Americas: States Must Commit to Ending Violence Against Environmental Defenders
APRIL 15, 2024
A few days prior to the start of the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (COP3), also known as the Escazú Agreement, to be held in Santiago de Chile from April 22-24, Amnesty International notes with concern the worrying lack of protection that environmental human rights groups, organizations and defenders continue to face in the region. The organization therefore calls on all Latin American and Caribbean states that have not yet acceded to the treaty to do so as soon as possible. It also calls on states that are party to the treaty to use this upcoming meeting to reaffirm their commitment to address the grave situation faced by these persons.
“Attacks against environmental human rights defenders in the Americas are constant and often deadly. The fact that some of the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders are not yet party to the Escazú Agreement is evidence of their government’s unwillingness to address these threats. States in Latin America and the Caribbean must urgently commit to upholding this regional treaty,” urged Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.
The Escazú Agreement is the first binding treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean that includes specific provisions for the protection of environmental human rights defenders. Although the agreement, which has the support of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), entered into force three years ago, less than half of the countries of the region are a party. Among those not yet party are some of the most dangerous in the world for defending environmental rights: Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru. The last countries to join the agreement did so in June 2023opens in a new tab.
Colombia, for example, tops the global ranking for the number of land and environmental defenders killedopens in a new tab. Members of organizations such as the Federation of Artisanal Fisherfolk of the Department of Santander (FEDEPESAN) have suffered a number of attacks and death threats, the most recent one this yearopens in a new tab. Although the Colombian government has acknowledged that the defense of human rights is a high-risk activity and has taken measures to mitigate such risk, including taking steps to become a party to the Escazú Agreement, these have not had the desired effect.
More:
https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/americas-states-must-commit-to-ending-violence-against-environmental-defenders/