Posts Tagged ‘environmental activists’
October 12, 2016
The Permanent Mission of Norway to the UN, Amnesty International, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Global Witness, the International Platform against Impunity, and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) cordially invite you to a panel discussion. “Empower environmental defenders, safeguard our future”
Monday 24 October 2016 1:00-2:30 in Conference Room 7 at the United Nations HQ in New York
In his latest report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders warns of “a truly global crisis” of killings of environmental human rights defenders and that the vision espoused in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is “doomed to fail” if more is not done to protect those on the frontlines. The Special Rapporteur calls for urgent action and outlines a range of recommendations to empower and protect environmental defenders.
see also: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/violence-against-environmental-human-rights-defenders-one-of-the-worst-trends-in-recent-years/
This side event will foster a discussion of these recommendations: why they are important, what is required to implement them effectively, and what the main challenges are to their effective implementation.
Speakers will include the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Michel Forst, as well as State, NGO, and business representatives.
For more information, please contact: e.openshaw@ishr.ch
Posted in AI, FIDH, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: CIVICUS, environmental activists, FIDH, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, land rights defender, Michel Forst, New York, Norway, Panel of Experts, side event, UN
September 1, 2016
The chilling trend of attacking human rights defenders working on environment and land rights continues. The help keep an overview here a summary of a number of relevant items:
On 26 August 2016
Patricia Schaefer of the
Center for International Environmental Law posted a blog in the NonProfitQuarterly website under the Title “
International Collaboration Reports on Violence against Environmental Activists”, summarizing two recent reports (
On Dangerous Ground by
Global Witness and a more recent “
Deadly Shade of Green” by Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), British NGO Article 19, and Vermont Law School).
Global Witness stated that worldwide, in 2015, there were 185 individuals killed in 16 countries while defending their land, forests, and rivers against industrial encroachment. At the top of the list were Brazil (50 killings), the Philippines (33), and Colombia (26). Global Witness recounts, “Conflicts over mining were the number one cause of killings in 2015, with agribusiness, hydroelectric dams and logging also key drivers of violence. In 2015, almost 40 percent of victims were from indigenous groups.” [Global Witness’ earlier report: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/environment-deadly-for-human-rights-defenders-says-global-witness/].
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 4 Comments »
Tags: Berta Cáceres, Brazil, Center for International Environmental Law, Deadly Shade of Green, Ecuador, environmental activists, Front Line (NGO), Global Witness, Gloria Capitan, HRW, Human Rights Defenders, killings, land rights defender, Latin America, Nilce de Souza Magalhães, Patricia Schaefer, Philippines, resource extraction, World Bank
June 17, 2016
It has been stated time and again that nowadays Latin America is the most dangerous region for human rights defenders, especially those working in the area of indigenous and environmental area [see e.g. https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/01/06/latin-america-philippines-most-dangerous-places-for-human-rights-defenders/]. Guatemala no exception: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: David Choc Pop, environmental activists, Front Line (NGO), Guatemala, Human rights defender, indigenous minorities, killings, land rights defender, murder, Walter Méndez Barrios
June 16, 2016
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights. Its 60th session this year focused on women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development. Despite mounting evidence of targeted violence against women human rights defenders (WHRDs), particularly those working on development issues, the Commission on the Status of Women failed at ensuring their adequate protection says the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in a report of 12 May 2016. 
‘The role and contribution of WHRDs around the world in human rights and development policies and programmes must be a guarantee by all States,’ said Ms Pooja Patel, programme manager at ISHR. ‘It is disappointing that the Agreed Conclusions did not go further to call for a safe and enabling environment explicitly for women defenders, and that the text was adopted without any acknowledgement of the particular risks faced by women human rights defenders’.
The UN General Assembly resolution 68/181, adopted in 2013, outlines a series of steps for States to better protect women defenders. This was echoed by CSW in 2014, however, negotiations in subsequent years have seen such references taken out.
Noelene Nabulivou, who spoke on a panel on the role of women human rights defenders held during CSW noted, ‘The 60th Commission on the Status of Women missed another opportunity to adequately support and defend women human rights defenders, despite increased public calls and momentum this year,’
She added that..’Women human rights defenders are targeted, imprisoned and killed for their work every day. Soft language and fence sitting do not help. Governments must publicly stand with those at the dangerous front-lines of gender equality, women’s human rights, and economic, ecological and social justice, and clearly reject those rolling back decades-long gains. Where there is violation of the human rights of WHRDs there must be clear political response – from south, north and all between.’
Source: CSW: Progress urgently needed to recognise WHRDs and SOGI | ISHR
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Berta Cáceres, Commission on the Status of Women, CSW, environmental activists, erta Cace, human rights of women, international protection, ISHR, New York, Pooja Patel, UN, WHRDs, women human rights defenders
April 19, 2016
Six environmental activists from around the world received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize at a ceremony in San Francisco on 18 April 2016. This prize does not always go to human rights defenders in the traditional sense of the word, but several well-known ones are among the recipients such as the recently killed Berta Carceres [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta-caceres/]. This year’s winners are: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Berta Carceres, Cambodia, Destiny Watford, digest of human rights awards, Edward Loure, environmental activists, Goldman Environmental Award, Goldman Environmental Prize, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, land rights defender, Leng Ouch, Luis Jorge Rivera-Herrera, Maxima Acuna, Peru, Puerto Rico, Slovakia, Tanzania, USA, Zuzana Caputova
March 16, 2016
On 7 March 2016 the ISHR held a joint side event on the protection needs of human rights defenders working on economic, cultural and social (ESC) rights [http://wp.me/pQKto-1ZJ]. Here a report and some more:
Panellists spoke about the crucial work of ESC rights defenders in their countries, including defenders in Ethiopia protesting illegal land grabs to prevent the displacement of communities; defenders in Malaysia working towards inclusive and sustainable development and to oppose corruption; and defenders in Guatemala working to protect indigenous rights and ensuring that companies consult with affected communities.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Allo Awol, Berta Cáceres, enabling environment, environmental activists, ESC rights, Geneva, Human Rights Defenders, International Covenant on Economic, ISHR, land rights, Michel Forst, Navi Pillay, side event, Social and Cultural Rights, social and economic rights, UN Council of Human Rights, UN Resolution
March 7, 2016
A group of over 50 international organizations has written to the President of Honduras to express their shock over the recent killing of Berta Cáceres [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/berta-caceres-human-rights-defender-assassinated-today-in-honduras/], to demand an international investigation and the immediate protection of Gustavo Castro Soto, a Mexican activist, who witnessed her assassination. Here is the letter and signatories in full: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 8 Comments »
Tags: assassination, Berta Cáceres, Civil society, environmental activists, Gustavo Castro Soto, Honduras, indigenous groups, investigation, Juan Orlando Hernández, killing, land rights defender, Lenca Indigenous People, NGOs, woman human rights defender
January 20, 2016
A group of five United Nations human rights experts have joined the debate in France on security. Yesterday, 19 January it warned that the current state of emergency in France and the country’s law on surveillance of electronic communications impose excessive and disproportionate restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
UN SG Ban Ki-moon pays tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November. 6 December 2015. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
In a list of concerns to the French Government, the independent experts stressed a lack of clarity and precision on provisions regarding several state of emergency and surveillance laws that relate to the legitimate rights of privacy and freedoms – of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
To guarantee the rule of law and prevent arbitrary procedures, the experts recommended the adoption of prior judicial controls over anti-terrorism measures. Since the recent terrorist attacks in France, the state of emergency law in force, which temporarily expands the executive powers in the fight against terrorism, only allows judicial review a posteriori.
The UN experts also noted that the November 2015 law on surveillance of international electronic communications expands the executive power over the collection, analysis and storage of communications content or metadata – without requiring prior authorization or judicial review.
The UN experts also expressed alarm that environmental activists in France have been under house arrest in connection with the state of emergency invoked following the November attacks. “These measures do not seem to adjust to the fundamental principles of necessity and proportionality,” they said, highlighting the risks faced by fundamental freedoms in the fight against terrorism.
Calling on France not to extend the state of emergency beyond 26 February 2016, they said, that: “While exceptional measures may be required under exceptional circumstances, this does not relieve the authorities from demonstrating that these are applied solely for the purposes for which they were prescribed, and are directly related to the specific objective that inspired them.”
The independent experts – David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression; Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Ben Emmerson, Special Rapporteur on the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; and Joseph Cannataci, Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy – expressed their solidarity and deepest sympathy to the victims of the terrorist attacks committed in France and many other places in the world.
Source: United Nations News Centre – UN experts urge France to protect fundamental freedoms while combatting terrorism
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: anti-terrorist laws, Ben Emmerson, David Kaye, environmental activists, France, Joseph Cannataci, Maina Kiai, mass surveillance, Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, state of emergency, UN Special Rapporteurs
July 10, 2015
The Newsletter of the International Service for Human Rights of 5 June 2015 carried an interesting piece written by two representatives of donors that are very active in the area of protection human rights defenders. Julie Broome, Director of Programmes with the Sigrid Rausing Trust, and Iva Dobichina, Programme Manager with the Open Society Foundation‘s Human Rights Initiative, wrote jointly about much-needed efforts to “turn the tide against the wave of civil society repression”. The piece follows in toto below, but some of the key points are: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in books, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: activism, Civil society, donors, environmental activists, foreign agents, freedom of association, funding, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, Iva Dobichina, Julie Broome, NGOs, Open Society Foundation, repression, Sigrid Rausing Trust
May 25, 2015
Koné: We want to support forest dependent communities in the protection of their natural resources and put human rights issues at the heart of forest debates’.
Lassana Koné is a lawyer in Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), working for Forest Peoples Programme, an international NGO working to protect the rights of those who live in the world’s forests. The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) did an interview with him on 8 May 2015 in Banjul:
Lassana’s efforts in the DRC are focused on pushing for policy change regarding land reform and forest governance, seeking to secure community land titles.‘It’s a key moment because the Government is in the process of reforming the land tenure act. It is vital that the human rights of communities be enshrined in this process. It gives us an opportunity to ensure that the free prior and informed manner in which communities ought to be consulted according to international law, is finally ensured by national law’.
Lassana works with a number of local communities in advocating for such policies and, in doing so, shines a light on the abuses taking place around communal land and natural resources. He explains that, for the communities raising their voice can be dangerous.
‘They face a range of opponents to their demands, and these opponents can become threatening. For example many communities are being evicted for conservation projects and can be threatened by national park guards. Others find themselves face to face with powerful proponents of extractive industries. In both cases, foreign companies are usually working together with the government’.
Whist the majority of the organisation’s work in DRC is currently focused on advocacy and dialogue for policy change, they also monitor human rights abuses in forest communities and are litigating a case before the national court regarding the forced eviction of a community to make way for a national park in Kivu region.
‘We hope to bring a communication before the ACHPR regarding the Sengwer indigenous people of Kenya, who have suffered a massive forced eviction last year from their ancestral lands, when many thousands of families were evicted, with houses and possessions burned, by the Kenyan Government’s Forest Service. There have been some successful complaints with the World Bank and also statements by UN special procedures, but hope for a response at the regional level.’ But Lassana also sees other opportunities for actions from the ACHPR, particularly around the free prior and informed consultations of communities regarding the development and conservation projects. ‘This is something which the ACHPR Working Group on Extractives and the Environment is working on. We hope they will produce guidelines on this issue. But we are also engaging with the regional system in other ways: for this session we produced a shadow report on the situation facing indigenous Batwa people in Uganda, whilst we are also contemplating how to work with the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders regarding the threats towards communities demanding their rights’.
‘We believe that local initiatives backed up by international support can ensure that forest peoples have their rights protected too’.
Lassana Koné can be contacted at lassana@forestpeoples.org
Cet article existe également en français .
Lassana Koné: Land and environmental rights defender in the DRC | ISHR.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: ACHPR, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, environmental activists, environmental issues, forrest, Human rights defender, human rights lawyer, interview, ISHR, Kenya, Land issues, Lassana Koné, local communities
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 