國際法院準備受理環境犯罪案件

The International Criminal Court has said it will start to focus on crimes linked to environmental destruction, the illegal exploitation of natural resources and unlawful dispossession of land.

國際刑事法院說，它將開始集中審理與破壞環境、違法開採自然資源以及非法剝奪土地有關的犯罪。

The United Nations-backed court, which sits in The Hague, has mostly ruled on cases of genocide and war crimes since it was set up in 2002.

這個設在海牙的由聯合國支持的法院自2002年成立以來，審理的大多是有關種族滅絕和戰爭罪的案件。

Now, in a move widely hailed by land rights activists, the court said Thursday environmental destruction and landgrabs could lead to governments and individuals being prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

國際刑事法院星期四說，政府和個人都可能因破壞環境和強佔土地而以危害人類罪受到起訴。國際刑事法院的這一舉措受到了土地維權人士的廣泛稱讚。

The court, which is funded by governments and is regarded as the court of last resort, said it would now take on crimes into consideration that have been traditionally under-prosecuted.

該法院得到多國政府資助，被看作是終審法院。它說，它現在將考慮受理一些一直以來起訴率偏低的案件。

Land-grabbing has become increasingly common worldwide, with national and local governments allocating private companies tens of millions of hectares of land in the past 10 years.

過去10年，由於國家和地方政府把千萬公頃土地分配給私人公司，強佔土地的情況在全球各地日益普遍。

The anti-corruption campaigners Global Witness say this has led to many forced evictions, the cultural genocide of indigenous peoples, malnutrition and environmental destruction.

反腐活動組織“全球見證”說，這個局面導致衆多強制拆遷，土著人文化滅絕，營養不良以及環境破壞的情況發生。

"This shift means it can start holding corporate executives to account for large-scale land grabbing and massive displacement happening during peace time," Alice Harrison of Global Witness told Reuters.

“全球見證”的哈里森對路透社說：國際刑事法院的舉措意味着，它現在可以開始讓企業老闆爲在和平時期所造成的大面積強佔土地和人民大規模流離失所的情況承擔責任了。