HRC40: States should defend environmental human rights defenders

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Our organisations* are calling on all UN Member States to demonstrate their support to environmental human rights defenders. 

At its current 40th session, the Human Rights Council is discussing a draft resolution on environmental human rights defenders. This is a timely and important initiative as UN agencies, human rights organisations and the media have documented unprecedented killings and attacks against people defending land and the environment.

It is important for the Council to adopt a resolution that reflects the gravity and the reality of the situation defenders face every day. Our organisation therefore call on members of the UN Human Rights Council to ensure that the resolution adopted by the Council clearly:

  • Outlines the root causes of the threats against environmental human rights defenders, including development and commercial activities with adverse social and environmental impacts, or those imposed on communities without meaningful consultation and respect for their rights;
  • Recognises that environmental human rights defenders confront multiple adverse interests when challenging State and corporate activities, and highlights the collusion between different actors which hinders the work of defenders and aggravates their vulnerable position;
  • Clearly names the industries and activities most dangerous to defenders, such as the mining industry, natural resource exploitation, agribusiness and large-scale development projects;
  • Acknowledges the wide number of States that have recognised the right to a healthy environment in their internal legal order;
  • Recognises that the lack of effective access to information, access to participation and access to justice causes environmental conflicts and leads to violence against defenders;
  • Calls for the development of protection mechanisms for environmental human rights defenders in line with best practice identified by the Special Rapporteur;
  • Articulates the specific risks women and indigenous human rights defenders face and the need for an intersectional approach in assessing and designing protection measures for defenders;
  • Calls on States to ensure that all communities are meaningfully consulted and can participate genuinely in matters that affect their rights and, in particular the use, management and conservation of their land and natural resources;
  • Calls on States to guarantee the right to free, prior and informed consent for indigenous peoples;
  • Calls on States to adopt legislation that creates due diligence obligations for companies registered in their jurisdictions and those of their subsidiaries;
  • Articulates the responsibility of businesses to respect the rights of human rights defenders and highlights measures companies should take to contribute to addressing their insecurity;
  • Adequately articulates the responsibility of investors and the obligations of development finance institutions to respect human rights in the context of their investments and to develop and implement effective policies to prevent and address threats; and
  • Stresses that an open civic space, including respect for the rights to freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association and movement, as well as the right to participate in the conduct of government and public affairs, is vital to the protection of both a healthy and sustainable environment and environmental human rights defenders.

The draft being negotiated in Geneva contains some of these essential elements, which must be defended, but also offers significant potential for strengthening.

As negotiations enter the final stretch, our organisations urge States to actively support the development of a resolution which clearly recognises the vital contribution of environmental human rights defenders to sustainable development and the effective enjoyment of human rights and formulates concrete asks of the States, development finance institutions and companies with the power of safeguarding that contribution.

Sincerely,

  1. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  2. Amnesty International
  3. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia)
  4. CIVICUS
  5. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  6. Earth Justice
  7. Front Line Defenders
  8. Global Witness
  9. JASS (Just Associates)
  10. IM-Defensoras
  11. Christian Development Alternative (CDA)
  12. Nigerian Women Agro Allied Farmers Association
  13. Social Justice Connection
  14. Franciscans International
  15. Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos – Guatemala (UDEFEGUA)
  16. Geneva for Human Rights
  17. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
  18. Réseau Ouest africain des Défenseurs des Droits Humains/West African Human Rights Defenders’ Network
  19. Coordination des associations et des particuliers pour la liberté de conscience
  20. La’o Hamutuk
  21. Karapatan Philippines
  22. Human Rights House Foundation
  23. HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY AND NETWORKS
  24. International Commission of Jurists
  25. Conectas Direitos Humanos
  26. World Movement for Democracy
  27. Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)
  28. Center for Civil Liberties
  29. Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
  30. Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)
  31. International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA)
  32. Humanitaire Plus (Togo)
  33. Coalition Burkinabé des Défenseurs des Droits Humains
  34. AMARA
  35. Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC)
  36. Odhikar
  37. Freedom House
  38. Red Internacional Unión Latinoamericana de Mujeres – Red ULAM
  39. Freedom House
  40. Rivers without Boundaries Mongolia
  41. Asian Legal Resource Centre
  42. OYU TOLGOI WATCH
  43. Ligue Burundaise des droits de l’homme Iteka
  44. International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES)
  45. AVIPA association des victimes parents et amis du 28 septembre 2009 Guinée
  46. Porgera Red Wara (River) Women’s Association Incorporated (PRWWA INC.)
  47. KRuHA – people’s coalition for the right to water
  48. Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders (APNED)
  49. EMPOWER INDIA
  50. EarthRights International
  51. Dawei Probono Lawyer Network (DPLN)
  52. Africa Network for Enivironment and Economic Justice(ANEEJ)
  53. Partnership for Justice, Nigeria
  54. Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
  55. Huridocs
  56. Steps Without Borders NGO
  57. Humanists International
  58. Coalition Togolaise des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (CTDDH)
  59. Labour,Health and Human Rights Development Centre
  60. Institute for Multi-Resource Development (IMdev)
  61. Not1More
  62. Patrons of Khuvsgul lake movement
  63. Liberia Coalition of Human Rights DefendersHuman Concern, Inc
  64. Brot für die Welt
  65. ARTICLE 19
  66. Peace Brigades International
  67. Metro Center Journalists Rights & Advocacy
  68. World Uyghur Congress
  69. 350.org
  70. International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR)
  71. Latinamerikagrupperna
  72. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
  73. Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)