Latin America

Human Rights, Capacity Building

Session 1 of the AIDA’s 25th Anniversary Webinar Series

Reflections and perspectives on the right to a healthy environment In this webinar, the first in a series of three, we kicked off AIDA's 25th anniversary celebrations with a brief introspection of our origins, victories, growth, and vision for the future. In addition, we hosted a panel discussion on the progress, lessons learned, and challenges of protecting the human right to a healthy environment in the Americas, an area of work that has been fundamental since our inception.     PANELISTS Panel 1: 25 years of history Gladys Martínez de Lemos, AIDA’s Executive Director. Anna Cederstav, AIDA’s Deputy Director and CFO. Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Global Leader of Climate and Energy at WWF International and an AIDA Board member. Moderator: Laura Yaniz Estrada, Consultant with AIDA's communications team.   Panel 2: In defense of a healthy environment David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment. Yolanda Zurita, petitioner in the case "Community of La Oroya v. Peru" before the Inter-American Human Rights System. Xavier Martínez, Operational Director of the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) and an AIDA Board member. Moderator: Liliana Ávila, Coordinator of AIDA's Human Rights and Environment Program.   RECORDING  

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Oceans

Agreement reached to advance High Seas Treaty

New Treaty agreed to protect half the planet but formal adoption still required.   Late this evening governments meeting at the United Nations in New York reached agreement on key substantive issues for a new treaty to protect high seas marine life. To ensure this hard won progress is not lost, The High Seas Alliance is calling for the UN to conclude the formalities of adoption as soon as possible in the final resumed session. "Following a two week long rollercoaster ride of negotiations and super-hero efforts in the last 48 hours, governments reached agreement on key issues that will advance protection and better management of marine biodiversity in the high seas," said Rebecca Hubbard, Director of the High Seas Alliance. The high seas, the area of ocean that lies beyond countries’ national waters, is the largest habitat on Earth and home to millions of species. With currently just over 1% of the high seas protected, the new treaty will provide a pathway to establish marine protected areas in these waters. It is also a key tool to help deliver the recently agreed Kunming-Montreal target of at least 30% protection of the world’s ocean by 2030 that was just agreed in December- the minimum level of protection scientists warn is necessary to ensure a healthy ocean. But time is of the essence. The new Treaty will bring ocean governance into the 21st century, including establishing modern requirements to assess and manage planned human activities that would affect marine life in the high seas as well as ensuring greater transparency. This will greatly strengthen the effective area-based management of fishing, shipping and other activities that have contributed to the overall decline in ocean health. The issue of sufficient financing to fund the implementation of the treaty, as well as equity issues surrounding the sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources was one of the key sticking points between North and South throughout the meeting. However, right up to the final hours of the meeting, governments were able to land an agreement that provided for equitable sharing of these benefits from the deep sea and high seas. "It’s been a very long journey to get to a treaty. We will be looking to the 52 states that make up the High Ambition Coalition to lead the charge to adopt, ratify and identify important high seas areas to protect," said Hubbard. High Seas Alliance Member Quotes Gladys Martínez de Lemos, Executive Director, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA): "Governments have taken an important step that strengthens the legal protection of two-thirds of the ocean and with it marine biodiversity, the livelihoods of coastal communities and global food sovereignty. The agreement sets out a path for establishing areas of high and full protection on the High Seas, as well as for the environmental assessment of projects and activities that may harm this vast area."   Laura Meller, oceans campaigner, Greenpeace Nordic: "This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics. We praise countries for seeking compromises, putting aside differences and delivering a treaty that will let us protect the oceans, build our resilience to climate change and safeguard the lives and livelihoods of billions of people. We can now finally move from talk to real change at sea. Countries must formally adopt the treaty and ratify it as quickly as possible to bring it into force, and then deliver the fully protected ocean sanctuaries our planet needs. The clock is still ticking to deliver 30x30. We have half a decade left, and we can’t be complacent."   Matthew Collis, Deputy Vice President for Policy, IFAW: "The agreement of a new Treaty to conserve the high seas is a wonderful way to celebrate World Wildlife Day for ocean animals and their high seas homes. IFAW congratulates governments on this significant step, which charts a course to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. To achieve 30x30, governments must now adopt, ratify and implement the new Treaty without delay."   Minna Epps, Director of Global Marine and Polar Programme, IUCN: "The High Seas Treaty opens the path for humankind to finally provide protection to marine life across our one ocean. Its adoption closes essential gaps in international law and offers a framework for governments to work together to protect global ocean heath, climate resilience, and the socioeconomic wellbeing and food security of billions of people."   Lance Morgan, President, Marine Conservation Institute: "Coming on the heels of the Global Biodiversity Framework, this historic agreement is a huge step towards ensuring marine protected areas in the High Seas and reaching 30x30."   Lisa Speer, Director of the International Ocean program, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): "This text provides the basis for protecting key biodiversity hotspots in the high seas. We now have a pathway to achieve the goal of meaningfully protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, a goal that scientists tell us is crucial to maintaining ocean health in the face of ocean warming, acidification and other impacts of climate change. Now let’s get started."   Fabienne McLellan, Managing Director, OceanCare: "This Treaty will be the game-changer the ocean urgently needs. We particularly welcome the conservation focused elements, such as environmental impact assessments. EIAs are one of the most effective and important mechanisms to prevent, mitigate and manage harmful activities in cases where there is severe harm to marine life through, for instance, underwater noise pollution. While we advocated for more ambition in the EIA provisions, these requirements will nevertheless strengthen ocean conservation."   Susanna Fuller, VP Conservation and Projects, Oceans North: "Following the Kunming Montreal Agreement, which sets out a global path for biodiversity protection, this treaty  will bring  a similar ambition to the high seas. Because Canada’s waters are bounded by three international ocean basins, it has an outsized role in ensuring that the treaty is fully implemented, once formally adopted."   Liz Karan, Director of Ocean Governance project, Pew: "The effective implementation of this landmark treaty is the only pathway to safeguard high seas biodiversity for generations to come and provides a pathway for nations to fulfill the 30 by 30 target. Governments and civil society must now ensure that the agreement is adopted and rapidly enters into force."   Christopher Chin, Executive Director, The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE): "With this finalized text, the world is now one great step closer to embracing the importance of the High Seas, and to achieving the 30x30 objectives. Once adopted, however, member States must still ratify the treaty, and we call upon them to do so swiftly."   Andrew Deutz, Director of Global Policy, Institutions & Conservation Finance, The Nature Conservancy: "While the treaty leaves room for improvement, we should nevertheless celebrate the fact that –after more than a decade of discussions and three concerted attempts to wrestle it across the line – we finally have a global framework in place for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for almost half of our planet’s surface. Whether this has arrived in time to slow the accelerating ecological crisis happening in our ocean will depend on how quickly countries can ratify the treaty at national level and start mainstreaming ambitions like 30x30 into both their own decision-making, and that of the global bodies which manage human activity on the high seas. If they can do so swiftly, putting people and planet above politics, we may yet have a chance to move beyond the damaging status quo and into a new era of nature-positive stewardship for this most critical of ecosystems."   Farah Obaidullah, Ocean Advocate and Founder, Women4Oceans: "This is an historic moment for humanity and for the protection of all living beings in our global ocean. A rare and welcome moment of hope for all of us rightfully concerned with the state of the world. Almost half our planet will now have a chance of some sort of protection from the ever-increasing onslaughts to the ocean. This treaty comes not a moment too soon. With the climate and global wildlife crises worsening and a reckless new industry of deep-sea mining on the horizon, we cannot afford any delays in putting this treaty into force." Press contacts: Patricia Roy (EU), +34 696 905 907 Michael Crocker (US), +1 (207) 522-1366  Mirella von Lindenfels, + 44 7717 844 352 Julio Whalen-Valeriano (UN), +1 (850) 292-4689  

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Oceans

Decision time for world’s governments on new global treaty for the ocean

New York: Today governments resume negotiations at the United Nations in New York to finalize a new High Seas Treaty to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. The two-week Intergovernmental conference is taking place from 20 February to 3 March 2023 and is a resumption of negotiations from August 2022, when governments ran out of time. Covering half of the planet, the High Seas support vibrant marine ecosystems, life that is vital to the global food supply, and the planet’s climate system. However, it has been plagued by poor or patchy governance, and with only 1.2% protected, vast High Seas areas are open to unsustainable exploitation. This new treaty aims to address these shortcomings and offers a historic opportunity to put in place game-changing new measures for the ocean, including establishing highly and fully protected areas and strengthening assessment and management of human activities. The recent global commitment to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (the “30x30” goal) offers an ambitious backdrop for ensuring this new treaty provides the legal tools to turn the target into a reality. The pressure is now on governments to ensure the treaty that is finally agreed upon will be ambitious enough to result in a healthy ocean rather than a degraded one. Key issues that still need to be addressed at the meeting include: measures to ensure that the new treaty can deliver effective new marine protected areas rather than “paper parks”; safeguards to avoid harm arising from human activities affecting the high seas and the deep seabed; a strong institutional framework to ensure effective implementation and compliance; decision-making rules to avoid enabling one or two countries to block progress; and critical finance and equity issues related to capacity building and the sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources. "We came frustratingly close to getting this treaty over the line in August at what was supposed to be the final round of negotiations. With the accelerating climate and biodiversity crises, time is not a luxury we have to put ocean health back on track," said Sarah Bevis from the High Seas Alliance. "This time round we need to seize the moment and get an ambitious treaty over the finish line, so we can roll up our sleeves and work on the crucial tasks of getting the treaty ratified and implemented."   Additional Quotes from High Seas Alliance member organizations: Dr Laura Meller, Oceans Campaigner and Polar Advisor, Greenpeace Nordic said: "The oceans support all life on Earth. Their fate will be decided at these negotiations. The science is clear. Protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030 is the absolute minimum necessary to avert catastrophe. It was encouraging to see all governments adopt the 30x30 target last year, but lofty targets mean nothing without action." "This special session taking place so soon after the last round of negotiations collapsed gives us hope. If a strong Treaty is agreed on the 3rd of March, it keeps 30x30 alive. Governments must return to negotiations ready to find compromises and deliver an effective Treaty. We’re already in extra time. These talks are one final chance to deliver. Governments must not fail."   Trevor Jones, Campaign Manager, Only One said: "Without protections for the high seas, we cannot hope to have a healthy ocean, and without a healthy ocean we put marine life, coastal livelihoods, and global food stability at grave risk. Millions of people from around the world have spoken out: They want a strong High Seas Treaty, and they’re counting on their leaders to finally get the job done."   Liz Karan, Director of Pew’s Ocean Governance Project said: "The high seas support diverse marine life and unique ecosystems critical to the health of our ocean and planet. Countries must seize this opportunity to finalize a robust high seas treaty to establish highly protected, cross sectoral high seas MPAs for the benefit of current and future generations."   Jennifer Morris, CEO of The Nature Conservancy said: "Ensuring legal protection for the vast areas of open ocean beyond national jurisdiction, and actively acknowledging the importance of addressing this situation, is a pivotal step in moving toward our ambitious ‘30x30’ target in the new UN Global Biodiversity Framework. Ensuring a successful outcome from the New York negotiations, in the form of a formally agreed and legally binding High Seas Treaty, is imperative to meet the collective commitment to conserve 30% of the Earth’s ocean this side of 2030."   Gladys Martínez, Executive Director of the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) said: "The high seas urgently needs a governance framework. We look forward to states concluding a strong and ambitious treaty during these two weeks."   Fabienne McLellan, Managing Director OceanCare said: "We have high hopes that governments will find a way to finalize the High Seas Treaty during the resumed session of IGC 5. Countries must understand that it would be grossly negligent to once again fail to conclude an agreement to conserve marine diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The climate and biodiversity crises are in full swing, and the ocean is our ally, not an infinite resource to be exploited. It is not only important that the Agreement is finalized, but what is agreed needs to make a tangible difference in protecting biodiversity. Against this backdrop, it is difficult to imagine that no agreement will be reached - the agreement is vital for marine biodiversity, a healthy ocean and thus also for us humans". PRESS CONTACTS Patricia Roy, + 34 696 905 907 - CET Mirella von Lindenfels, +44 7717 844 352 - EST  

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Climate Change, Human Rights

Actions and reasons to preserve the Amazon

Shared by eight countries and home to 10 percent of the planet's known biodiversity, the Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world. It’s also a global climate stabilizer, storing between 90 and 140 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)—one of the most harmful greenhouse gases that, when released, accelerates the climate crisis. For more than 470 communities of indigenous and traditional peoples, the Amazon is an ancestral place of life, from which they have developed their ways of being in the world. However, the rainforest is facing various threats—including colonization, deforestation and extractive activities—that increase its vulnerability and affect the human rights of those who inhabit and protect it. These pressures have caused some areas of the Amazon to emit more carbon dioxide than they absorb. This situation poses the challenge of implementing strategies for the legal protection of Amazonian territories that articulate with the struggles of affected peoples. At AIDA, we have strengthened these strategies and have supported community processes aimed at combating the damage caused by mining and oil exploitation in Amazonian territories in three countries. With hopes currently pinned on the incoming government of Lula da Silva in Brazil—who announced his goal of reducing deforestation in the Amazon to zero by 2030—the preservation of this ecosystem requires political will and strong coordinated and cross-border actions. In this regard, Colombia proposed a common front to defend the Amazon rainforest. Strengthening legal defense AIDA's work strengthened the capacities of national organizations in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru for legal defense of the Amazon. Brazil: By highlighting the shortcomings of its environmental impact study, we helped ensure that the communities affected by the Volta Grande mining project of the Canadian company Belo Sun are included in the environmental authorization process and that the state is obligated to consult with them to obtain their consent. We also prepared a report for UN agencies in which we identified measures to guarantee the safety of environmental defenders in the Amazon region. Ecuador: We strengthened litigation strategies to halt the implementation of a decree by which the government seeks to expand mining exploitation in the country, with serious impacts for the Amazon region. We also generated greater understanding of the tools needed to develop strategic litigation and improve the communication skills of indigenous peoples. Perú: We supported the acceleration of litigation aimed at ensuring the repair and maintenance of the Norperuano oil pipeline, whose operation has generated serious environmental impacts and human rights violations for indigenous peoples affected by oil spills. In all three countries, we were able to advance towards a more precise understanding of the legal protection needs of the Amazon and the contexts in which such strategies should be developed. This was made possible by working in partnership with national and local organizations and indigenous peoples. Arguments to protect the ecosystem There are many reasons to preserve the Amazon, whose importance is regional and global. In order to strengthen communication efforts linked to the legal protection of the ecosystem, AIDA has developed two infographics that present in a schematic and didactic way the arguments for defending the Amazon territories, as well as their inhabitants, in court. The focus of one of the infographics is the vast biodiversity contained in the Amazon. Some figures show its high levels of richness: 40,000 species of plants; 16,000 of trees; 3,000 of fish; 1,300 of birds; more than 430 of mammals; more than 1,000 of amphibians; and more than 400 species of reptiles; therefore, any intervention in the Amazon rainforest must start from the knowledge of it as a highly diverse, complex and interconnected territory. The richness of the Amazon is also cultural, represented in the indigenous and traditional peoples that have inhabited the ecosystem since ancestral times, whose diversity is present in 86 languages and 650 dialects. The Amazon: A megadiverse region (in Spanish)   The other infographic illustrates the capacity of the Amazon to regulate the humidity and climate of the continent. In addition to storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, the ecosystem absorbs half of the solar energy it receives through the evaporation of water from its foliage. Most of the trapped energy is released when the vapor condenses to form clouds and rain. Among other things, the Amazon recycles between 50% and 70% of annual precipitation, pumping some seven billion tons of water a year into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration. The Amazon: A global climate regulator (in Spanish)   The Amazon and its care are emblematic of the intrinsic relationship and balance that must exist between a healthy environment and human existence. "The spirits that give us life exist in the forest, the water and the air. We all have a correlation," said Humberto, a member of a community in the Ecuadorian Amazon. "That existence is what we call life—our own home, the pharmacy, nature or what we can call, in general, the existence of man and nature."  

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Indigenous Rights, Oceans, Climate Change

10 good news stories from 2022, for a sustainable future

This year we saw important advances toward environmental justice in Latin America, and around the world. We’re celebrating decisions at the local, national and international levels that help move us toward a more sustainable future for all. We chose for you our top 10—stories that represent important advances for the protection of biodiversity, for the respect of human rights, for the recognition of indigenous and traditional populations, for responsible finance, for climate litigation as a tool for accountability, and for the hope of a just energy transition.   1. Ecuador expanded the Galapagos Marine Reserve This year, through a national decree, Ecuador added 60 thousand square kilometers to the Galapagos Islands, the first site to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The new area, called the Hermandad Reserve, creates a marine corridor between the Galapagos Islands and Cocos Island in Costa Rica that will serve as a safe passageway for the dozens of protected species that move through the area, including sharks, whales, turtles, and dolphins. After the expansion, nearly 200 thousand square kilometers of the Galapagos have varying degrees of protection. Ecuador and Costa Rica have since called on Panama and Colombia to add protected areas to the new Reserve. 2. Honduras declared territory free from open-pit mining In February, the new government of Honduras declared the entire territory of the Central American country free of open-pit mining. According to a communiqué from the Secretariat of Natural Resources, Environment and Mines, the decision was made following the principles of climate justice and with a view toward respecting and protecting natural resources. Along these same lines, the government issued three other provisions: to cancel the approval of permits for extractive exploitation; to approve a mining moratorium through which environmental licenses, permits and concessions for metallic and non-metallic exploration and exploitation will be reviewed; and to intervene immediately in natural areas of high ecological value for their conservation. 3. Mexican Supreme Court protected the Veracruz Reef Residents of the coastal state of Veracruz and the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) won their case before the country’s supreme court to protect the Veracruz Reef, the largest reef system in the Gulf of Mexico. The Court unanimously recognized that the authorities violated the community's right to a healthy environment by approving the expansion of the Port of Veracruz. AIDA and Earthjustice presented evidence for recognition of the human rights to a healthy environment and access to justice enshrined in international law. These rights obligate the Mexican government to allow anyone whose rights are threatened by environmental degradation to achieve justice regardless of whether their connection to the threatened ecosystem is indirect or remote. This victory was a collective effort between organizations and the community, and sets a precedent for environmental justice in the region as the ruling points to Mexico's international obligations, including those under the Escazú Agreement. 4. Chile took important steps towards energy transition In June, Chile published the Framework Law on Climate Change, the first in its history, which assigns responsibilities for mitigating emissions and adapting to climate change. The law is the first in the region to establish a carbon neutral goal for 2050, which must be reviewed every five years. In addition, faced with a wave of intoxications derived from pollution, the President announced the closure of the Ventanas Smelter in Valparaíso. Congress is currently considering a bill to approve the closure of Ventanas, which will be progressive. Both the company and the government have committed to not leaving workers without a job, to taking charge of environmental remediation, and to continuing to process small-scale mining minerals. The corporation Enel also closed its last coal-fired power plant in Coronel, a region with a history of environmental conflicts due to impacts on the health and livelihoods of the community. The cases of Enel and Ventanas remind us that decisions towards energy transition must be made respecting the rights of the people involved, both the community and longtime workers. 5. United Nations recognized a healthy environment as a universal right In July, in a historic resolution, the United Nations General Assembly recognized a safe, healthy, clean and sustainable environment as a universal human right. Since this right was left out of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the decision marks a milestone for international law, particularly in the area of human rights. "This resolution conveys the message that no one can take away our nature, clean air and water, or deprive us of a stable climate," said Inger Andersen, head of the United Nations Environment Programme. "At least not without a fight." This news was cause for great celebration at AIDA because the human right to a healthy environment has been the focus of our work since our founding. Costa Rica was one of the countries that led the proposal and that behind this milestone there are decades of work by organizations, movements and communities. 6. For first time, the Inter-American Bank prepared a responsible exit plan In Guatemala, Mayan communities filed a complaint about the damage that two hydroelectric projects caused to their territory, livelihoods and social fabric. The projects had received financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. After the Bank's accountability office concluded that IDB Invest failed to comply with its operational policies and safeguards, the bank decided to withdraw its financing from the projects. In addition to the divestment, and as a result of the complaint, the IDB Group developed a responsible exit plan for the first time in its history. This sets a historic precedent for all communities affected by investments by international financial institutions. Although there are challenges for the implementation of the exit plan, the case is a great opportunity for the IDB to strengthen its policies as well as the monitoring and supervision of the projects it supports in order to avoid non-compliance with its guidelines. 7. Recognition grew for the region’s indigenous peoples Despite the fact that indigenous and traditional peoples suffer constant violations of their human rights—often for protecting their own territory—this year their contributions, knowledge and work were recognized on various fronts. In Colombia, the ancestral knowledge system of the Arhuaco, Kankuamo, Kogui and Wiwa indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. In Brazil, Sonia Guajajara and Célia Xakriabá, indigenous women with environmental and social causes, were elected to Congress in the October general elections. And, for the first time in Ecuador, Amazonian indigenous organizations received $2.5 million to finance conservation and deforestation reduction projects. 8. World leaders created a fund for climate loss and damage One of the strongest demands of the global South at climate summits had been the creation of a fund for losses and damages for the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis. This year, at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), a financing mechanism was finally created for this purpose. This mechanism will seek to mobilize resources to complement existing ones, and calls for richer countries to contribute more. The decision adopted at COP27 also called on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to provide "financing solutions." The details for the fund’s operation and for the inclusion of a human rights approach are a task for the next conference. 9. Brazilian court settled first-ever climate litigation In 2020, four political parties and two civil society organizations filed a lawsuit over the Brazilian government's failure to provide resources to the federal Climate Fund. The case was resolved in July of this year, becoming the first climate litigation in Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal, the highest court in the country. The court determined that the government has a constitutional duty to allocate the necessary economic resources for the operation of the Climate Fund, which had been paralyzed in recent years. In its findings, the court equated the Paris Agreement with a human rights treaty, which may give way for courts and judges in other Latin American countries to make the same recognition. This case shows that strategic climate litigation is an effective and necessary way to demand that governments and companies in the continent comply with their climate commitments. 10. Historic agreement reached to protect global biodiversity In December, roughly 200 member countries of the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a historic agreement that seeks to reverse decades of environmental degradation and the resulting risks to the planet's species and ecosystems. Gathered at the 15th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity in Montreal, Canada, the countries' delegates reached an agreement committing to protect at least 30 percent of the world's terrestrial and marine areas by 2030. In addition, they agreed to provide at least $20 billion in annual international aid for biodiversity by 2025 and at least $30 billion by 2030.   Want more good news? Learn about AIDA's four most important achievements in 2022  

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Oceans, Climate Change, Human Rights

Toward environmental justice: 4 achievements for AIDA in 2022

Success stories are the result of processes that take time, perseverance and joint actions. Faced with the challenges of environmental degradation and the climate crisis, these precepts are more relevant than ever. They are a reminder that the defense of the environment is collective and long-term. For AIDA, 2022 was a year of important achievements in our efforts to contribute to environmental and climate justice in Latin America. These advances demonstrate the importance of collaboration and persistence. They are in turn precedents for litigation, advocacy and alliance-building in favor of the broader regional movement of which we are a part.   1. LA OROYA POLLUTION VICTIMS HEARD BY INTER-AMERICAN COURT People affected by toxic contamination from a metal smelter in the Andean city of La Oroya, Peru, presented their case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. More than 20 years after taking the case, AIDA succeeded in presenting their case before the international court and demonstrating the Peruvian government's responsibility in the violation of their rights. The eventual ruling is a historic opportunity to establish a key precedent upholding the right to a healthy environment in Latin America. LEARN MORE 2. DIGITAL PLATFORM STRENGTHENS CLIMATE LITIGATION IN LATIN AMERICA Climate litigation has the power to accelerate corporate and government accountability in the face of the climate crisis, and push actions to protect communities and ecosystems. To strengthen this growing movement, we created the Climate Litigation Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean, which currently displays more than 50 legal cases involving climate arguments. It is our contribution to facilitating the exchange of strategies and arguments among those who use the courts to defend the planet. LEARN MORE 3. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT CONTRIBUTES TO OCEAN RESILIENCE AIDA was part of the efforts of organizations, governments, academia and the private sector to reach a binding agreement at the World Trade Organization to curb harmful fisheries subsidies, including those that encourage illegal, overfished and unregulated fishing on the high seas. This will help reduce threats to the ocean, a key ally in addressing the climate crisis due to its ability to absorb the planet's excess heat and carbon dioxide emissions. LEARN MORE 4. REGIONAL ALLIANCE ELEVATES THE VOICE OF THE CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVEMENT In response to the need to change the narrative about the climate crisis and strengthen the voice of the movement for a just energy transition in the region, Presentes was born, an alliance coordinated by AIDA that brings together organizations, communities and environmental advocates. We joined together to communicate more strategically and reach more people through the exchange of knowledge and experiences, pedagogy, the use of digital tools and internal capacity building LEARN MORE   We invite you to learn more about these achievements and AIDA's work during the year in our 2022 Annual Report  

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Mining, Toxic Pollution, Human Rights

Organizations, coalitions, academia, and specialists support victims of toxic contamination in La Oroya

Experts filed 15 amicus briefs before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights upholding the central argument of the case: that the government of Peru is responsible for violating the human rights of residents of La Oroya for the lack of urgent and effective actions to address pollution from a metal smelter, and its harmful effects.   San José, Costa Rica. Organizations, coalitions, academia, and specialists presented 15 legal briefs (Amicus curiae) before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to support the case of residents of La Oroya against the government of Peru, for human rights resulting from a metal plant spewing toxic pollution into the Andean city for nearly 90 years. The briefs contain solid evidence that support the central argument of the case: that the Peruvian government—by not taking urgent and effective action to address the pollutions and its effects—is responsible for the violation of the rights to life, health, personal integrity, childhood, and a healthy environment of the residents of La Oroya. This argument as expressed in a public audience on October 12 and 13, when the international court heard from witnesses, experts, victims, and government representatives.  The briefs, sent to the Court between October 11 and 28, demonstrate that the importance of the case surpasses the Peruvian context and represents a historic opportunity to establish a key precedent in Latin America, and the world, that strengthens the right to a healthy environment and government’s role supervising business activities.   One of the briefs was presented by the University Network for Human Rights in partnership with a panel of experts: five former authorities from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Tracy Robinson, James Cavallaro, Paulo de Tarso Vannuchi, Flávia Piovesan and Paulo Abrão) and three former Special Rapporteurs to the United Nations (John Knox, James Anaya, and Juan Méndez). Briefs were presented by Peruvian organizations— including the Technical Committee for Environmental and Human Health and the Civil Society Platform on Business and Human Rights—as well as from other countries in Latin America—the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Mexico), Defensoria Ambiental (Chile), and Justice for Nature (Costa Rica)—and international organizations such as Earthjustice and The Center for Justice and Environmental Law. Furthering the international scope of the hearing, The Working Group for Strategic Litigation of Red-DESC and the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights. From the academic sector, support came from the Human Rights Research and Education Center of the University of Ottawa (Canada), the Clinic for Human Rights of the Postgraduate Law School of the Pontificia Catholic University of Paraná (Brazil), and the Legal Clinic of Environmental and Public Health of the University of the Andes (Colombia).  Other writings were presented by experts on the issues that the case addresses: David R. Boyd, Special Rapporteur to the UN on human rights and the environment, medical anthropologist Susana Ramírez, and attorneys Carla Luzuriaga-Salinas, Macarena Martinic Cristensen, and Ezio Costa Cordella. Following the hearing and the briefs, the next step in the legal process is to present written closing arguments a potential visit to La Oroya by the judges from the Court. The sentence, which cannot be appealed, is expected within six months. press contact Víctor Quintanilla (Mexico), AIDA, [email protected], +525570522107  

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Climate Change, Human Rights

Global South statement on climate finance ahead of COP27

COP27 must reach agreements for an equitable, sufficient and sustainable finance that ensures a just transition. The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Glasgow, Scotland, was one of the most important conferences for the climate finance agenda. Relevant issues of climate finance, such as access, balance and long-term vision, were at the heart of the finance agenda. Moreover, the already complex discussions were exacerbated in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, causing a growing need for financing in developing countries, particularly in the most vulnerable regions. In this regard, COP27 must take up and agree on pending discussions to move forward with firm steps towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which mandates "to make financial flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development ". The most important aspects that countries must agree on at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, are: 1. Financing for a just transition, with a climate justice and gender focus: The Glasgow Pact integrates the concept of climate justice for the first time, but does not associate it with the issue of financing. Therefore, it is essential for COP 27 to recognize that finance is a fundamental means of implementation to achieve a just transition. Resources must be allocated with a climate justice and gender focus to foster an adequate distribution of finance that does not increase gender gaps, that is equitable across regions with a thematic balance. 2. Delivering on the $100 billion goal: At COP26, developed countries presented a progress report on the delivery of the $100 billion goal, which shows that the pledge is still not being met. COP27 should serve not only to present the progress made, but also to agree on a delivery plan that will make it possible to know the timing and instruments through which the financing will be transferred, which should not be less than US$500 billion for the period between 2020-2024. 3. Global stocktake and finance: Discussions at COP 27 on the global stocktake should lead to a better connection between needs and financial flows, as well as access to finance schemes, and address all the obstacles that allowed the adequate mobilization of resources in developing countries. 4. Increased funding for adaptation: At COP26, countries agreed to double adaptation finance by 2025, based on 2019 levels. At COP27, developed countries must present a satisfactory plan regarding how financing for adaptation will be doubled, and establish an ambitious goal to achieve a balance between mitigation and adaptation finance. This goal should aim for at least a 10-fold increase in adaptation finance and the plan should clearly include targeted support for the Adaptation Fund. 5. Financing for loss and damage: COP27 should be a milestone for loss and damage finance, achieving agreement on mechanisms to transfer financial resources to countries with the highest needs. On one hand, it is necessary to agree on the creation of a facility that will allow the establishment of medium and long-term goals in this matter. On the other hand, it is also necessary to establish a programmatic scheme in which the countries commit a percentage of their annual allocations to finance losses and damages. This funding should be additional to that earmarked for mitigation and adaptation. 6. A new collective quantified goal based on needs: The technical and high-level deliberations on the new collective quantified goal on climate finance should be based on the recognition of the current financial needs of developing countries. Support schemes for those that have not quantified their needs should be agreed, so that this information can be incorporated in the next 12 months, towards the 2024 negotiations. 7. Improved access to climate finance: At COP27, mandates should be established for multilateral financial mechanisms to make access to climate finance by local actors easier, faster, and more efficient, creating emergency windows in the event of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund should innovate in their access schemes, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. 8. Decarbonization of public finances: COP27 must recognize that achieving a just transition and complying with Article 2.1.c of the Paris Agreement entail decarbonizing public finances, both in developed and developing countries. For developing countries, this means accelerating the reduction of their dependence on carbon-intensive revenues, such as those from oil, gas and mining concessions, and the sale of gasoline, diesel and natural gas. A fundamental step is to end fossil fuel subsidies and diversify revenues by promoting domestic investments that support a just economic transition, generating new jobs and revenues to invest in national and local needs 9. Debt restructuring and debt-for-nature swaps: At COP27, the importance of mechanisms such as debt-for-nature and climate swaps should be recognized as a way to mobilize more climate finance. The external debt burden is preventing many countries from investing domestic resources to address the problem. International financial institutions and developed countries should facilitate debt restructuring, including debt-for-protection schemes, as a way to mobilize more climate finance, allowing developing countries to invest these resources to reduce emissions and increase resilience by protecting biodiversity, ecosystems and all livelihoods for global benefit. 10. Towards transformational finance: COP27 should mark a milestone in the understanding and mobilization of climate finance, starting with the assumption that current climate finance schemes will not help change the condescending dynamics that have existed within the framework of international cooperation. Combating climate change requires the transformation of economic systems, real collaboration and solidarity, in which it is not only the amount of finance mobilized that matters. The quality of these resources should beequally important to ensure finance reaches those that need it the most, without generating additional burdens on women and vulnerable groups. It is time to transform the finance paradigm to make it more effective, fair and truly sustainable.   Adhere to: AIDA Barranquilla +20 CEMDA Chile Sustentable Defensoría Ambiental Fernando Aguilera Fundación Hábitat Verde Fundación Plurales GFLAC Hub’s de Finanzas Sostenibles de GFLAC Instituto de Derecho Ambiental y Desarrollo Sustentable (IDEADS) Instituto Talanoa La Corporación La Caleta OLAC Plataforma CIPÓ Red Mundial de Jóvenes Políticos - Santa Cruz Bolivia  

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Public Participation, Climate Change, Human Rights

Headed for Egypt: What can we expect from COP27?

By Javier Dávalos, Liliana Ávila and Verónica Méndez*   The context in which the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) is taking place—from November 6 to 18 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt—is not particularly encouraging. It will not be easy to address the return to intensive use of fossil fuels in several countries—largely motivated by the economic crisis from the pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine—and the growing reports of increasingly intense and frequent extreme events due to climate change. At the same time, however, the climate movement is growing stronger, along with the need for systemic and concrete changes. COP27 is a new opportunity for nations to respond with action to the demands of their citizens. At the previous COP in Glasgow, leaders decided that countries should adopt more ambitious measures to combat climate change and comply with the Paris Agreement: to limit global warming to far below 2°C, preferably at 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels. AIDA will participate in COP27 as an accredited observer, along with our allies, to advocate once again for strong progress on climate action. What is it that most encourages us to participate? Below are some of the main advances we expect from COP27.   1. More Ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) NDCs are how national governments communicate and measure the targets they will adopt to confront the climate crisis. In his first report, Ian Fry, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, stated that "the global response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been wholly inadequate." In the Glasgow Climate Pact, countries reaffirmed their commitment to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5°C and to increase the ambition of their NDCs. It is therefore imperative that all countries update their NDCs (only 24 have done so), so that they ensure the inclusion of concrete and ambitious measures and actions. Doing so ensures that countries will continue to make progress and comply with their common, but differentiated, responsibilities as established by the Paris Agreement.    2. Financing for Loss and Damage: Now! Climate change is generating widespread loss and damage.  Measures to mitigate and adapt to these losses are late in arriving, leading to a global human rights crisis.  States must address this situation in a committed manner. Special Rapporteur Ian Fry notes that there is a need to create a financing mechanism to help people recover from climate change impacts that are beyond their capacity to adapt. In Glasgow there was no consensus on the creation of such a mechanism. The demand for COP27 is to include the issue in the discussion and to push for the adoption of a financing mechanism with strict operating criteria, a human rights perspective, and clear accountability mechanisms. It is also vital to have measurable results on the working of the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage, created at COP25. Demands regarding loss and damage will become an increasingly relevant issue. A strong climate movement, driven mainly by the countries of the South, is arriving in Egypt to ensure progress.    3. Promoting a Just Energy Transition The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its sixth report on mitigation, indicated that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions requires significant and urgent transitions, including a substantial reduction in the overall use of fossil fuels. This will perhaps be one of the most debated issues at the conference. Unfortunately, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, countries that had made progress in the decarbonization of the energy sector have increasingly turned back to fossil fuel production in the face of high energy prices. In addition, there is increased pressure on Latin America to continue exporting fossil fuels. Energy transition is not only an urgent necessity, however, it is also an opportunity to promote justice and equity for the people and species that inhabit the planet. We must move toward decarbonization but we must do so in a just manner, with a comprehensive, democratic and pluralistic transformation process.  At COP27, it’s expected that countries will be evaluated on the progress of their commitments to phase out coal-fired power generation and fossil fuel subsidies, as well as their progress toward global reduction of methane emissions.   4. A Conference Free of Corporate Control and Available to All Voices The path to climate justice and many of the issues being addressed at the climate conferences require a diversity of voices, many of which face significant barriers to being heard. Added to this is a disproportionate presence of industries and corporations with agendas aimed directly at defending business interests over the common good and the planet. This creates serious challenges toward achieving more ambitious progress. Rapporteur Fry rightly pointed out that conference venues "are increasingly expensive and difficult for indigenous peoples and civil society organizations to attend." Civil society has expressed its firm opposition to the fact that the most polluting actors are both judge and jury in the matter. The specific demand is for a review of the sponsorship guidelines so that climate conferences do without the contributions of major polluters and so that, starting with COP27, there is a truly equitable inclusion of all actors, especially those who are on the front line of the climate crisis and suffer directly from its consequences.   The climate struggle is here to stay. It is a growing and vibrant movement that will not stop until real commitments are made. According to the IPCC, COP27 keeps open the "window of opportunity to ensure a livable and sustainable future." It’s the space where actors converge to defend their interests with that purpose in mind. Governments and other participants must see the climate conferences as a space to advance towards climate justice, to avoid reaching a point of no return, and to put people and the planet at the center of the climate conversation.    *Javier Dávalos is coordinator of AIDA's Climate Program, Liliana Ávila is coordinator of the organization's Human Rights and Environment Program, and Verónica Méndez is an attorney with the Climate Program.  

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Mining, Toxic Pollution, Human Rights

Victims of toxic contamination in La Oroya take their voice before the Inter-American Court

There’s no deadline that won’t be met. And so, after a 20-year quest for justice, the habitants of the small Andean city of La Oroya, Peru appeared before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. On October 12 and 13, the judges of the high international court heard their complaint against the government of Peru for the serious violation of human rights derived from a metal smelter that has contaminated La Oroya for almost 90 years. The city has been documented as one of the most polluted places on the planet. "The contamination from the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex has permeated every component of its inhabitants' environment: the water they drink, the soil they walk on, the air they breathe, the schoolyards and the mountains that frame their living environment," said AIDA's attorney Liliana Avila, as she presenting closing arguments in the case. Brave Testimonies At the hearing in Montevideo, Uruguay, three affected former residents of La Oroya gave their testimony. They are just a few of the more than 80 courageous people who filed the lawsuit—those residents willing to defend their right to live in a healthy environment despite the context of harassment they have faced because of it. "The period in which the metal smelter developed was disastrous. The toxic gases emanating from the complex created a thick mist that turned into a dandruff that coated the faces of the children,” recalled Rosa Amaro, a 74-year-old mother who chaired the Movement for Health in La Oroya, where she lived until 2017. “We tried to survive, but the government was like a father who turned his back to us.” Dressed in warm clothes and a woolen hat, Rosa's face, body and voice bore the indelible marks of the passing years, deteriorating health and the fear that forced her to leave her hometown. "They call us enemies of La Oroya." In tears, Rosa expressed to the court her desire to return home and to see her name cleared of all stigmas. "Our struggle is not for one, it is for an entire population". The case represents many more residents of La Oroya who, for fear of reprisals, are not named in the lawsuit. After testifying, Rosa felt relieved of a heavy burden and with enough strength to continue. The population of La Oroya has breathed multiple toxic substances that, according to scientific evidence, cause serious risks to human health.  The contamination with lead and other heavy metals has burst into their respiratory system, traveled through their bloodstream and has been deposited imperceptibly in their vital organs. "I didn’t have a childhood because I spent it locked up in four walls, not because they wouldn’t let me go out, but because of the discomfort, because our throats were itchy,” Maricruz Aliaga, 28, told the court. “When we went to school, my mother protected us [from the ashes] with a hat." The contamination has affected her memory and is the reason why, even today, her body is paralyzed several times a year. “In Huancayo, I could breathe.” As a child, Maricruz’s vacations to the neighboring city made her realize that it was not normal to watch the plants she took to school die after just 15 days. Following a lifetime of hostility due to her family’s activism, she now lives in another city, and the effects on their health were her main motivation to study nursing. The toxic elements from the smelter remain in the bodies of those who lived and grew in La Oroya. Their presence has caused health problems, many of them irreversible, and may generate new illnesses in the future. "The only thing we want, since we are no longer going to enjoy good health—that is already done, my health is already destroyed—is for future generations to enjoy good health," Yolanda Zurita added in her testimony before the court. "That will be our reward, our satisfaction; that is what we are looking for." The road to justice Reaching this point has not been easy. On behalf of the victims, and with the support of the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH), in 2006 AIDA filed the international complaint against the Peruvian government.  Finally, in October 2021—15 years after the process began—the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) established the government's responsibility for right violations and referred the case to the Inter-American Court. Preparation for the hearing began at that time and intensified in the weeks leading up to it. The long hours of work were reflected in the solidity with which we demonstrated that the government is responsible for violating the rights to life, health, personal integrity, children and a healthy environment of the inhabitants of La Oroya. At the hearing we presented four main arguments: The existence of serious environmental contamination, The risk and causal link with the damages derived from that contamination, The government’s knowledge of that situation, and The absence of urgent and effective measures to respond to it.   In addition, we called in experts whose testimony amply supported our allegations. Two of them presented their findings at the hearing. "The duty of care does not arise with clinical harm, but with the risk of harm," emphasized Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights implications of exposure to hazardous substances and toxic waste. In addition, Marisol Yañez, a psychosocial expert, demonstrated based on 61 in-depth interviews, four focus groups and psychometric tests the existence of "environmental suffering," aggravated by impunity and stigmatization. After the hearing, there remains the written presentation of the arguments and a potential visit to La Oroya by the judges of the Court. The sentence, which cannot be appealed, is expected within the next six months. The importance of the case goes beyond the Peruvian context and represents a historic opportunity to establish a key precedent for all of Latin America. "This is the first case before this court with the potential to develop in-depth violations of the right to a healthy environment as the result of government action regarding public and private companies,” explained Jorge Meza Flores, deputy executive secretary of the IACHR's Petitions and Cases System. Taking into account what is at stake is undoubtedly fundamental when the national debate around La Oroya has prioritized, even in these days, the possible reactivation of the metal smelter over the protection of the fundamental rights and health of an entire population.  

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