HRC40: States should defend 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.

• 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, *signatures are collected on a rolling basis

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)

74. SUDIA

75. Synergia - 36/5000 Initiatives for Human Rights

76. Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc.

77. Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM)

78. Center for Women's Global Leadership

79. Transformative and Integrative Build Out For All

80. Institute for Strategic & Development Studies

81. Reseau de Femmes du mMlieu Rural Haitien

82. East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)

83. FIFCJ

84. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)

85. Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

86. Zo Indigenous Forum

87. MADRE

88. FOKUS Forum for women and development

89. Bougainville Women's Federation

90. Human Rights Council-Ethiopia

91. Environment Defenders Advocacy

92. Porgera Women's Rights Watch

93. Independent Human Rights Analyst and Strategy Advisor

94. Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organisation (BIRUDO)

95. Community Resource Centre Foundation

96. MANUSHYA FOUNDATION

97. Equitable Cambodia

98. Friends with Environment in Development

99. Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB)

100. Association For Promotion Sustainable development

101. WoMin Afrcan Alliance

102. Both ENDS

103. Child Rights Connect

104. CONSEIL REGIONAL DES ORGANISATIONS NON GOUVERNEMENTALES DE DEVELOPPEMENT

105. Enda Lead Afrique Francophone

106. Human Rights Law Centre

107. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

108. World Voices Uganda

109. Africa Center for Policy Facilitation

110. Estonian Forest Aid

111. Community Transformation Foundation Network (COTFONE)

112. Collectif Camerounais des Organisations des Droits de l'Homme et de la Démocratie (COCODHD)

113. Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

114. North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS)

115. Sangsan Anakot Yawachon Development Project

116. Forum Syd Sweden

117. COALITION AGAINST LAND GRABBING (CALG) - PHILIPPINES

118. UNLAD-BLFFA

119. Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC)

120. BankTrack

121. CORE Coalition

122. The Gaia Foundation

123. Labour Behind the Label

124. Bataris Formation Center

125. Salva la Selva

126. Observatoire d'etudes et d'appui a la responsabilite sociale et environnementale ( OEARSE )

127. REd de Género y Medio Ambiente

128. London Mining Network

129. Abibiman Foundation

130. Ecodesarollo

131. The Kesho Trus

132. Organisation mondiale contre la torture

133. PAPUA NEW GUINEA MINING WATCH GROUP ASSOCIATION INC

134. 11.11.11 - Koepel van de Vlaamse Noord-Zuidbeweging

135. Center for Global Nonkilling

136. Centro salvadoreño de Tecnología Apropiada

137. Coalition Ivoirienne des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (CIDDH)

138. Friends of the Earth NI

139. Forest Peoples Programme

140. Environmental Investigation Agency

141. Fundación para el Desarrollo de Políticas Sustentables (FUNDEPS)

142. Bank Information Center

143. Africa development Interchange Network

144. Voluntariados Intag

145. Mangrove Action Project

146. IUCN NL

147. Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC)

148. Amazon Watch

149. HRM @Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan@

150. Task Force Detainees of the Philippines

151. Asociación ambiental e cultural Petón do Lobo

152. Asociación galega Cova Crea

153. Amigos e Amigas dos Bosques "O Ouriol do Anllóns"

154. Réseau Camerounais des Organisations des Droits de l'Homme (RECODH)

155. CNCD-11.11.11

156. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

157. Rainforest Foundation Norway

158. Women Working Worldwide