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Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Environmental human rights defenders are one of the most heterogeneous groups of defenders. The category includes a diverse range of people, profiles and trajectories, from small-scale farmers with no land deeds to environmental lawyers and journalists, from well-organized non-governmental organizations to isolated indigenous communities. In many cases, some of these groups already experience marginalization. In many situations, they do not always have the capacity to challenge decisions in courts or they do not have access to mass media. Their marginalization is also due to the nature of their struggles as human rights defenders. Many become environmental human rights defenders by "accident" or "necessity", taking a stand against injustice or harm to their environment. This may amplify their vulnerabilities, as they may not self-identify as environmental human rights defenders and therefore they may be unaware of their rights or existing protection measures, mechanisms or organizations that could support them. The very specific nature of rural communities can also aggravate their vulnerability, as these communities can be located in isolated areas without access to communication and support networks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 103a
- Paragraph text
- [United Nations organizations and agencies should:] Address the legal gaps that heighten risks for environmental human rights defenders, including weak environmental standards and laws protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, their land rights and customary title to territories and resources;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Global trends in risks and threats facing human rights defenders 2015, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Throughout the world, these defenders endure a series of threats and violations of their rights, sometimes relayed by the media in a context marked by an abundance of ultranationalist rhetoric stigmatizing certain communities or minority groups. These defenders are also labelled as traitors when they support certain groups or communities, such as the Roma people or indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Selected groups of defenders at risk: journalists and media workers, defenders working on land and environment issues; and youth and student defenders 2012, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- The mandate holder has also received and acted upon allegations of violations against defenders working on land and environmental issues as they relate to indigenous peoples and minority communities (29 communications). The activities in which they are engaged include participating in negotiations with local authorities in order to resolve land disputes (Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala) and investigating cases of land-grabbing (Bangladesh); defending the rights of indigenous communities (the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Cambodia, Guatemala, India, New Zealand, Peru) and representing indigenous communities at local and national levels (Bangladesh, Chile, Guatemala, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and Tanzania); campaigning against forced evictions (Mexico, Colombia); participating in protests (Chile, India, Nepal); raising awareness abroad regarding violations of human rights (Papua New Guinea); campaigning for the protection of borders of their natural reserve (Brazil); and the submission of information to the United Nations human rights mechanisms (Guatemala).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Selected groups of defenders at risk: journalists and media workers, defenders working on land and environment issues; and youth and student defenders 2012, para. 124
- Paragraph text
- States should give full recognition to the important work carried out by defenders working on land and environmental issues in trying to find a balance between economic development and respect of the environment, including the right to use land, natural wealth and resources, and the rights of certain groups, including indigenous peoples and minorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violations committed against defenders by non-State actors 2010, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In the context of the defence of economic, social and cultural rights, defenders are also being attacked by individuals such as landowners. In one such instance, the leader of a group of indigenous people was shot by gunmen reportedly employed by a local landowner, who wounded him in the head, shoulders and right arm with a 12 calibre rifle. Individual armed assailants have also been involved in attacks against trade unionists, peasants' leaders and campesinos (farmers or farm workers).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 102b
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Ratify ILO Convention No. 169 and guarantee the right to consultation and participation of indigenous communities in decisions at every stage of a project's life cycle;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Good practices in the protection of human rights defenders 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Some activists face greater and more specific risks than others (see A/HRC/16/44, A/HRC/19/55 and A/70/217, paras. 61-77). Defenders who challenge social and cultural norms, do not fit stereotypes and prescribed roles, or who challenge power structures in society - such as defenders of sexual orientation and gender identity rights, women defenders, and defenders working on the rights of minorities and indigenous people - are often stigmatized and subjected to threats and attacks from members of society because of who they are or what they do. Defenders in conflict zones and in occupied territories are also more vulnerable to continuous insecurity and threats. Protection practices must therefore be gender-sensitive and suited to the specific needs and situations of such defenders at risk.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous communities also face multiple forms of aggression and violence. In specific situations, oppression against them is encouraged by institutionalized racism and stigmatization that deny the rights of these communities. Private actors such as agribusinesses and extractive industries as well as law enforcement agencies have been regularly observed to commit violations against environmental human rights defenders from indigenous communities. National development strategies often fail to include specific approaches and processes for indigenous communities that would ensure the conservation of their ancestral lands and recognize their rights to their livelihoods and environment. Linguistic barriers, countless obstacles to accessing basic social services and the imposition of unfavourable models of consultation aggravate the vulnerability of indigenous environmental human rights defenders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Many of these communities, particularly indigenous ones, hold the right to free, prior and informed consent, and all of them have the right to participate fully in consultations around proposed projects that may affect their lands and livelihoods. Despite their recognition in various international, regional and domestic laws, those rights are often not meaningfully implemented, or are simply ignored by companies, with the complicity of Governments. Some Governments strategically choose to deny the rights to peoples that have not been "officially" identified as indigenous. The consultation processes also regularly fail to address power inequalities within communities, leaving isolated such groups as women or ethnic groups owing to one-size-fits-all approaches.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Environmental human rights defenders are identified above all by what they do. They are characterized as such through their actions to protect environmental and land rights. Although they may work as journalists, activists or lawyers who expose and oppose environmental destruction or land grabbing, they are often ordinary people living in remote villages, forests or mountains, who may not even be aware that they are acting as environmental human rights defenders. In many other cases, they are indigenous leaders or community members who defend their traditional lands against the harms of large-scale projects such as mining and dams.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Global trends in risks and threats facing human rights defenders 2015, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Finally, as regards indigenous peoples, numerous defenders in Latin America underscored the lack of a legal and institutional framework recognizing the rights of these communities or, when they are recognized, the failure to implement them. The fact that they live in isolated rural areas combined with the existence of certain kinds of claims, such as the defence of lands or attempts to achieve autonomy, expose them to numerous threats and physical assault. This is one of the areas in which the Special Rapporteur intends to conduct a specific study together with the Special Rapporteur for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Large-scale development project and human rights defenders 2013, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Both the Special Rapporteur and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders have repeatedly reported on the extraordinary risks faced by those defending the rights of local communities, including indigenous peoples, minorities and people living in poverty. These human rights defenders commonly face threats, harassment, intimidation, criminalization and physical attacks. The Special Rapporteur and the Special Representative have observed that human rights defenders are commonly branded as being against development if their actions oppose the implementation of development projects that have a direct impact on natural resources, the land and the environment. Examples of such projects include the construction of hydroelectric power stations, electric pylons, dams, highways and cement factories, and the operations of various extractive industries. Human rights defenders also speak out against forced evictions that occur in connection to development programmes and projects.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
On the Declaration on human rights defenders 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Nonetheless, ideas that "offend, shock or disturb" are protected under the right of freedom of expression. This is a crucial part of what is required for a "democratic society" to exist. Pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness are particularly important in a democratic society. Democracy does not simply mean that the views of the majority must always prevail: a balance must be achieved which ensures the fair and proper treatment of minorities and avoids any abuse of a dominant position. The State is the ultimate guarantor of the principle of pluralism, a role that entails positive obligations to secure the effective enjoyment of rights. These obligations are of particular importance for persons holding unpopular views or belonging to minorities, because they are more vulnerable to victimization.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
On the Declaration on human rights defenders 2011, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The protection of the right to protest comprises both negative and positive obligations. The State has a negative obligation to abstain from interfering and a positive obligation to protect rights holders in the exercise of this right, particularly when persons protesting hold unpopular or controversial views, or belong to minorities or other groups exposed to higher risks of attack and other forms of intolerance. Additionally, respecting the right to protest involves the obligation of States to take concrete steps to build, maintain and strengthen pluralism, tolerance and an open attitude to the expression of dissent in society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
On the Declaration on human rights defenders 2011, para. 46a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression has emphasized that restrictions on the following dimensions of the right to freedom of expression are not permissible:] Discussion of Government policies and political debate; reporting on human rights, Government activities and corruption in government; engaging in election campaigns, peaceful demonstrations or political activities, including for peace or democracy; and expression of opinion and dissent, religion or belief, including by persons belonging to minorities or vulnerable groups;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
16 shown of 16 entities