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The 7th Human Rights summit of Southern Defenders took place in November in Johannesburg – reports Puleng Motaug

December 23, 2024

ACTSA intern Puleng Motaung reports back on the 7th Human Rights summit of Southern Defenders

Being at the Southern Human Rights Defenders summit in Johannesburg was exceptional, I had a chance to meet with people who put others’ wellbeing before their own. People who sacrifice their lives for the benefit of others. The greatest part was hearing survivors tell their traumatic stories first hand, hearing about the challenges that civil societies face, and learning about Khenana community, in South Africa, the murders that take place there and the trauma that the kids are going through, seeing their parents killed in front of them.

I had an opportunity to network with people from different organisations and backgrounds, and the outstanding interaction was with a lady named Zanele from Eswatini who works for Swavisa a struggling organisation that focuses on helping the victims of the 2021 uprising who got injured and can’t afford medication to treat their injuries due to financial strains.

Across the Southern African region, the civic space continues to shrink as governments suppress and silence civil societies. Many defenders have been imprisoned, injured and even killed in the fight for equality and dignity. The issue of Israel was also raised and that all civil societies must stand in solidarity with Gaza.

I met Robson Chere, a teacher and trade unionist, and the Secretary General of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ) in Zimbabwe, which advocates against teachers’ low wages, lack of electricity in rural schools and poor working conditions as well as unsafe learning conditions for students. Along with Namatai Kwekweza and Samuel Gwenzi, he was hauled off a plane by police on 31 July, then tortured and held without bail for 35 days by the Zimbabwe regime. Their release on bail only came after much international pressure.

When civil space is stifled, said Adriano Nuvunga, Chairperson of Southern Defenders, we lose the foundation of democracy. He continues that it is up to us to ensure that the elections across Southern Africa reflect true will of the people, fostering trust, inclusion and hope for a democratic future. “Together we must ensure that the future is one where justice, freedom and human rights prevail, where every voice is heard and every right is protected”.

Adriano Nuvunga’s statement had me wondering: what am I doing to better the future of the upcoming generation?

I learnt that being a Human Rights Defender (HRD) isn’t easy because of the traumatic experiences people go through, but Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, said “don’t buy the narrative that it is the worst time ever to be a human rights defender”. The most important resources in civil space are networks, unity and trust. That gave me hope…

My takeaway as a young person is that I must stand up and lead the pack. It’s never been more necessary for people to band in solidarity with southern African Human Rights Defenders. We need to protect the civil space. It is about time we as young people go out and occupy spaces, because the youth are the heartbeat of the revolution.

‘We must protect the civil space’: report from the Southern Defenders human rights summit

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Open Global Rights on creating pathways for environmental defenders in the trickiest places

October 26, 2024

Grassroots environmental defenders are building a variety of strategic, community-based approaches to environmental justice. Global actors can do more to support their work write Rebecca Iwerks & Ye Yinth & Otto Saki on 14 October 2024 in Open Global Rights.

Fighting for land, environmental, and climate justice is risky. Global Witness annually reminds us of the staggering number of people who are killed for defending their land—over 2,100 since 2012. And lethality is only the tip of the iceberg, one of a multitude of violent tactics that people face when they speak up for their community. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/09/18/global-witness-2023-2024-annual-report-violent-erasure-of-land-and-environmental-defenders/]

The last few years have seen encouraging steps to respond through global and regional policy. National governments have started to make specific commitments to protect environmental rights defenders, deeming it necessary to address the climate crisis. The Escazu agreement in Latin America has explicit requirements for the state protection of environmental rights defenders. [NOTE: On 16 October 2024 civil society in the Americas has issued an urgent call to accelerate the implementation of the Plan of Action on Human Rights Defenders, of the Escazú Agreement, adopted five months ago].Just this month, the UNFCCC Supervisory Body for Article 6.4 and the UN Secretary General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals showed how global bodies can incorporate the protection of environmental rights defenders directly into climate policy. More broadly, hundreds of organizations have pooled their efforts to end retaliation against environmental defenders through the ALLIED network.

What do we do while we wait for momentum to build and for policy to translate into practice? We can draw hope from thoughtful, strategic examples of grassroots legal empowerment. Throughout the world, legal empowerment advocates—people helping individuals and groups know, use, and shape the law with the support of community paralegals—are assisting communities in registering their land, stopping corporate pollution of their water, and negotiating fair land use deals even in the most difficult places. 

Last year, we examined the experiences of environmental defenders who were able to continue their work in repressed environments, using tenets of legal empowerment to find pathways to justice in ways that reduce their risk. Here’s what we saw:

  1. Building community power.…
  2. Changing paths to remedy. …
  3. Building relationships with allies. …..
  4. Knowing, using, and shaping the law to respond to security concerns. …

How do we super-charge support for this subtle, effective protection alternative? 

While grassroots justice advocates are continuing to seek remedies in tricky places, global actors can do more to support them. The primary shift that can support this type of innovative risk response is to provide flexible, unrestricted funding directly to grassroots justice advocates, whether through philanthropy or from pooled private sector funds that facilitate independent legal and technical support. Flexible funding allows the practitioners to shift their plans as pathways become riskier; it also allows them to invest in security equipment that may not clearly fit into a project-driven budget. Openness to different types of reporting can allow grassroots justice advocates to make decisions about what information is safest for them to reveal without concerns about financial security.

Secondly, those who influence global frameworks, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), can do more to incorporate the security of environmental rights defenders into these frameworks. For example, the security of environmental rights defenders is integral to the access to justice encompassed by Sustainable Development Goal 16, and progress on that issue should be included in all SDG 16 reporting. Within the UNFCCC, the language protecting defenders from Article 6.4 Supervisory Body and the Secretary General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals should be mirrored throughout climate policy frameworks and resourced during their implementation. 

While the actions against environmental defenders are shocking, there are significant steps the rights community can take now to support grassroots actors moving forward.

https://www.openglobalrights.org/creating-pathways-to-land-and-environmental-justice-in-the-trickiest-places/

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Volker Türk: Environmental human rights defenders are champions for our future

September 30, 2024

Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Global CITIZENS FESTIVAL 2024

New York

Friends, New Yorkers, global citizens.

Human rights defenders are champions for our future – shining a light on repression, on injustice and on solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges.

In return, they are often smeared, intimidated, imprisoned, and worse.

According to data gathered by my Office, last year, 320 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in 40 countries were killed. Many of them while protecting nature and the environment.

Across the globe, environmental human rights defenders are leading efforts to tackle a climate crisis that is growing ever more ferocious, more terrifying, and more present.

They are standing up for the marginalized, for the natural world, and for the planet.

For the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

They deserve our gratitude and our protection.

My office is proud to support the Leaders Network for Environmental Activists and Defenders (LEAD), a new initiative focused on meaningful and safe participation of defenders in climate and environmental discussions.

But they need your support too. So I urge you to join my office.

Take action to protect civic space and help us to build a more sustainable and more equal future. 

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/09/environmental-human-rights-defenders-are-champions-our-future-turk

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United Nations adopts ground-breaking Pact for the Future to transform global governance

September 27, 2024

New York, 22 September 2024 – World leaders today adopted a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. This Pact is the culmination of an inclusive, years-long process to adapt international cooperation to the realities of today and the challenges of tomorrow. The most wide-ranging international agreement in many years, covering entirely new areas as well as issues on which agreement has not been possible in decades, the Pact aims above all to ensure that international institutions can deliver in the face of a world that has changed dramatically since they were created.

“The Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations open the door to new opportunities and untapped possibilities,” said the Secretary-General during his remarks at the opening of the Summit of the Future.

The Pact covers a broad range of issues including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance. Key deliverables in the Pact include:

In the area of peace and security

On sustainable development, climate and financing for development

  • The entire Pact is designed to turbo-charge implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • The most detailed agreement ever at the United Nations on the need for reform of the international financial architecture so that it better represents and serves developing countries.
  • Improving how we measure human progress, going beyond GDP to capturing human and planetary wellbeing and sustainability.
  • A commitment to consider ways to introduce a global minimum level of taxation on high-net-worth individuals.
  • On climate change, confirmation of the need to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

On digital cooperation

  • The Global Digital Compact, annexed to the Pact, is the first comprehensive global framework for digital cooperation and AI governance.
  • At the heart of the Compact is a commitment to design, use and govern technology for the benefit of all.

Youth and future generations

  • The first ever Declaration on Future Generations, with concrete steps to take account of future generations in our decision-making, including a possible envoy for future generations.
  • A commitment to more meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in the decisions that shape their lives, especially at the global level.

Human rights and gender

  • A strengthening of our work on human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.
  • A clear call on the need to protect human rights defenders.
  • Strong signals on the importance of engagement of other stakeholders in global governance, including local and regional governments, civil society, private sector and others.

There are provisions across the Pact and its annexes for follow-up action, to ensure that the commitments made are implemented.

The Summit brought together over 4000 individuals from Heads of State and Government, observers, IGOs, UN System, civil society and non-governmental organizations. In a broader push to increase the engagement of diverse actors, the formal Summit was preceded by the Action Days from 20-21 September, which attracted more than 7,000 individuals representing all segments of society. The Action Days featured strong commitments to action by all stakeholders, as well as pledges of USD 1.05 billion to advance digital inclusion.

For more information:  https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2024/09/press-release-sotf-2024/

https://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/news/united-nations/new-york/7322-civicus-urges-the-un-to-prioritise-strengthening-the-human-rights-pillar-at-unga79-and-the-summit-of-the-future

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Global Witness 2023-2024 Annual Report: Violent Erasure of Land and Environmental Defenders

September 18, 2024

According to a new report by Global Witness released on 10 September, more than 2,100 land and environmental defenders were killed globally between 2012 and 2023.

  • An estimated 196 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2023 around the world, according to a new Global Witness report published today
  • The new figures take the total number of defenders killed between 2012 to 2023 to 2,106
  • For the second year running, Colombia had the highest number of killings worldwide – with a record 79 defenders killed last year, followed by Brazil (25), Mexico (18) and Honduras (18)
  • Once again, Latin America had the highest number of recorded killings worldwide, with 166 killings overall – 54 killings across Mexico and Central America and 112 in South America
  • Environmental defenders are also being increasingly subject to range of tactics for silencing those who speak out for the planet across Asia, the UK, EU and US

The new figures bring the total number of defender killings to 2,106 between 2012 and 2023.

Overall, Colombia was found to be the deadliest country in the world, with 79 deaths in total last year – compared to 60 in 2022, and 33 in 2021. This is the most defenders killed in one country in a single year Global Witness has ever recorded. With 461 killings from 2012 to 2023, Colombia has the highest number of reported environmental defender killings globally on record.

See:https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2023/09/25/global-witness-annual-report-2022-a-land-rights-defender-killed-every-other-day/

Other deadly countries in Latin America include Brazil, with 25 killings last year, and Mexico and Honduras, which both had 18 killings.

Central America has emerged as one of the most dangerous places in the world for defenders. With 18 defenders killed in Honduras, the country had the highest number of killings per capita in 2023. A total of 10 defenders were also killed in Nicaragua last year, while four were killed in Guatemala, and four in Panama.

Worldwide, Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendents continue to be disproportionately targeted, accounting for 49% of total murders.

Laura Furones, Lead Author and Senior Advisor to the Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign at Global Witness, said:

“As the climate crisis accelerates, those who use their voice to courageously defend our planet are met with violence, intimidation, and murder. Our data shows that the number of killings remains alarmingly high, a situation that is simply unacceptable.

While establishing a direct relationship between the murder of a defender and specific corporate interests remains difficult, Global Witness identified mining as the biggest industry driverby far, with 25 defenders killed after opposing mining operations in 2023. Other industries include fishing (5), logging (5), agribusiness (4), roads and infrastructure (4) and hydropower (2).

In total, 23 of the 25 mining-related killings globally last year happened in Latin America. But more than 40% of all mining-related killings between 2012 and 2023 occurred in Asia – home to significant natural reserves of key critical minerals vital for clean energy technologies.

As well as highlighting the number of killings worldwide, the report unearths wider trends in non-lethal attacks and their harmful impacts on communities globally. It highlights cases of enforced disappearances and abductions, pointed tactics used in both the Philippines and Mexico in particular, as well as the wider use of criminalisation as a tactic to silence activists across the world.

The report also explores the crackdown on environmental activists across the UK, Europe and the US, where laws are increasingly being weaponised against defenders, and harsh sentences are more frequently imposed on those who have played a role in climate protests. The findings form part of a concerning trend of criminalisation cases emerging worldwide.

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/09/11/european-governments-are-using-harsh-overly-broad-laws-to-silence-climate-protesters

Despite the escalating climate crisis – and governments pledging to achieve the Paris Agreement target of 1.5C – land and environmental defenders are being increasingly subject to a wide range of attacks to stop their efforts to protect the planet. At least 1,500 defenders have been killed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement on 12 December 2015.

Nonhle Mbuthuma, author of the report’s foreword and Goldman Environmental Prize Winner 2024, said:

“Across every corner of the globe, those who dare to expose the devastating impact of extractive industries — deforestation, pollution, and land grabbing — are met with violence and intimidation. This is especially true for Indigenous Peoples, who are essential in the fight against climate change, yet are disproportionately targeted year after year.

Download Report (PDF | 2.76 MB | Full Report)

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Front Line Defenders launches Global Analysis 2023/24 on human rights defenders

May 22, 2024

On 22 May 2024 Front Line Defenders launched its Global Analysis 2023/24 on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk around the world, an in-depth annual publication detailing the variety of risks, threats and attacks faced by HRDs around the world.

The Global Analysis gives a panorama of the threats faced by HRDs in all regions of the world. Despite an assault on human rights and the rule of law in many countries, human rights defenders (HRDs) showed remarkable courage and persistence in advocating for more democratic, just and inclusive societies in 2023. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2023/04/04/front-line-defenders-just-published-its-global-analysis-2022-new-record-of-over-400-killings-in-one-year/]

At least 300 HRDs killed in 28 countries

The report also reveals statistics gathered and verified by the HRD Memorial initiative – which Front Line Defenders coordinates – documenting the killings of at least 300 HRDs in 28 countries in 2023. Almost a third of those killed (31%) were Indigenous people’s rights defenders. This brings the total documented killings of HRDs in the last decade to nearly 3,000.

“This appalling wave of attacks on human rights defenders is a direct result of an international human rights framework left in tatters and governments’ double standards when it comes to respecting human rights,” said Alan Glasgow, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders. “A quarter decade after the UN adopted a Declaration on human rights defenders, not enough progress has been made to ensure defenders are valued and protected. In this time, thousands of defenders have paid with their lives and many more face ongoing attacks and intimidation for their peaceful work. Urgent action is needed to change this.”

Wide-ranging risks to HRDs

Globally, the violation most commonly cited by HRDs was arbitrary arrest/detention (15%), followed by legal action (13%), continuing an ongoing trend of criminalisation as the most-reported risk. This was followed by death threats (10.2%), surveillance (9.8%) and physical attacks (8.5%). Trans and non gender-conforming HRDs reported slightly higher rates of physical attacks, and a much greater risk of smear campaigns. Globally, the five most targeted areas of human rights defence were: LGBTIQ+ rights (10.2%); Women’s rights (9.7%); Human rights movements (8.5%); Indigenous peoples’ rights (7.1%); and Human rights documentation (5.2%).

The statistics in the Global Analysis are derived from Front Line Defenders’ casework and approved grant applications between 1 January and 31 December 2023. The statistics are based on 1,538 reported violations in 105 countries. Front Line Defenders documents multiple violations per case or grant, as this is the reality of the situation for human rights defenders. For more details on how these and the HRD Memorial data are gathered, please refer to the Methodology section at the end of the report.

Download the full Global Analysis 2023/24

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/resource-publication/global-analysis-202324

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UN High Commissioner on National Human Rights Institutions

May 16, 2024

On 08 May 2024 the OHCHR published the address by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the 2024 Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions Annual Conference:

…The role that National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) can play in this era of global crises is more crucial than ever. An era of deepening divisions between our human family, where inequalities are widening, where poverty is at levels not witnessed in a generation.

…It implies that everyone can – and must – be a partner in the human rights movement. Including the private sector. This conference will address some of the big questions on the impacts – both negative and positive – that business can have on human rights.

On climate change, how can business avoid and avert harm, and instead innovate and adapt to be part of the solution?

On civic space, particularly in the online world, how can business live up to their responsibilities to enable and nourish freedom of expression and at the same time protect the human rights defenders bravely demanding change? More broadly, how can regulatory and policy measures on human rights work best for business, and how can we guarantee the necessary protection and support for affected individuals and communities?

And of course, ultimately, how can NHRIs leverage their unique mandate to guide and support businesses in addressing these issues?

The private sector is a key piece of the architecture needed to rebuild trust, and to restore faith in the unifying power of human rights. The landmark Edinburgh Declaration provides a robust framework to help NHRIs in these efforts.

And NHRIs are also playing a crucial role in ensuring governments live up to their responsibilities to implement effective remedies for the individuals and communities harmed by business-related activities.

As you well know, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were developed to protect against human rights abuse by business activity. The gold standard to ensure that business is held accountable. That business keeps on enhancing and adapting their practices to put human rights front and centre. And that victims of abuse have access to remedy.

Over the past thirty years, my Office has worked closely with Member States and their NHRIs to better promote and protect all human rights at the national level. A growing interest from countries in not only establishing NHRIs, but ensuring that they are independent, and that they are effective…

To date, 120 NHRIs have been accredited by the Global Alliance in an internationally legitimate process serviced by my Office. Eighty-eight of those have received ‘A’ status for their full compliance with the Paris Principles, the standards which all NHRIs must meet.

At the international level, too, my Office has supported NHRIs and their regional and global networks to engage with the UN human rights mechanisms, including the treaty bodies and the Human Rights Council, its Universal Periodic Review and the Special Procedures…

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2024/05/high-commissioner-addresses-global-alliance-national-human-rights-institutions

see also: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/why-nhrc-international-accreditation-is-under-review-explainer/article68141899.ece

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Human rights defenders in Brazil disappointed by Lula and Mary Lawlor agrees with them

April 24, 2024

On 19 April 2024 – Indigenous Peoples Day in Brazil – tribal leaders and activists used the occasion to criticize government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for falling short on promises to safeguard native land rights.

This is revolting for us Indigenous peoples to have had so much faith in the government’s commitments to our rights and the demarcation of our territories,” Alessandra Korap Munduruku, a member of the Munduruku people and a 2023 winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, told Amazon Watch in a statement published Friday.

“We hear all of these discussions about environmental and climate protection, but without support for Indigenous peoples on the front lines, suffering serious attacks and threats. Lula cannot speak about fighting climate change without fulfilling his duty to demarcate our lands,” she added.

On the same day United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor said that Brazil needs to prioritise the demarcation and titling of land – the root cause of most attacks against human rights defenders in the country.

“Human rights defenders are under extreme threat in Brazil. The Federal Government knows this but has so far failed to put the structures in place to provide them with better protection and tackle the root causes of the risks they face,” said Mary Lawlor, in a statement following an official visit to the country.

Brazil’s Federal Government recognises human rights defenders and their work, and understands the risks they face, the expert noted. However, when human rights defenders challenge structures of power that impose and reinforce injustice, they are violently attacked and face an extremely high level of risks, she said. “Again and again during my visit I heard from defenders who had survived assassination attempts, who had been shot at, had their houses surrounded, had death threats delivered to their door. I heard from defenders whose work had been criminalised,” Lawlor said.

“The defenders most at risk in Brazil are indigenous and quilombola people and members of other traditional communities. In many cases, perpetrators of the attacks are known. Yet, there is rampant impunity for these crimes,” the expert said.

The UN expert said business and markets play a key role as drivers of conflicts, putting human rights defenders at risk. “The demarcation and titling of indigenous, quilombola and other traditional peoples’ land, as well as the revision of the legality of all existing concessions given to companies must be prioritised,” she said.

Lawlor said that in urban areas, human rights defenders were also being attacked, defamed and heavily criminalised, specifically black women human rights defenders, journalists, popular communicators and lawyers, and social and cultural workers.

“The conflation of human rights defenders with criminals by local authorities – in particular defenders who are part of social movements and supporting the most vulnerable in society – is a clear problem and must end,” the expert said.

A protection programme to address situations of risk for human rights defenders has been in place in Brazil for some time. However, Lawlor said it was currently unfit for purpose and needs radical reform and expansion. Lawlor applauded the Federal Government for re-opening the door to human rights defenders and civil society in the design of policy that affects them and encouraged authorities to not abandon these efforts.

“The Federal Government needs to match the courage of human rights defenders in the country – and it must do so now,” Lawlor said.

On 22 April 2024 Maria Laura Canineu HRW’s Deputy Director, Environment and Human Rights, said she wanted to use this quilombolaas an opportunity to celebrate the work of the courageous people who put themselves at risk fighting for a world in which people and the planet can thrive. “I personally would like to honor Osvalinda Marcelino Alves Pereira. Sadly, she passed away from a long-standing illness just over a week ago.”

https://reliefweb.int/report/brazil/united-nations-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-defenders-mary-lawlor-brasilia-19-april-2024-enpt

Download Report (PDF | 213.1 KB | Statement – English version)

https://www.commondreams.org/news/lula-indigenous-rights

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/22/earth-day-homage-beloved-forest-defender

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UNEP defines environmental defenders

April 23, 2024

The UN defines environmental human rights defenders as “individuals and groups who, in their personal or professional capacity and in a peaceful manner, strive to protect and promote human rights relating to the environment, including water, air, land, flora and fauna”. 

Environmental defenders remain highly vulnerable and under attack across the globe. Worldwide, environmental defenders face growing assaults and murders – in conjunction with increasing intimidation, harassment, stigmatization and criminalization. At least three people a week are killed protecting our environmental rights – while many more are harassed, intimidated, criminalized and forced from their lands.

“For their tireless work in empowering communities and protecting ecosystems, environmental defenders are killed in startling numbers. Murder is not the only way environmental defenders are persecuted; for every 1 killed, there are 20 to 100 others harassed, unlawfully and lawfully arrested, and sued for defamation, amongst other intimidations” – John Knox, former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.

The United Nations has recognized the threats to environmental defenders and called for their protection. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) builds on this work to support environmental defenders through its Defenders Policy, through which we:

  • Denounce the attacks, torture, intimidation and murders of environmental defenders;
  • Advocate with states and non-state actors, including business, for better protection of environmental rights and the people standing up for these rights;
  • Support the responsible management of natural resources;
  • Request government and companies’ accountability for the different events where environmental defenders have been affected / murdered.

And that problems exist – even in the developed world – is demonstrated again by the 19 April 2024 piece: https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-to-support-environmental-defenders-227742

Forst, in his report, puts it like this: “states must address the root causes of mobilisation” not the mobilisation itself. Indeed, tackling protesters and not oil producers is the democratic equivalent of rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.

https://www.unep.org/topics/environmental-law-and-governance/who-are-environmental-defenders

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Inter-American Court on the Escazú Agreement’s protection for environmental defenders

March 8, 2024

On 7 March 2024, the ISHR report that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights examined the Escazú Agreement’s role in safeguarding environmental defenders, a landmark move for climate justice and human rights

The Advisory Opinion, which has already garnered a record number of interventions – over 250, a record in the history of the court – will mark a rare instance in which the Court will analyse a treaty that is not part of the Inter-American System, but of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean: the ‘Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean’, also known as the ‘Escazú Agreement‘. For more on this, see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/escazu-agreement/

In order to support the protection of environmental defenders, ISHR filed an intervention on environmental defenders, in collaboration with CIEL, FARN, and other international, regional and national organisations and human rights experts. 

The obligation to effectively protect EHRDs

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has already recognised that States are obliged to protect human rights defenders, arising from the general obligations to protect the rights to life and integrity of the person, among others. However, the Court has yet to expressly establish whether protecting environmental defenders is an obligation that also derives from environmental commitments made by States, as these stakeholders are an indispensable partner in the fight against climate change. 

This is an opportunity for the Court to recognise that, in order to guarantee the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, States must protect environmental defenders, as violating their rights also violates the rights they are defending.

The Court is also called to elaborate upon the specific protection needs of Indigenous, women and youth defenders. These groups face particular forms of attacks which must be addressed with cultural and gender perspectives, taking into account not only the particularities of the attacks they suffer, but also of their needs and desires. 

In the case of Indigenous groups, the existing jurisprudence of the Court on recognising collective rights, along with the language used in article 9 of the Escazú Agreement – which establishes that ‘persons, groups and organisations’ can defend human rights – provides an opportunity to firmly establish the existence of a collective right to defend human rights, as well as the State’s obligation to set up and adapt their protection measures and mechanisms to ensure that collective protection is available when needed.

Environmental defenders and ‘access rights’

While the express mention of environmental defenders in the Escazú Agreement is extremely important, it is not its main focus. The treaty contains several obligations for States to guarantee access to information, to decision-making spaces and to justice in environmental matters. 

These ‘access rights’ are applicable to all persons, but the Inter-American Court must reaffirm and elaborate upon its own jurisprudence related to their applicability for environmental defenders, which states that: ‘defenders cannot properly defend environmental rights if they cannot exercise their own rights of access to information, freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful association, guarantees of non-discrimination and participation in decision-making‘.

This is also an opportunity for the Court to clearly assert that private actors are also under the obligation to respect these rights, which includes conducting meaningful consultations and ensuring the free, prior and informed consent of communities affected by their projects.

The extent of the Advisory Opinion

Latin America is the region with the most and the oldest laws and protection mechanisms regarding human rights defenders, so it was only logical that it would be the first region to adopt the first treaty that expressly protects them.

The Inter-American Court has also been a pioneer in this regard. It was the first regional human rights court to deal with human rights defenders’ cases and order structural reforms to better protect them.

These successes must be celebrated, but there is still work to be done. The coming years will see an increase in three areas, all linked with one another: climate crisis, the amount of environmental defenders, and the risks faced by defenders. 

The Court must seize this opportunity and set an example for countries in the region and beyond on how to properly defend the rights of those that defend our rights.

See the intervention here: Amicus 1 IACrtHR AO on CC and EHRDs

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/environmental-defenders-and-the-inter-american-court-advisory-opinion-on-climate-change

Posted in Human Rights Defenders, IACHR, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
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