Around the world, those who defend the environment and the human rights that depend on it face all types of obstacles, challenges and threats. Overcoming adversity, environmental human rights defenders have been working to change the lifes of many.
Cause of conflict
Right defended
Country
Brazil
Mariano Marcos Terena, is the son of the Xane’ Pueblo, from the region of Aguas del Pantanal, between Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. A Brazilian national born in 1954 he is a Xane’ leader who has devoted his life to working and organizing for the rights of Indigenous people and for the earth itself. (…)
Rights defended: land rights;rights of indigenous peoples
Chad
Ms. Ibrahim is an expert in indigenous peoples’ adaptation to climate change, traditional ecological knowledge, and climate change mitigation strategies. She is Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. (…)
Rights defended: right to effective remedies;right to health;rights of indigenous peoples;women´s rights
United States
Youngest ever congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a third-generation Bronxite, educator, and organizer serving the 14th district of New York in the Bronx and Queens. Since her swearing-in to Congress in January of 2019, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has remained committed to serving working-class people over corporate interests and advocating for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. (…)
Rights defended: right to development;right to equality and non-discrimination;right to freedom of expression and opinion;women´s rights
South Africa
Methane bubbles popping on the river’s surface, sewage clogged pipes, and the smell of faeces lingering in the air. These scenes are everyday realities for residents of Emfuleni – a municipality southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa – as the breakdown of the area’s pipes, pumps and wastewater treatment plants causes sewage to overflow into one of South Africa’s largest rivers, resulting in water and air contamination. (…)
Rights defended: right to effective remedies;right to environmental information;right to health;right to life;right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation
Malawi
Stella Gama is a climate diplomat and gender advocate at the UN Climate talks. She helped create a gender action plan as part of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). (…)
Rights defended: right to equality and non-discrimination;women´s rights
Chile
The Mapuche people comprise the largest indigenous group in Chile. In their native language, Mapuche means ‘people of the land’, and they consider forests, rivers, and animals as their brothers. (…)
Rights defended: land rights;right to freedom of expression and opinion;right to liberty and security of person;right to participate in environmental decision-making;rights of indigenous peoples
New Zealand
Sacred Rainforest – Te Urewera is one of the most isolated and largest rainforests in New Zealand. (…)
Rights defended: land rights;right to life;rights of indigenous peoples
Tanzania
Titus Onesmus is a climate change activist from Tanzania dedicated to advocate for renewable energy adoption. (…)
Rights defended: right to development;right to health
Colombia
‘The Black Line’: OGT is an indigenous organization gathering different indigenous communities living in a shared territory in the ‘Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta’, Colombia. It represents the Kogui, Arahuaco, Wiwa, Malayo, and Kankuamo communities. (…)
Rights defended: land rights;right to environmental information;right to participate in environmental decision-making;rights of indigenous peoples
Ethiopia
Omot Agwa Okwoy is a church leader in Ethiopia’s Gambela region and a human rights defender who works to promote the rights of indigenous peoples and people living in the Gambela region. (…)
Rights defended: land rights;prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment;right to freedom from arbitrary detention;right to freedom of expression and opinion;right to liberty and security of person;right to participate in environmental decision-making;rights of indigenous peoples
