Despite more than 1,733 land and environmental defenders on the front lines of the climate crisis having been killed over the past ten years, sadly, the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, the 10-page declaration coming out of the COP27, fails to mention environmental human rights defenders.
Three years ago, the UN Human Rights Council affirmed that “human rights defenders, including environmental human rights defenders, must be ensured a safe and enabling environment to undertake their work free from hindrance and insecurity, in recognition of their important role in supporting States to fulfil their obligations under the Paris Agreement” to limit global average temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Our shared work is to ensure this happens.
We will continue to work for the inclusion of environmental human rights defenders when COP28 convenes from November 30 to December 12 next year.
As a next step, we will be holding another webinar on Wednesday December 7 at 21:00 NL time featuring three water protectors defending the San Silvestre wetlands in Barrancabermeja, Colombia.
- Yuli Velasquez, National Network of Artisanal Fishers
- Juan Camilo Delgado, CREDHOS
- Oswaldo Beltrán, FEDEPESAN
Defending water and biodiversity is a crucial part of the struggle against climate change. Register for the webinar and hear more about this important topic, directly from the defenders themselves. The webinar will have simultaneous translation in English and Spanish and is free of charge.
The event is offered to you for free. However, we would like to ask you for a small donation. With your contribution we can continue to generate networks of solidarity that strengthen voices and protect human rights defenders worldwide:
https://www.geef.nl/en/donate?charity=3879