© Pietro Soldi for Fine Acts
ISHR provides solidarity and support to defenders working on issues of environmental justice, corporate responsibility and accountability, and sustainable and inclusive development.
The knowledge and work of indigenous peoples and communities, as well as activists working on issues of environmental protection, the climate crisis and corporate accountability, are vital for humanity to live more responsibly and sustainably. Despite this, such people and communities are being killed and displaced by both irresponsible governments and unscrupulous corporations for their work to prevent exploitation, to protect precious forests and oceans, and to ensure that development is sustainable and inclusive.
Through this programme, ISHR provides solidarity and support to defenders working on issues of environmental justice, corporate responsibility and accountability, and sustainable and inclusive development. We also seek to ensure that businesses and other non-State actors are effectively regulated with respect to human rights and HRDs, consult with and become positive advocates for HRDs, take action to respect and contribute to the protection of HRDs, refrain from actions that restrict or violate their rights, and are held accountable when they fail to do so.
Read our latest news on environmental justice and sustainability.
Olnar Ortiz Bolívar and Alexandra Lezama, human rights defenders from Venezuela, are attending the Human Rights Council 52nd session, where the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela will present an oral update on the human rights situation in the country.
For many rights holders, victims and human rights defenders, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) provides a vital lever increasing pressure for change at the national level, while for others it provides the last resort or only opportunity to expose violations, seek accountability, and garner support for their vital work towards a fair, equal and sustainable world. We need the HRC to be credible, effective and accessible to everyone. This is only possible if States demonstrate leadership, take action in line with objective human rights criteria, ensure that HRC members live up to their responsibilities, and fully cooperate with the HRC and its mechanisms.
ISHR hails the adoption of a groundbreaking guidance on land rights by the UN Committee on economic, social and cultural rights (CESCR). The General Comment provides welcome guidance on the obligations of States parties in relation to land rights.
UN experts are calling on Mexico to rethink the ‘Tren Maya’ trainline project to ensure that rigorous environmental checks and meaningful consultations are carried out and human rights defenders protected.
For the first time since 2019, the NGO Forum ahead of the ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission), was held in person in Banjul on 17 and 18 October. This session’s discussions focused on human rights and governance in Africa: a multi-dimensional approach in addressing conflict, crisis and inequality.
In order to echo the concerns and experiences of defenders in these spaces, ISHR and partners organised and co-hosted a range of events in parallel to the 11th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights (28-30 November).
