Report – Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony (MOU) between Stop Ecocide International Organization (SEI) (UK Company) and the Environmental Protection Training and, Development Organization – Environmental Volunteer Network (EPTDO-EVN) in Afghanistan.
Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony (MOU) between Stop Ecocide International Organization (SEI) (UK Company) and the Environmental Protection Training and, Development Organization – Environmental Volunteer Network (EPTDO-EVN) in Afghanistan was held on March 7, 2023 in the EPTDO HQ office in Kabul Afghanistan.
SEI and EPTDO-EVN agree to collaborate in the shared mutual aim of making “ecocide” (mass damage and destruction of nature) an international crime. The areas of cooperation include, subject to mutual consent, any activity which would further this goal.
Stop Ecocide International Ltd, a non-profit company limited by guarantee, was set up in the UK in 2017 (original name: Ecological Defence Integrity Ltd) to launch a public campaign to make ecocide a crime at the International Criminal Court (ICC). SEI is the driving force behind the global conversation to make “ecocide” – mass damage and destruction of ecosystems – a 5th crime at the ICC sit alongside Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes of Aggression and Crimes Against Humanity.
Ecocide law is a key lever that will catalyse positive system change by sending a powerful message to the world – and key decision makers – that causing severe and either widespread or long-term harm to nature and climate is no longer morally or legally acceptable, planetary boundaries must be respected and future generations must be protected.
EPTDO-EVN is a non-political, NGO and non-profit organization in Afghanistan working exclusively on climate change, environmental safety, livelihood approaches, agriculture, water and sanitation, climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation, gender inclusion and equality, education and ecological issues in the country. EVN has 1400+ volunteer male and female members throughout Afghanistan who are working on environmental education through public awareness programs, scholarly lectures, partnerships, and city clean-up actions.
Both organizations have their own ToRs and areas of work, they will work to make an ecocide law proposal to the ICC feel safe, necessary and inevitable to governments. And for that to happen, the global conversation around ecocide must resonate as widely and confidently as possible. The more obvious, visible and accepted it is, the more inevitable it becomes.
Considering EPTDO-EVN core objectives to include women in all areas of decision and leadership processes. The MOU was signed on behalf of EPTDO-EVN by Ms. Freshta Faizi, Head of Gender Equality and Women Inclusion Unit. Many women attended this signing ceremony and they stated that women are critical part of this country and they have integral roles in the development of Afghanistan.
The EPTDO-EVN will provide its endeavors and efforts to implement the commitments that are included in the MOU. The organization will hire 15 unpaid interns to work for implementing the signed MoU throughout Afghanistan. At the same time EPTDO members are so excited to get this approach and be part of the Stop Ecocide International dynamic and professional global team.
