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO).
Together, they shaped the priorities and framework for the guidelines with the principles that they be accessible, include a clear evidence collection protocol, robust evidence preservation and archiving methods and incorporate practical strategies to overcome existing challenges.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Elisa Morgera, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Climate Change; Professor Kevin Jon Heller, University of Copenhagen Centre for Military Studies, Special Advisor on War Crimes to the Prosecutor of the ICC and one of the lead drafters of the draft policy on environmental crimes (to which the Institute of Commonwealth Studies contributed); and Mireya Sosa, an environmental activist from an affected community in Cerro de Pasco, Peru.
Maud Sarlieve, Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and one of the lead organisers said “This project will have real global impact as it is responding to specific requests from civil society around the world for guidance on investigating environmental international crimes. Mireya Sosa said it best, ‘this guide will be a tool for justice, it gives power to the people… we need it now.’”
The consultation was attended and supported by students of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies MA Human Rights Programme and was supported by the Swedish Postcode Lottery and the University of London Sustainability Programme.
This page was last updated on 18 June 2025