Photo collage: ISHR. Individual photos are the defenders' own.
Women human rights defenders (WHRD) working on environment and climate justice from around the world gathered in Geneva to participate in the Women Human Rights Advocacy Week (WHRD-AW) between 16 and 21 September. Discover their experience below!
Throughout this experience, the women defenders deepened their advocacy work with the UN mechanisms, including Special Procedures, the Human Rights Council (HRC, or the Council), the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR). They also engaged with the international community in Geneva.
The Women Human Rights Advocacy Week, hosted by the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Just Associates (JASS), Peace Brigades International (PBI), Forum Asia, Amnesty International, and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) gathered 11 accomplished women environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders from Honduras, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Palestine, Russia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Nigeria. The participants were able to engage with different stakeholders to bring an intersectional approach to environment and climate justice, gender, corporate accountability, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and debt justice to the United Nations in Geneva.
Before arriving in Geneva, the defenders participated in a virtual training, where they had the opportunity to get a first glimpse of the international human rights mechanisms and key principles, procedures, and stakeholders involved in the global human rights framework, preparing them for deeper engagement on-site.
The activity week took place during the 57th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC57). It started with a comprehensive training on the workings of the Council, through which the defenders had the opportunity to explore the opportunities it offers to human rights defenders in terms of advocacy. Later that week, the defenders also delved deeper into the Declaration+25 and how they can use it in their advocacy. In the same session, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) shared with participants the process towards the recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
During the week, the defenders explored avenues in which the HRC can serve as an effective platform to conduct their advocacy in their meetings with Special Procedures, civil society organisations, the OHCHR and diplomats. Yuteita Hoyos from Red Nacional de Abogadas Indígenas had the opportunity to engage in the Interactive Dialogue with the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the Council, delivering a powerful statement calling for the adherence to the right to consultation into Mexican legislation in accordance with international standards.
Participants also held meetings with several units of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in which they had the opportunity to raise important issues regarding the protection of women human rights defenders, accessibility of the UN mechanisms, the role of non-State actors, and corporate responsibility.
The defenders collectively held meetings with a variety of mandate holders of the Special Procedures to share the human rights situation of their countries, including the Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation, the Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, as well as the Special Rapporteur on climate change. They highlighted the impact of mega-projects on their territories, emphasising the environmental consequences and human rights violations their communities have endured.
Watch Melani’s testimony as a Woman Human Rights Defender here:
Defenders also used different platforms and spaces to share first-hand information and testimonies on their fight to achieve accountability as well as climate and environmental justice.
Tania Hernández from Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (COPINH) participated in the screening of the award-winning film ‘The Illusion of Abundance’ together with Hernán Vales, Chief of the UN Human Rights Section on Indigenous Peoples and Minorities. In her presentation, Tania drew attention to the impact of extractive companies on natural resources in the Lenca territories. She emphasised that, eight years after the assassination of prominent environmental defender Berta Cáceres, the situation for environmental defenders has worsened, calling for the confirmation of the convictions of those who have been held responsible. She also called for justice for Juan López, a fellow Honduran land defender from Guapinol who was murdered some days before the event because of his vital work to protect the territory.
Participants engaging with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Photo: ISHR.
Emem Okon from Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre participated in an HRC57 side event entitled Water as a Common Good. The event, co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Germany and Spain, included the participation of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo, and Todd Howland, Chief of the Development, Economic and Social Issues Branch of the OHCHR. In her intervention, Emem raised the issue of water justice and addressed the environmental effects that oil and gas companies have in the Niger Delta region. She also shared the consequences of these activities on women and girls as well as the compound human rights violations that emerged from the lack of corporate accountability.
On 19 October, in an event on ‘Gender and Toxics: Confronting Environmental Violence’, Melani Gunathilaka from Climate Action Now, Victoria Maladaeva from Indigenous of Russia Foundation and Emem Okon had the opportunity to confer with the Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights. Melani stressed the need for a globally binding plastic treaty and shared that the ongoing economic crisis and austerity measures in Sri Lanka had resulted in other priorities overshadowing environmental concerns. Victoria also condemned the health and environmental consequences of pipelines on ancestral lands, calling for independent scientific studies and on the government to allow scientists and international observers to evaluate the consequences of the pipelines.
Additionally, Yasmeen El Hasan, representative of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in Palestine took part in a side event titled ‘The right of Peasants and Rural People to determine their own food systems: Food Sovereignty to Tackle the Multidimensional Crisis’. During the panel, she raised the issue of farmers’ rights and their access to land and resources in the context of the Israel’s war on Gaza and the genocide against the Palestinian population.
The Women Human Rights Defender Advocacy Week is an amazing experience where you’ll learn how to effectively advocate for human rights with specific tools and connect with the international community of human rights defenders.Participant in the Women Human Rights Defender Advocacy Week
The defenders also took part in academic events in which they shared their experiences with students and the general public. In a roundtable on Gender and Environmental Rights: Exploring the Intersection in International Law co-hosted with PBI, María Eugenia Gabriel, from Red Solidaria de Derechos Humanos de Michoacán, shared the situation of avocado monocultures. She explained the socio-economic effects of these crops, which are aggravated by organised crime, causing the systematic violation of the rights of Indigenous peoples. In the same event, Dorthea Wabiser from Pusaka Bentala Rakyat shared the challenges that Indigenous peoples face in Indonesia, as the government does not recognise Indigenous peoples under national law. She stressed that non-recognition infringes international standards such as the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent in West Papua.
Finally, at the Université de Genève, Deyanira Soscué from Colombia talked about the socio-environmental impacts that multinational corporations have on the Nasa Indigenous territories. She shared that these companies, under a false promise of development, have destroyed the environment. In addition, these companies have not invested in infrastructures for the communities as usually promised. Her presentation concluded with a strong call to ensure corporate accountability.
Women human rights defenders, ISHR and PBI staff sharing experiences! Photo: ISHR
The participants also had the opportunity to form meaningful relationships between them, by sharing their stories and experiences as women human rights defenders. This space provided a platform in which they bonded over their common experiences fighting for human rights and enhanced solidarity.
Finally, the defenders also participated in sessions focused on the development of tools and strategies to enhance their feminist advocacy efforts. Utilising the Jass Power Guide, designed to empower women human rights defenders through different exercises, participants held meaningful debates and conversations on power dynamics. Moreover, workshops on key advocacy tactics offered targeted advice on how to effectively convey key messages to a variety of audiences.
I’m very thankful for your work and support. This is a life-changing experience and I really appreciate each and everyone of you!Participant in the Women Human Rights Defender Advocacy Week
Environmental defenders from across Latin America and the Caribbean came together last week for the 2nd Forum on human rights defenders (Escazú Agreement) making evident their indispensable role in defending life on earth. To make Escazú meet their needs and expectations, the mechanisms to support implementation must receive adequate funds.
It's difficult to encapsulate such a complex year in a word, but "interconnected" is one that comes to mind when reflecting on 2020. We are proud to have remained deeply interconnected with defenders and to have supported, protected and amplified their work at the national, regional and international levels. With them, the "essential workers" of our times, we strive for a 2021 full of freedom, equality, dignity and justice.
