Group Declarations

Human Rights

Right to a Healthy Environment Global Coalition awarded UN Human Rights Prize

New York — Today the Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities for the Universal Recognition of the Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment accepted the prestigious 2023 United Nations Human Rights Prize in a ceremony in New York. This month also marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.The coalition is recognized for its vital role in advocating for the universal recognition of the right to a healthy environment by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2022. The UN Human Rights Prize is awarded once every five years to several recipients at a time. This year is the first time since its inception in 1966 that it has been granted to a global coalition.The prize was presented at a ceremony with UN leadership, including General Assembly President Dennis Francis, Secretary-General António Guterres, and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. The award was accepted by a delegation of representatives illustrating the diversity of the coalition’s members.The ceremony took place alongside a workshop with advocates from around the world and UN and State representatives to assess progress since the recognition of the right to a healthy environment and to discuss next steps to build on that progress and ensure the effective promotion of the right.Read reactions to the announcement from the members of the coalition here.At the ceremony, the following acceptance speech was delivered by a representative of the coalition: We, Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities in coalition for the Universal Recognition of the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment are honored to receive this prestigious prize acknowledging our vital role towards the UN recognition of this human right.This incredible achievement was only possible thanks to the tireless collaborative efforts of thousands of people from 143 countries who joined for this historic milestone. A process that started fifty years ago by visionaries gained momentum in 2020 when we called the UN to finally recognize this human right.First, this prize highlights the importance of truly collaborating to advance the imperative protections of our planet and our rights. No single organization, movement, or person would have been able to make it on their own, but together, our global and diverse coalition made it possible. We are humbled and proud that our efforts are recognized, evidencing to the world that working together is possible and worth it.Cooperation is just as needed for States, none of whom can, on their own, solve today’s multiple planetary crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, aggravated by increasing inequalities. We call on States to effectively collaborate towards the solutions needed.Second, this prize reinforces the historic recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a human right. That requires protecting the dignity of all persons, individually and collectively, substantively and procedurally, from human-made environmental degradation and climate change impacts. Affirming also the interdependence and indivisibility of human rights and the urgency to protect them from environmental threats, including systemic risks, irreversible degradation, and loss and damage.The UN recognition clarifies international human rights law and is now a powerful instrument for States to fulfill their obligations, enhance environmental justice, and guarantee all rights, especially of those in more vulnerable situations.As we witness increasing ecosystem degradation and lives lost due to pollution and climate change, this universal right can guide us toward stronger policies and practices, based on gender and intergenerational equity and the empowerment of all persons and communities. It can help in better protecting those defending the environment, including Indigenous Peoples, children, women, peasants, and other people working in rural areas.We are profoundly grateful for the recognition of our collective efforts, inspiring governments, businesses, and institutions to fulfill their responsibility and effectively protect our universal right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. This is our priority, one we invite you to commit to. Thank you! Press contactsVíctor Quintanilla (Mexico), Content Coordinator at the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), [email protected] Furbank, Communications Campaign Specialist at the Center for International Environmental Law, [email protected] Esther de la Rosa, Communications Coordinator at ESCR-Net [email protected]  

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Xingu River in the Amazon, Brazil
Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Freshwater Sources

Solidarity note for social movements, organizations, and rights advocates who are victims of criminalization attempts by the company Belo Sun Mineração Ltda.

The undersigned member organizations of the Volta Grande do Xingu Alliance (AVGX) call on partners, civil society organizations, legal experts, and researchers to support and strengthen individuals and movements that, due to their tireless defense of peoples, biodiversity, and the existence of the Volta Grande do Xingu, are facing intimidation and attempted criminalization by the company Belo Sun Mineração Ltda.We need to show large corporations that civil society in Brazil and abroad is united around this cause. We will not step back in protecting the environment and human rights in the face of threats. Sign this note and join us in the protection of the Amazon, the Xingu River, and its defenders!More information below:On October 17, 2023, the mining company Belo Sun Ltda., the Brazilian subsidiary of the Canadian company Belo Sun Mining Corp., filed a criminal lawsuit against more than 30 people, most of them small-scale farmers. These individuals, backed by  are questioning the acquisition of land by the mining company within the Ressaca Settlement Project, in the municipality of Senador José Porfírio - Pará, and demanding that this land fulfill its agrarian and social function. These concerns are the basis of a lawsuit in federal court by the federal and local Public Defender’s Offices.The criminal complaint is a clear attempt to silence environmental and human rights defenders. This silencing is intensified by the presence of the company's armed security in the territory. It is also an attempt to criminalize organizations that monitor and denounce the destruction caused by large projects in the Volta Grande do Xingu. On November 15, a group of 25 local movements and organizations, mainly based in Altamira, Pará, issued an open letter condemning the criminalization of farmers, social movements, and civil society organizations promoted by the Canadian mining company Belo Sun. It is essential that the terms of this letter be strengthened and echoed nationally and internationally.This is not the first time that Belo Sun Mineração Ltda. has intimidated civil society organizations and human rights defenders. In 2022, the company filed a lawsuit against a university professor who had exposed the risks that the Volta Grande Project would pose to the Xingu River and its people. In mid-2023, Belo Sun sent an extrajudicial notice to the National Coordination of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), attempting to silence the organization's complaints about the risks posed by the mining project in the Volta Grande do Xingu. This notice came shortly after the release of a report on Belo Sun by the legal team of the Apib and an international advocacy action at the UN in Geneva carried out by the Alliance for the Volta Grande do Xingu, a coalition of which Apib is a part. The action aimed to expose corporate abuses by Canadian companies in the Brazilian Amazon and in eight other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Regarding Belo Sun's activities in the Volta Grande do XinguBelo Sun aims to establish a massive open pit gold mining project overlapping the PA Ressaca region, on the banks of the Xingu River, with the goal of operating the largest gold mine in Brazil. The so-called Volta Grande Project (PVG), if approved, would substantially and potentially irreversibly impact a territory already severely affected by the Belo Monte mega-dam, as well as affecting the lands and traditional ways of life of various indigenous peoples, rural settlements, and riverside communities in this region.Several lawsuits have been filed documenting the irregularities committed by Belo Sun, including the absence of free, prior, and informed consultarions and consent from the affected indigenous and traditional communities; the illegal acquisition of plots within the PA Ressaca; the harassment and violation of the right to free movement and access to the territory of local communities; and the lack of competence of the State of Pará to issue the environmental license for the PVG. Its licensing has been suspended since 2017 by the decision of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region, and on September 11, 2023, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of Ibama, a federal agency. DemandsWe, citizens, civil society organizations, and representatives of social movements who support this statement, condemn the criminalization promoted by Belo Sun Mineração Ltda. We express our solidarity with the victims of this process and emphasize our understanding that:We support the terms of this petition and join voices in denouncing that intimidation and criminalization of human rights defenders, activists, researchers, and leaders of social movements by Belo Sun are unacceptable, and therefore, we support the terms of this petition.The Land Reform Project (Projeto de Assentamento) Ressaca is an area designated for agrarian reform and local family farming located in a region already highly vulnerable from a socio-environmental perspective, making it incompatible with the installation of a large-scale open-pit gold mining project like Belo Sun's Volta Grande Project.The public authorities must take necessary measures to empower the families, communities, and peoples of the Volta Grande do Xingu, ensuring their effective participation in governance and the protection of the territory. The member organizations of the Volta Grande do Xingu Alliance issuing this statement and calling for endorsements are:Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil - APIBMovimento Xingu Vivo - BrasilAmazon WatchInterametican Association for Environmental Defense - AIDAInternational RiversEarthworks Justiça GlobalMiningWatch Canada Join us in protecting the Amazon, the Xingu River, and their defenders!Sign the note of international solidarity against the judicial harassment being carried out by Belo Sun: https://forms.gle/tzUzR47v72jsdEPN8 

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Indigenous Rights, Mining, Accountability and Transparency

Swiss OECD Point of Contact calls on Glencore to comply with due diligence on coal mine in Colombia

Switzerland’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommended that the multinational as the sole owner of the Cerrejón mine in Colombia ensure “its policies and due diligence measures promote responsible business conduct at Cerrejón” in its final statement on the complaint filed against Glencore. The NCP further implored Glencore to maintain a dialogue with NGOs and representatives of the indigenous Wayúu and Afro-Colombian communities affected by the mine's operations. In January 2021, a coalition of national and international organizations—comprised of GLAN, CAJAR, AIDA, CINEP, Ask! ABColombia and Christian Aid Ireland—filed five complaints with the OECD NCPs in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Australia to denounce the various detrimental impacts of the Cerrejón mine, operated by Carbones del Cerrejón. The coalition detaile the disastrous impacts on the lives and human rights of the indigenous, Afro-descendant and other rural populations of La Guajira resulting from operation of the Cerrejón mine and Carbones de Cerrejón’s lack of due diligence in its operations, leading to non-compliance with OECD guidelines for multinational companies. The coalition filed the complaints against ESB (Electricity Supply Board), the Irish state-owned company that buys coal from the Cerrejón mine; CMC (Coal Marketing Company), based in Dublin, Ireland, which markets the coal from Cerrejón, and the multinational mining companies that jointly own Carbones del Cerrejón: BHP, Anglo American and Glencore. In response to the coalition’s complaints, the Swiss NCP noted that "the Australian and British NCPs will publish, in accordance with their rules of procedure, Final Statements regarding BHP and Anglo American respectively.” The complaints in Ireland are still pending. The Swiss NCP’s statement did not address the main duty of its mandate—to ensure the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Instead, the Swiss NCP statement merely reiterated generic existing duties and did not make substantive recommendations in response to the details or the gravity of the Cerrejón’s human rights abuses and violations documented in the complaint. The Swiss NCP conducted its review with serious irregularities and asymmetries in its treatment of the parties. The Swiss NCP failed to provide the affected Wayuu indigenous and Afro-descendant communities with access to information about the review or any guarantees of participation in the review. These asymmetries and irregularities resulted in Glencore’s impunity for the serious human rights violations committed by the mining operations of Carbones del Cerrejón. Our coalition eventually chose to withdraw from the process in protest of the Swiss NCP’s disfavorable treatment of the coalition and favorable treatment of Glencore. Our experience with the Swiss NCP highlights how the complex web and architecture of impunity and asymmetry in international processes favors multinational companies, resulting in abysmal gaps in justice for victims of multinational companies’ human rights abuses and violations. Given the enormity of the Swiss NCP’s incompetence, negligence, and inconsistency in its functions, we reject the NCP’s final statement which suggests that GLAN and the coalition members are to blame for failure of the mediation process. In this statement, the NCP ignores the impacts of its own deficiencies on the mediation process. The way the Swiss NCP in structured the mediation process placed a greater burden on the complainant’s ability to access and participate in the mechanism than on Glencore. Despite these disadvantages, the coalition participated with the utmost diligence and good faith throughout the entire procedure. The Swiss NCP’s incompetence in this instance is part of its pattern of favoritism of multinationals. For example, the Swiss NCP mishandled the complaint against Sygenta for its harm to farmers in India. The NCP's improper practices led Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on Toxic Substances and Human Rights, to state that the Swiss NCP set “a bad precedent that underlines the weaknesses of the National Contact Points for the OECD Guidelines.” Because the Swiss legal accountability mechanisms do so little to regulate the conduct of Glencore—a company with a history of corruption and serious allegations of human rights abuses and violations associated with its global activities—the Swiss government is implicated in Glencore’s abuses. Although the OECD guidelines are voluntary for companies, countries that adhere to guidelines make a binding commitment to implement them. The Swiss NCP's inadequate handling of this complaint and the Swiss government’s failure to comply with its functions and the obligations relating to respect for human rights, leads us to question degree of the Swiss government’s complicity in these abuses and how this complicity creates an environment of tolerance for corporate violations and abuses. What is clear is that the OCED’s voluntary mechanism has become a way to mask corporate violations and facilitate corporate impunity. Although the Swiss government does not grant real and effective access to justice for victims of Glencore’s violations as an investor in Carbones del Cerrejón, Glencore is able make use of its guarantees as an investor—as established in the Foreign Investment Protection Agreement between Colombia and Switzerland—to sue the Colombian government over a court ruling that protected the human rights of the Wayuu people from Carbones del Cerrejón’s actions. In the face of this asymmetry in justice between the parties, it is concerning that Colombia choses to maintain this agreement. We reiterate the inadequacy of non-judicial mechanisms to hold multinational corporations accountable. Cases such as this highlight the need for binding due diligence legislation and a treaty regarding companies and human rights that includes real accountability for abuses resulting from seemingly unlimited transnational corporate power.   Signed: Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Collective (CAJAR) Center for Research and Popular Education (CINEP) Christian Aid ASK ABColombia Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)   press contact: Victor 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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Oceans

Ambition and urgency needed as high seas treaty negotiations near end

New York: With only one week to go in the negotiations for a new Treaty to protect two thirds of the ocean - the High Seas - civil society is raising alarm about the level of urgency and ambition towards a robust outcome for the ocean. A number of States have made public commitments to secure an ambitious Treaty at this final scheduled session, but there is concern that this is not being fully reflected in the formal negotiating room. The High Seas Alliance (HSA) expects more ambition to be shown by the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and the United States which have been public champions for the ocean, including at the recent UN Ocean Conference. These delegations support some progressive positions within the Treaty negotiations, but too many appear to be maintaining positions that will not result in the transformation we need for a healthy and productive ocean for current and future generations. Some states and groups are pushing for a strong outcome. CARICOM, (the Caribbean Community), the Pacific Small Islands Developing States, New Zealand, Costa Rica and Monaco are setting the pace for a speedy and effective outcome. This round of negotiations, known as IGC5, is the fifth and final scheduled meeting convened by the UN General Assembly. It is tasked with concluding a Treaty to protect Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which includes the High Seas, and which makes up half the planet, two thirds of the ocean. For decades, the international community has struggled to reach this agreement during which time climate change and biodiversity loss have escalated. The HSA recognises that the “package” of elements under negotiation are intrinsically linked and critical to successful completion of the negotiations. “The greatest opportunity of our generation to show we are serious about protecting the global ocean is now. A strong High Seas Treaty is in reach but more ambition is needed. Governments must stick to their commitment to deliver a truly ambitious Treaty this week and finally move to taking action that will allow the ocean to recover and thrive; for marine biodiversity, Earth’s climate and the well-being of generations to come. There is no more time to waste. - Sofia Tsenikli, Senior Strategic Advisor to the HSA. QUOTES FROM MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS CANADA Susanna Fuller, VP Operations and Projects, Oceans North: "With the longest coastline in the world and as a self-declared ocean champion, Canada plays a vital role in achieving a strong Treaty. We are hoping to see Canada’s ambitions meet the urgent need for biodiversity protection and responsible management for 50% of the planet. With climate change impacts accelerating and biodiversity loss increasing, finalizing and implementing this Treaty cannot come fast enough."   LATIN AMERICA Gladys Martínez de Lemos, Executive Director,  AIDA (Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense): "Most Latin American countries have publicly stated their commitment to increase marine protected areas by 30% by 2030. This cannot be achieved without an ambitious High Seas Treaty. In addition, 70% of the areas that would not be protected need a high-level environmental impact assessment process with capacity and implementation. During all the negotiations Costa Rica has shown its commitment to a robust and ambitious Treaty. We thanked Costa Rica for its exemplary championship along these years."   SOUTH KOREA Jihyun Lee, High Seas Alliance Youth Ambassador and undergraduate student at Yonsei University, South Korea: "Youth and future generations demand a strong and meaningful High Seas Treaty that will effectively protect the ocean. We are calling in unified support for world governments to finally take bold action for our ocean."   US Lisa Speer, NRDC: “We applaud the more progressive approach of the United States, which has been a strong advocate for concluding the negotiations in a timely fashion, and for strengthening environmental assessment. However, we need the US to show more leadership to ensure that the new Treaty will result in the creation of a science-based network of fully protected areas in all areas of the High Seas, which scientists tell us is essential to reversing the decline of the ocean."   EU + UK Laura Meller, Protect the Oceans campaign, Greenpeace: "It’s deeply concerning that the European Union and UK continue to insist on maintaining a broken status quo when it comes to creating ocean sanctuaries on the High Seas at this round of negotiations. The bloc and the UK must raise their ambition in the last days of negotiations if they truly want to be global ocean champions, and ensure that a strong Treaty which has the power to create properly protected ocean sanctuaries on the High Seas is finalised this week. If they don’t, their fine words in the run up to these negotiations will be little more than empty rhetoric. The oceans are in crisis. We need ambitious, urgent, action before it’s too late."   PSID + CARICOM Travis Aten, Programme Officer, HSA: "We continue to applaud the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) and the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) continued leadership during this negotiation process, notably through their support of robust and ambitious conservation positions. As islands that are surrounded by the ocean, it is clear to them that this Treaty must move beyond the current status quo and implement real change on how we manage biodiversity of the High Seas."   Fabienne McLellan, Managing Director, OceanCare: “It is encouraging to see that there is an increased spirit of urgency in the room. Many negotiators are rolling up their sleeves, aware that the world is watching to judge if the rhetoric on ocean commitments made in the lead up to this conference is translating into the Treaty text. While unfortunately some of the Treaty text elements are being watered down, it is not yet too late to make a turn around. Cementing the status-quo and the lowest common denominator is not good enough. We need an ambitious and implementable Treaty. The state of emergency of the ocean demands nothing less. NOTES Covering nearly half of the world’s surface, the High Seas—a true global commons—is only protected by a loose patchwork of poorly enforced rules that are ill-suited to address a growing onslaught of pressures to the water column and seabed below, including climate change, pollution, fishing, and emerging activities like deep-sea mining and bioprospecting. The negotiations began in 2018 and have since benefited from increased scientific and political awareness of High Seas marine life and habitats, as well as the dangers they face from human activities. For instance, until relatively recently, “High Seas” were considered to be largely devoid of life or too remote to face serious threats from overexploitation. Today, scientists have shown that they support marine systems that are vital to the global food supply, terrestrial ecology, and stability of the climate system. SPOKESPEOPLE Latin America Mariamalia Chavez (Spanish, English), [email protected] Gladys Martínez de Lemos (Spanish, English), AIDA, [email protected]  

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Oceans, Mining

Reaction: IUCN Congress votes yes to a moratorium on deep-sea mining

Marseille, France - A motion calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining was adopted with overwhelming support by the IUCN World Conservation Congress today. Among government and government agencies 81 voted for the moratorium with 18 against and 28 abstentions. Among NGOs and civil society organization the vote was 577 for, 32 against and 35 abstentions, sending a strong message to governments that there is global opposition to deep-sea mining. “We are very pleased to see so many governments, agencies and NGOs voting for a moratorium on deep-sea mining; the support has been overwhelming” said Matthew Gianni Co-Founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC).  “Member countries of the ISA, including France which hosted this Congress, need to wake up and act on behalf of civil society and the environment now, and take action in support of a moratorium”. Scientists have warned that deep-sea mining will cause large-scale, irreversible biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation if permitted to occur, particularly in the international areas of the world’s ocean. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a multilateral regulatory body established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1994, is debating whether to begin licensing commercial deep-sea mining in as little as two years. 167 countries plus the EU are members of the ISA. The German Environment Ministry, the government of Fiji and many other government agencies voted to support motion 069. Nauru has triggered a so-called Two Year rule at the ISA which it expects will result in the Authority issuing a commercial license to mine. 47 African countries have challenged the trigger and Sian Owen, Director of the DSCC says: "Hopefully the vote in Marseille will translate into a vote at the ISA to adopt a moratorium on deep sea mining." Motion 069 - Protection of deep-ocean ecosystems and biodiversity through a moratorium on seabed mining was sponsored by Fauna and Flora International and co-sponsored by Fundación MarViva (Costa Rica), Natural Resources Defense Council (USA), Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue (USA), Synchronicity Earth (UK), Wildlands Conservation Trust (South Africa), World Wide Fund for Nature – International. For further information Matthew Gianni, IUCN, 31 646 168 899 Sian Owen, IUCN, 31 648 502 659 Patricia Roy, 34 696 905 907  

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Human Rights

Civil society calls on the Human Rights Council to recognize the right to a #HealthyEnvironment4All

More than 850 civil society organizations, indigenous peoples’ groups, social movements and local communities are calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to recognize the universal human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The open letter, sent on September 10 and still open online for signatures, comes ahead of the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva from September 14 to October 6. It argues that people must be protected from the deadly impacts of environmental degradation and climate change - such as the increased spread of diseases like COVID-19. “In view of the global environmental crisis that currently violates and jeopardizes the human rights of billions of people on our planet, global recognition of this right is a matter of utmost urgency,” the letter states. “As we all know, there are no human rights on a dead planet.” The right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment is already covered in constitutions and laws in a substantial majority of countries around the world, as well as regional systems. There is a growing legal system for implementing and applying the right, too. Now advocates for human rights, indigenous peoples, climate action and social justice are urging the UN Human Rights Council to formalize this recognition and make it universal. In doing so, the Human Rights Council would prompt countries to strengthen policies and legislation to take better care of nature and biodiversity, the letter says. This would lead to cleaner air, greater access to safe drinking water and lower greenhouse gas emissions. It would also provide environmental justice for communities that are exposed to degraded and dangerous environments, such as toxic air or disease. Deforestation and environmental degradation increase humans’ exposure to zoonotic viruses, like COVID-19, and vector-borne diseases, like malaria and Dengue fever. Scientists warn that the risk of spreading diseases will grow as natural ecosystems continue to break down. New research also suggests that the effects of air pollution on lungs, hearts and general health makes people more susceptible to the worst impacts of COVID-19. To protect people around the world from future shocks, and build greater resilience to catastrophes like this pandemic, the letter urges states to “recognize, respect, protect and fulfil the human right of all to enjoy a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment”. #HealthyEnvironment4All Press contact Victor Quintanilla (Mexico), AIDA, [email protected], +5215570522107  

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Indigenous Rights, Mining

Expert report: proposed gold mine in Brazilian Amazon presents unacceptable risk

Altamira, Brazil. An expert study released today reveals serious deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment submitted to Brazilian authorities by Canadian mining company Belo Sun. The analysis exposes an unacceptable degree of risk that the tailings dam at the proposed Volta Grande gold mine will fail, contaminating the Xingu River and harming nearby indigenous and other communities. The report’s author, Dr. Steven Emerman, explains that despite the presence of geological faults at the mine site, the company has not produced any seismicity studies. Nor has the dam been designed with seismic safety in mind, in violation of Brazilian tailings dam regulations.  Dr. Emerman also raises concern about the company’s use of its tailings reservoir to capture water. Industry best practice is to prevent the flow of surface runoff into tailings ponds in order to minimize the risk of dam failure. Moreover, the report reveals that Belo Sun has provided contradictory information regarding its tailings storage plan to investors and Brazilian regulatory authorities. Dr. Emerman recommends that the project’s licence be revoked. Brazilian courts suspended Belo Sun’s installation licence in 2017 because the company failed to study the project’s impact on indigenous and other traditional communities, or to consult these populations. Belo Sun has been criticized for publishing misleading statements to bolster sagging interest in the project among potential investors, amidst growing evidence of social, environmental, financial and reputational risks. Last week local movements Rede Xingu+ and Xingo Vivo para Sempre submitted Dr. Emerman’s report to government agencies responsible for project licensing. These organizations demand that additional studies be undertaken, which they argue are “indispensable to assess the social and environmental viability of Belo Sun’s mining project considering the grave risk to indigenous and other river-dwelling communities located next to the project and its tailings dam.”      FAILURES, INSECURITY AND CONFLICTING INFORMATION From conflicting information to the absence of seismic safety criteria, Dr. Emerman's opinion highlights eight main points that support the recommendation to reject the Volta Grande project: The tailings dam was not designed under any seismic safety criteria, violating Brazilian regulations in this regard. Any tailings dam should be designed to withstand events such as floods and earthquakes. Contrary to the Brazilian standard, the company did not include in its studies an analysis of local seismicity nor did it simulate the response of the structure to a hypothetical seismic acceleration.   Although geological faults have been mapped at the tailings dam site, no local seismicity studies have been done, which also violates Brazilian tailings dam regulations. Seismic activity is responsible for causing the dissolution of saturated debris into water, one of the most common causes of tailings dam failures.  In Brazil, in 2019 alone, there were three dam failures, including the rupture of the Vale dam in Brumadinho (Minas Gerais), which caused at least 250 deaths. Cases like these demonstrate the need for and importance of local seismicity studies and are indispensable for the proper assessment of the risk of failure of a tailings dam.   No risk analysis has been made of the geological faults mapped in the vicinity of the project site. Three of these faults, which are structures present in rocks and which can promote seismic movements, intersect at the exact site of the proposed tailings dam.   The official simulation of the rupture assumes, without justification, that the flow of the waste would be interrupted when it reaches the Xingu River, ignoring the capacity of the toxic elements to travel tens of kilometers along the Volta Grande. The conclusions of the EIA also support the hypothesis that the tailings flow would take 97 minutes to reach the Xingu, but without mentioning the details of the calculation used. According to the modelling presented in the opinion, considering the volume of tailings stored on the order of 35 million cubic metres and assuming a spill of approximately 25%, under a conservative scenario the flood would cover an initial distance of up to 41 kilometres along the river. At a speed of 20 km/h, the flooding of Belo Sun's dam would reach the Xingu in only seven minutes, covering the distance of 41 km in only two hours, reaching the Volta Grande Indigenous Land. After the rupture of the Vale Dam in Brumadinho, the tailings flow reached 120 km/hr, 100 km/hr more than the more conservative scenario proposed in the report. In the worst case, with the release of 100% of the stored tailings, the initial flow would cover 98 kilometers along the Xingu River and could reach the Amazon River and the Atlantic Ocean.   There is a high risk of toxic water spillage into the Xingu. The project provides for the recycling of cyanide leachate, a substance used to separate gold, which can result in waste water that is highly enriched with toxic elements such as arsenic and mercury. The result, whose analysis is absent from official documents, could be the spillage of a waste-water mixture that is highly toxic to aquatic organisms into the Xingu River in the event of a dam failure or spill.   There is no plan in the EIA to close the mine or tailings dam, a key issue for the social and environmental viability of the mining project. The document contains a promise by the business group to find out, after the event, how to permanently stabilize the tailings dam.   The waste storage system adopted at the time is not viable and runs counter to good mining practice. Part of the solution to reduce the probability of tailings dam failure is to reduce the water content in the tailings tank. But the Belo Sun project envisages that all the waste will be saturated and under seven metres of free water, above the surface of the solid waste.   Aware of the issue raised in the previous point, the company seems to have decided that the current plan to flood the waste is not feasible. The Chief Executive Officer of Belo Sun Mining stated o MiningWatch Canada that he would abandon the current plan for a filtered tailings storage facility, which should have a significantly lower water content. However, the company provided conflicting information to Brazilian organizations and regulatory authorities: in a presentation to FUNAI in October 2019, the company described the same wet waste storage plan as the EIA. "The provision of contradictory information to different audiences by Belo Sun Mining and its Brazilian subsidiary is very serious in terms of the reliability of the information provided in the administrative processes," the opinion reiterates. Rede Xingu+ is an articulation of indigenous, riverine and partner organizations that work in the Xingu River basin. Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre is a collective formed in 2008 by local, national and international civil society organizations; threatened indigenous and non-indigenous communities; and social, human rights and environmental movements that oppose the construction of hydroelectric dams on the Xingu River and that fight in defence of the rights of local people. Contacts Dr. Steven Emerman, Malach Consulting, +1-801-921-1228 (Utah, USA) Brent Milikan, Amazon Program Director, International Rivers, +55-61-98153-7009 (Brasilia, Brazil). Mr. Milikan can connect journalists to representatives of Rede Xingu+ and Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre. Karyn Keenan, Director, Above Ground, +1-613-791-7532 (Ottawa, Canada)  

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Oceans

ON WORLD OCEAN DAY: An open letter

If we have learned anything from the Covid-19 pandemic it is that we are all inextricably connected with each other and the natural world. Without greater balance and cooperation we cannot survive as a species. Human wellbeing is at the heart of what we do. Our work, to protect the ocean is driven by the reality that humankind needs a healthy planet that can sustain life, for the sake of our homes, health, livelihoods and food. Many have taken the rupture to our lives caused by Covid-19 to think about this and about how we can rebuild better, learning from the pandemic to achieve a greater balance and to protect the fundamentals which make life on Earth possible. Doing so is a necessity. We do not have the luxury of choosing between paths which damage the natural world and those which do not.  If we continue to harm nature at the rate we have been, our world will not be able to sustain human wellbeing – from jobs to food security and health. We have been given a stark warning. Once we emerge and start to rebuild, we need to do so in a way that protects the fundamentals that all human beings rely upon, foremost among these being a planet capable of sustaining human life. Governments will be put under pressure to drop environmental protections to make it easier for industry to operate; to privilege short term economics and job increases over other considerations. These will be presented as a choice – choose humans over nature - but it is not a real choice. For the good of humankind, we must achieve balance with the natural world, a coexistence which ultimately enables us to thrive. If we do not achieve that balance, take action to do better now, the rupture in our lives will get bigger, we will face other, escalating global disasters. We ask governments to protect human wellbeing and to make decisions which keep a functioning blue planet beneath our feet.   Deep Sea Conservation Coalition Ecology Action Centre Global Fishing Watch Global Ocean Trust Greenovation Hub  High Seas Alliance Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense International Programme on the State of the Ocean Marine CoLABoration Marine Conservation Institute Marine Conservation Society Oceans North  Our Fish  Seas at Risk Shark Project International Turkish Marine Research Foundation One Ocean  

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Human Rights

Bogota Declaration for the protection of environmental defenders

As people from 10 different countries who have been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, in addition to other environmental defenders, who are contributing to the protection of the environment and the struggle for life, who have come together today in Bogotá with colleagues from throughout our region, we express our solidarity with advocates and communities in Colombia and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean that are currently facing the highest level of risk for their work to protect life on Earth. Therefore, we call on governments, companies, financial institutions, investors, and entities to actively and effectively protect and respect the life and rights of advocates, those of their families, and their communities. We are aware of the serious human rights violations of vulnerable populations, especially of local communities and indigenous people, communities of African descent and farmers, which we face in Latin America and throughout the world. We demand an end to legal persecution and criminalization of our brothers and sisters who defend life and justice, and justice for those whose lives have been forcibly taken from them in this struggle. We hope that our work inspires many young people and others, whose work in turn inspires many more globally. We are convinced that, together, we can address the climate crisis—through collaborative work focused around knowledge and respect for the rights and diverse communities of the world. We call on humanity to stand in solidarity and act in accordance with the work of advocates, and to use peaceful means, art, and motherly love to continue achieving the transformation that the planet and humanity require to protect both people and life. We urge Colombia to continue promoting the dream of achieving peace between Colombians and nature. Turning the page on violence is the path for the next generations to inherit: a better Colombia, Latin America, Caribbean and world.   Signatories Francia Márquez (Colombia) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2018 Bertha Zuñiga Cáceres (Honduras), daughter of Bertha Cáceres, Goldman Environmental Prize, 2015 Ruth Buendía (Peru), Goldman Environmental Prize, 2014 Nohra Padilla (Colombia) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2013 Sofía Gatica (Argentina) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2012 Francisco Pineda (El Salvador) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2011 Humbero Ríos Labrada (Cuba) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2010 Jesús León Santos (Mexico) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2008 María Elena Foronda Farro (Peru) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2003 Jean La Rose (Guyana) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2002 Elías Díaz Peña (Paraguay) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2000 Oscar Rivas (Paraguay) Goldman Environmental Prize, 2000 Jorge Varela (Honduras) Goldman Environmental Prize, 1999 Berito Kuwaruwa (Colombia) Goldman Environmental Prize, 1998 Juan Pablo Orrego (Chile) Goldman Environmental Prize, 1997 Evaristo Nugkuag (Peru) Goldman Environmental Prize, 1991 Stiefen Petrust (Suriname) Eliana Torrico Tejada (Bolivia)   Danielle Duarte Gomes (Brazil)   Antonia Melo Da Silva (Brazil)   Liliana Ávila (Colombia)   Juana Hofman (Colombia)   Javier Ibarraga Ospina (Colombia)   Alix Mancilla (Colombia)   Blanca Inés Pérez (Colombia)   Rosa Peña (Colombia) Astrid Puentes Riaño (Colombia, Mexico) Andrea Cerami (Mexico)   Jorge García Lucas (Guatemala)   Severina Morales Pérez (Guatemala)   Joaquín Raymundo González (Guatemala)   Jovita Tzul (Guatemala)   Julián López (Mexico)   Marcelina López (Mexico)   Leydy Aracely Pech Martín (Mexico)   Elena Villafuerte (Mexico)   Liliana Caruhuaz (Peru)   Eddy Peña (Peru)   Katherine Sánchez (Peru)    

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