COP27: why we need greater recognition of environmental defenders
Sydney Martinez addresses environmental and human rights defenders at COP27
plus: sign up to our upcoming webinar
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place this coming November from the 6th-18th in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Delegations from states all over the world- significant world leaders, ministers, envoys, climate activists, NGOs observers and journalists will all join together to discuss the most pressing global climate change challenges and take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals implemented by the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol. COP 27 is set to tackle a 21 point agenda highlighting key focus areas of clean technologies and centralities of water and agriculture to climate crisis. In addition, science related to biodiversity loss, energy transition, decarbonization efforts and finance are also important topic areas that will be put at the forefront of discussions.
While all of these are equally important facets of the climate crisis, experts and authors have raised concerns about the conference’s location, and one crucial issue that is missing from the conference’s agenda.
Want to hear more? We invite you to join PBI for a webinar with environmental defenders, where we will highlight the crucial role water protectors play, and the threats they face, in resisting climate change.
Environmental and Human Rights Defenders at COP
The United Nations Human Rights Council has affirmed that “Human rights defenders, including environmental human rights defenders must be ensured a safe and enabling environment to undertake the work from free from hindrance and insecurity, in recognition of their important role in supporting states to fill their obligations under the Paris agreement.” We are yet to see a similar recognition from the COP. Out of the 71-point draft text that emerged from the most recent COP26, no reference was made to land and environmental human rights defenders, and there are no plans within the current agenda to address this issue.
Since the 2015 COP21 climate summit in Paris, more than 1,200 land and environmental defenders have been killed. Many experts and organisations have expressed concern that defenders will continue to be attacked despite protecting the environment and fighting climate change as a result. This has prompted an outcry from organisations across the world to integrate this issue into discussions at COP27. We have joined our peers in calling for an action plan to recognize the role of environmental human rights defenders in promoting effective and ambitious climate action - a crucial step if states are to move towards stronger protection schemes.
Egyptian defenders and the COP27
There have been additional concerns about the environment in which the summit will be held this year: Egyptian human rights defenders have faced one of the harshest government clampdowns on human and environmental rights activism in decades, with diminished civic space for groups to organise, assemble, and advocate for their rights. Currently, there are an estimated 60,000 political prisoners behind bars.
Concerns have been raised that the Egyptian government’s own actions on climate, environment, and the rights of people are likely to hinder the success of the conference. In the words of Naomi Klein, “unless political freedoms are defended there will be no meaningful climate action.”
Join the conversation
Join our webinar on 15 November to hear from our panel of experts
PBI have dedicated ourselves to bringing greater awareness to land and environmental defenders. Last year, we joined a call to urge governments around the world to strengthen protection arrangements for environmental human rights defenders through funding towards rapid response, and also organised a webinar on COP26. Last year, more than 400 people from 17 countries registered to take part in our COP26 webinar, to have discussions with human rights defenders from Honduras, Kenya, Guatemala, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Mexico who could not make it to Glasgow. With COP27 on the horizon, we are highlighting the crucial role of environmental defenders, notably those who protect water, through a webinar featuring front line voices from Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Kenya, Nicaragua and Honduras.
Join us on November 15th at 15:00 to hear from:
Pedro Arrojo Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur
and our defenders
Yuli Velásquez (Colombia)
Walter Rene López Pérez (Guatemala)
Ana Paola Torres Barranco (Mexico)
Amaru Ruiz (Nicaragua)
Gladys Losike (Kenya)
Christopher Castillo (Honduras)
