Published on 14-04-2025, Last modified on 14-04-2025
Open Lecture “Environmental Dimension of Russian Aggression against Ukraine: Questions of Qualification and Responsibility”
The most terrible loss in an armed conflict is human life. At the same time, war also causes damage to other objects and values protected by international law, such as human health, honour and dignity, property and nature.
In the context of armed conflict, nature is both a direct and indirect object of protection. Violations of the rules of warfare enshrined in international humanitarian law entail the responsibility of the offending state and in some cases qualify as war crimes. The damage caused to the environment of Ukraine as a result of the annexation, occupation and hostilities on the territory of Ukraine is significant. Evidence of the environmental damage caused by the armed conflict as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is contained in reports and statements by international organisations, Ukrainian government authorities, media reports and research by non-governmental organisations.
Issues to be discussed during the lecture
1) Criminal liability of the perpetrators of environmental crimes committed during the Ukrainian-Russian armed conflict;
2) Peculiarities of the application of Article 441 “Ecocide” of the Criminal Code of Ukraine during and in connection with the Russian aggression against Ukraine;
3) Possible individual criminal liability for the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
4) Liability for the undermining of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam under Ukrainian criminal law;
5) Documentation of environmental damage as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Invited lecturer: Dr. Natalia Hendel
Dr. Nataliia Hendel is a researcher at the Institute of Information, Security and Law of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine. She was a research fellow at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (2022-2024). She is a member of the advisory board of the GROMADA project, which aims to recover Ukraine’s environment. Dr Nataliia Hendel is a member of the Ukrainian Association of International Law and a member of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. She is an expert at the Fundamental Research Support Fund and a coordinator of the analytical direction of the Ukraine 5 AM Coalition. She is a member of the working group on the protection of the natural environment from the consequences of armed conflict of the Interdepartmental Commission on the Application and Implementation of International Humanitarian Law in Ukraine and a member of the International Council of Experts on Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine.
Registration: https://event.ugent.be/registration/EnvironmentUkraine