Environmental Human Rights Defenders: Legal Protections across International Borders
Part V: A Case Study in Latin America
Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor, Costa Rica. Photo taken by Andrea Brazier at the Las Nubes Private Reserve.
Welcome back! This week we take our knowledge about the rights of Environmental Human Rights Defenders and apply it to understanding a Latin American case study.
The situation in Latin America varies from country to country but is largely centered around the Escazú Agreement which the UN has called it the “first of its kind in the world to include specific binding provisions for the protection and promotion of people, groups and organisations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters.”
The signing and/ or ratification of the Agreement is not in direct correlation with the greatest protections for EHRDs, and vice versa, the refusal to sign the Agreement does not necessarily mean that the refusing country has the worst record for persecution against EHRDs. In fact, certain countries such as Colombia and Honduras have specific laws which include environmental activists and human rights defenders; this may be a consideration in their justification of the refusal to sign or ratify the Agreement. Yet, the issue lies within the implementation of said laws and the conflicting reports of killings within these countries: Colombia remains one of the most dangerous countries for environmental (and) human rights defenders.
In part, it seems likely that these protections fall short in Latin America due to the turbulence of their economy, political structures, and societies, allowing EHRDs to fall to the bottom of the priority list. While this may be true, it is often not in the favour of the political party in power, to side with EHRDs when the economy is so dependent on extractivism and natural resources. This begs the question of whether the plight of Indigenous and Environmental Human Right Defenders is being intentionally ignored for the sake of economic and political gain. While those conclusions may seem obvious, various NGOs are tackling the follow-up question: how can protections for Environmental Human Rights Defenders be upheld and implemented to ensure safety of the individual/community?
In light of COVID-19, Andrés Bermúdez Liévano (Diálogo Chino's regional editor for the Andean region) suggests that there are two important factors to consider: “violence has not been quarantined,” and that EHRDs are actually crucial to the cessation or mitigation of future viral zoonotic disease pandemics. The former statement is supported by the following lives lost during the recent quarantine period:
Former communal land leader and legal professional Isaac Medardo Herrera Avilés was killed on March 23, 2020 for his involvement in the protections of forest lands against a housing development, and Adán Vez Lira, caretaker of the La Mancha wetlands and mangroves, who was shot and killed on April 8, 2020; in Colombia, Omar and Ernesto Guasiruma Nacabera, Emberá Indigenous land defenders were killed on March 23, 2020; in Brazil, Zezico Rodrigues Guajajara, a Indigenous leader in the territory of Araribóia in Maranhão, was the fifth of his people killed in five month following threats from illegal loggers.
Considering that these names only represent those reported killed within a span of two weeks, in only three countries, it is evident that the shift in attention to the COVID-19 pandemic has created space for violence to increase over environmental issues in Latin America. EHRDs also become easier to locate and target while in isolation following quarantine orders. While extrajudicial killings are sadly common, last year, the first EHRD case to be brought to the criminal court occurred in Honduras when twelve water defenders, known as the Guapinol 12, were charged with “...unjust deprivation of liberty, aggravated fire, illegal association and theft.” While later released, and their charges dropped due to the international attention received, these EHRDs were detained pending trial. Ultimately, the case set the precedent that environmental and human rights defenders could be brought to a criminal court and tried for their work, in this case protecting a local water source serving approximately 42,000 people from further contamination by a mining project.
Through the protection of biodiversity, which often falls to Indigenous peoples and EHRDs, the risk of outbreaks can be minimized. David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur for the Environment, has said that “scientists warn that deforestation, industrial agriculture, the illegal wildlife trade and climate change increase the risk of future pandemics,” and that COVID-19 is “not an excuse” to put aside environmental protections.
In this very timely example, the Coronavirus pandemic is a reminder that the work of EHRDs serves the greater wellbeing of human and environmental health, no matter how far geographically removed from the location of resource extraction/other ecological destruction. It’s also crucial to recognize the role and culpability of major international extraction companies in Latin America, such as the Canadian mining company Belo Sun, nicknamed the “Belo Monster,” which threatens community life, health/ standards of living, and is directly opposed by EHRDs in Brazil.
While the government must be able to answer for its relationships with said corporations and their consent to extract from natural resources, there is a cross-border element to this issue; in this case, a Canadian company is creating local tension resulting in the persecution of EHRDs, and should therefore be held responsible for the human rights violations. This is highly difficult to enforce, but it is important to recognize the various different political, economic, and industry players who contribute to the overwhelming dangers which face EHRDs in Latin America and beyond.
Thanks for tuning in! Next time, we’ll take a similar approach and consider these implications in the Philippines region.
References:
“UN experts urge prompt ratification of landmark Latin America and Caribbean environment treaty,” online: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Law Library of Congress, (November 2019) “Protection of Environmental Defenders in Latin America,” 7. LL File No. 2020-018377.
Andrés Bermúdez Liévano. “Attacks on ecosystem defenders in Latin America continue amid Covid-19”, (22 June 2020), online: Diálogo Chino.
Front Line Defenders Global Analysis 2019, online: Front Line, the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, 17.
“COVID-19: ‘Not an excuse’ to roll back environmental protection and enforcement, UN rights expert says”, online: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Brazil: The Struggle of the Xinguara Peoples in the Amazon”, (15 July 2019), online: World Rainforest Movement.
Adapted from an Academic Paper submitted for International Environmental Law, Osgoode Law Hall & the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University; 2020.
