©Image from flyer by Geneva Environment Network
Protecting environmental defenders: updates and challenges
On the sidelines of the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, the Geneva Rights and Environment Talks aim to harness the opportunity of this moment of the year to reflect on the challenges posed by the rapid decline of nature and biodiversity, and on how Geneva contributes to bringing together the actors working towards ensuring the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is upheld for all.
Registration is mandatory for this event: to attend in person, please register here; to attend online, please register here.
Environmental human rights defenders have been increasingly under attack. Despite the triple planetary crisis and the global recognition of the right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment, the number of cases of threats, intimidation, harassment and persecution of environmental human right defenders is rapidly increasing. The involvement of State and non-State actors, the shrinking civil society space, corruption and impunity as a whole have made the work of these defenders even more challenging.
This event will provide an overall landscape of the current situation of environmental human right defenders not only from the defenders themselves but also from the work of UN experts and relevant mandate holders who have been following and addressing these developments.
Following the previous events organised on these defenders these last years by the Geneva Roadmap 40/11, it also provides an opportunity to take stock of the steps made in the implementation of the HRC resolution 40/11 on the protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders, since its adoption without a vote on 21 March 2019.
Speakers:
- Diana Rizzolio, Coordinator, Geneva Environment Network
- Peter Larsen, Senior lecturer and researcher, Institute for Environmental Sciences(ISE), Geneva University
- Environmental human rights defenders' testimonies
- David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and environment
- Clément Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (video message)
- Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention
- Ulises Quero, International Service for Human Rights
Moderated by Yves Lador, Representative of Earthjustice to the United Nations in Geneva
More information: official event page by Geneva Environmental Network.
This side event is co-sponsored by Earthjustice, Geneva Environment Network, Geneva Rights and Environment Talks, Geneva Roadmap 40/11, International Service for Human Rights, and University of Geneva.