APN | Abu Dhabi

9–15 October 2025

Representing Arab communities facing protracted conflict, occupation, and targeted environmental destruction, APN brought the language of justice to the World Conservation Congress, organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and held in Abu Dhabi from 9–15 October 2025, the world’s leading global platform for environmental policy.

Our participation came at a critical moment, coinciding with the introduction of Motion 061 which concerns the recognition of ecocide as an international crime. The motion marks a historic step toward holding actors accountable for the intentional and large-scale destruction of ecosystems.

APN representative Aya Shaban called for grounding the legal concept of ecocide in the lived realities of communities enduring conflict and occupation, and for international decisions to recognise the barriers to achieving environmental justice in the context of settler colonialism, particularly in Gaza and Palestine more broadly. She carried this message into discussions with state representatives, international organisations, and sponsors of the motion.

In a significant step toward international recognition of legal responsibility for environmental destruction, the ecocide motion was adopted by a wide majority.

At the General Assembly, Shaban delivered an official statement urging the IUCN to assume its moral and practical responsibility in addressing such destruction, stating:

"The responsibility of the IUCN does not end with drafting resolutions; it extends to action where ecosystems are being collapsed and communities are left to their fate”.

Shaban further affirmed that environmental protection cannot remain neutral in the face of environmental crimes and that institutional silence must not be tolerated. She denounced the omission of Palestine, despite the intentional destruction of its environmental and food systems, stressing that this is above all a call to reclaim humanity.