From 7-10 April, the Latin American and Caribbean Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders brought together environmental defenders, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, and government representatives in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
In a joint statement, UJSARIO and ISHR stressed the failure of the international community to uphold its commitments to decolonisation and human rights as the occupation of Western Sahara and systematic oppression of the Saharawi people by Morocco continue. They urged the Council to take action.
In a statement during the Human Rights Council's 58th session, Sri Lankan environmental defender Melani Gunathilaka spoke of the human rights impacts that debt-driven economic policies have had in Sri Lanka.
At an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Doris Ramírez, a fisherwoman from Guatemala raised concerns about the consequences business activities have had on marine biodiversity in Guatemala.
ISHR co-organised a side event on the protection of human rights defenders against new and emerging forms of technology-facilitated rights violations on the margins of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council.
ISHR attended RightsCon 2025, the largest global summit on technology and human rights issues. One clear message stood out: more should be done to protect human rights defenders on and offline and tech companies should be held accountable when their activities contribute to human right violations.
Civil society urges States to ensure a resolution at the upcoming 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council addresses the protection of human rights defenders from emerging risks resulting from technological trends and shifting online spaces.
At the end of the Forum, there was one clear message: voluntary commitments are not enough to guarantee corporate accountability, States need to regulate business with binding rules to comprehensively address the human rights abuses committed by businesses.
'There is a responsibility for big tech companies to uphold human rights to make sure that they are not complicit in the violation of human rights, especially in the context of genocide.'
