Paris, 29 October 2024. At least 193 environmental defenders were killed in 2023. Dictatorships are not the only ones involved. Countries that are considered democratic also suppress environmental defenders or do not adequately protect, especially against the activities of certain companies.
Because they shine a light on their shortcomings, climate and environmental activists upset government and corporate interests. Activists often become targets for refusing to exploit natural resources and destroy the environment unchecked.
“Climate and biodiversity activists are fighting for our future,” say Eléonore Morel, Director General of FIDH. “The right to a healthy environment is a human right. The protection of those who are committed to environmental causes and prosecuted for them is at the heart of our organizations mission.“
“Azerbaijan must ensure a space of freedom and security for environmental defenders, starting with the immediate release of all defenders currently in detention. We must ensure that the voices of these activists are heard,” said Gerald Staberock, Secretary General of OMCT.
The Azerbaijani government has a long history of suppressing civil society, both inside and outside the country. Dozens of defenders are currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan on political grounds. The country is waging a violent campaign of land grabbing against neighboring Armenian communities. It also has a climate-destroying economy: fossil fuels account for 90% of its export earnings and between 30 and 50% of its GDP.
In light of this extremely negative record, human rights and environmental protection organizations call on the Azerbaijani government to implement guarantees for the protection of activists who will attend COP 29.
Excerpt from the call by UN rapporteurs and local institutions:
“The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders guarantees the right to defend rights, including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and all rights dependent on their fulfillment. The Declaration also places an obligation on states to ensure that people can exercise the right free from violence, threats, obstacles and insecurity, wherever they work. Environmental defenders who wish to participate in the COPs must have a proper seat at the negotiating table, without facing reprisals for doing so.”
Signatories:
Mary LawlorUnited Nations, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
Michel ForstUnited Nations, Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders under the Aarhus Convention
Gina RomeroUnited Nations, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
Jose Luis CaballeroInter-American Commission on Human Rights, Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Justice Operators
Prof. Remy Ngoy LumbuAfrican Commission on Human and Human Rights, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Focal Point on Retribution in Africa and Focal Point on the Independence of the Judiciary in Africa
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