COP28
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CAMEROON: ‘Communities must benefit from what comes from their land’
CIVICUS discusses the aspirations and roles of civil society at the forthcoming COP28 climate summit with Estelle Ewoule Lobé,co-founder of the Cameroonian civil society organisation (CSO) Action for the protection of environmental refugees and internally displaced people in Africa (APADIME).What environmental issues do you work on?
Our organisation, APADIME, works on several interconnected human rights and environmental issues. We work on the protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, with a particular focus on Indigenous women and environmentally displaced people. We contribute to the fight against transnational environmental crimes such as the illegal exploitation of forest resources and illegal trafficking of protected species. We work to strengthen the resilience of Indigenous peoples and local communities and to raise public awareness of the need to protect forests. Finally, we implement income-generating activities for Indigenous peoples and local communities.
When we work on organised crime, we don’t leave out the defence of people’s fundamental rights. Our area of work is the Congo Basin, with a base in Cameroon. Central Africa is home to one of the world’s largest tropical rainforests. It contains enormous resources on which millions of people depend for their livelihoods, including Indigenous peoples and local communities. The forest also provides a habitat for countless animal species and is of crucial importance for the global climate.
Despite all the legal measures in place to protect Cameroon’s forests, forest exploitation, often carried out in partnership with private companies, gives rise to numerous abuses, resulting in serious human rights violations fuelled by well-organised criminal networks, and generally leading to the dispossession of the lands of these peoples and communities. This is where our association comes in.
First, our work has a research component that is focused on both the legal and institutional framework to support our advocacy work at the national and international levels, and on carrying out studies and publishing articles and books, the latest of which is In Search of a Status for the Environmentally Displaced.
Second, there is a field component in which we meet communities and organise consultation events, focus groups, surveys and observations to gather data about the difficulties people face and the needs they have.
The third strand of the association’s work is education, through which we build the resilience of Indigenous peoples and local communities and awareness about their intrinsic rights, procedural rights, sustainable land management, the preservation of protected species and current forestry legislation. We also organise awareness campaigns to help educate communities.
The fourth component is access to rights. We help organise communities by setting up networks of institutional and local players to facilitate access for communities whose human and land rights are constantly violated.
The last component concerns economic recovery through the implementation of income-generating activities, particularly through community fields.
Have you experienced any restriction or reprisal because of your work?
We are human rights defenders working in an environment that is not always receptive to the type of work we do. We are confronted with powerful interests such as those of forestry companies that often exploit forests abusively. Our presence often makes an impression and we are subject to threats that force us to limit our scope of action to prevent the situation from degenerating and becoming too risky.
At an administrative level, the main obstacle is the lack of a positive response or collaboration from officials. Some refuse to take part in our projects, contenting themselves with one general discussion session with us. Others refuse to make their contact information public.
How do you connect with the global climate movement?
APADIME collaborates with several of the world’s leading international organisations, including the International Centre of Comparative Environmental Law, an international scientific CSO based in France, which works on environmental protection through the promotion of international legal instruments. We also work with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC).
With the support and guidance of GI-TOC, we are currently working with a network of stakeholders in the Republic of the Congo and Gabon to combat organised environmental crime in the Congo Basin and protect the rights of Indigenous peoples to achieve climate justice centred on human rights.
We are involved with international players in developing the People’s Summit for social and environmental justice, against the commodification of life and nature, and in defence of the commons. Our association is also actively involved as a speaker and observer at major international meetings, the most recent of which was the 11th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC), held in Vienna, Austria in October 2022, which produced a call for action by civil society.
What priority issues should be addressed at COP28?
COP28’s priority issues are the same as those we have been defending for a long time: support for Indigenous peoples and local communities to ensure their rights are protected, in particular through the funding of conservation activities and income-generating activities to raise their standard of living, and the equitable sharing of the benefits of nature as defined by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which recognises that in addition to the urgent need to use nature sustainably, communities must benefit from what comes from their land.
In particular, this involves examining how marginalised communities, including Indigenous peoples, can benefit from the often lucrative therapeutic and cosmetic products derived from the resources of their lands.
Do you think that COP28 will provide sufficient space for civil society? What are your expectations regarding its outcomes?
The participation of civil society in climate negotiations is extremely important because we are active stakeholders and, when we are able to influence the negotiations, we are a key factor in progress towards sustainable development. Our actions are complementary to political dialogue, which is why it is necessary, even compulsory, for us to take part in these negotiations.
As usual, COP28 will officially be open to civil society as participants and observers, but the difficulties of access will lie in financing travel to and stay in the United Arab Emirates, where this global event will be held.
But we hope that despite all these difficulties, progress will be made on the issues that are at the heart of our work, namely direct funding for communities to guarantee adaptation actions and strengthen their resilience.
Civic space in Cameroon is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Contact APADIME on itsFacebook page and follow@EwouleE on Twitter.
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CAMEROUN : « Il faut que les communautés bénéficient de ce qui provient de leurs terres »
CIVICUS échange sur les aspirations et les rôles de la société civile dans le prochain sommet sur le climat COP28 avec Estelle Ewoule Lobé, cofondatrice de l’organisation de la société civile (OSC) camérounaise l’Action pour la protection en Afrique des déplacés internes et des migrants environnementaux (APADIME).
Quelles sont les questions environnementales sur lesquelles vous travaillez ?
Notre organisation, APADIME, travaille sur plusieurs questions interconnectées de droits humains et l’environnement. On travaille dans la protection des droits des peuples autochtones et des communautés locales, en mettant l’accent sur les femmes autochtones et les déplacés environnementaux. Nous contribuons à la lutte contre les crimes environnementaux transnationaux tels que l’exploitation illégale des ressources forestières et le trafic illicite d’espèces protégées. Nous travaillons à renforcer la résilience des peuples autochtones et des communautés locales et à sensibiliser l’opinion publique à la protection des forêts. Enfin, on met en œuvre des activités génératrices de revenus pour les peuples autochtones et les communautés locales.
Quand on travaille sur le crime organisé, on ne laisse pas de côté la défense des droits fondamentaux des personnes. Notre zone de travail se situe dans le Bassin du Congo, avec un ancrage sur le Cameroun. L’Afrique centrale abrite une des plus vastes forêts tropicales humides du monde. Elle regorge d’énormes ressources dont dépendent des millions d’individus pour leur subsistance, notamment des peuples autochtones et des communautés locales. Cette forêt offre également un habitat à d’innombrables espèces animales, et est d’une importance cruciale pour le climat planétaire.
Malgré tout le dispositif juridique qui vise la protection des forêts au Cameroun, l’on constate que l’exploitation des forêts, qui se fait souvent en partenariat avec des entreprises privées, donne lieu à de nombreuses dérives entrainant de graves violations des droits humains alimentés par des réseaux criminels bien organisés, et conduit généralement à la spoliation des terres de ces peuples et communautés. C’est à ce niveau que le travail de l’association intervient.
Nous avons d’abord un volet recherche qui vise, d’une part, à faire des recherches sur le cadre juridique et institutionnel afin d’appuyer nos actions de plaidoyer au niveau national et international, et d’autre part, à faire des études et publier des articles et des livres, le dernier étant A la recherche d’un statut pour les déplacés environnementaux.
Ensuite nous avons un volet terrain où nous descendons dans les communautés pour les rencontrer, organiser des réunions de concertation, organiser des focus groups, des enquêtes et des observations afin de collecter des données sur les difficultés qu’elles rencontrent et leurs besoins.
Le troisième volet de l’association est celui lié à l’éducation, où nous renforçons la résilience des peuples autochtones et des communautés locales sur la base de leurs droits intrinsèques, les droits procéduraux, la gestion durable des sols, la préservation des espèces protégées et la législation forestière en vigueur. Nous organisons aussi des campagnes de sensibilisation pour l’éducation des communautés.
Le quatrième volet est l’accès aux droits. Nous organisons les communautés en mettant en place des réseaux d’acteurs institutionnels et locaux afin de faciliter cet accès pour ces communautés donc les droits humains et fonciers sont constamment violés.
Le dernier volet concerne le relèvement économique par la mise en œuvre des activités génératrices de revenus dans certaines communautés à travers notamment des champs communautaires.
Avez-vous fait l’objet de restrictions ou de représailles en raison de votre travail ?
Nous sommes des défenseurs des droits humains travaillant dans un environnement toujours pas souvent réceptif au type de travail que l’on fait. Nous sommes confrontés à des intérêts puissants tels que ceux des sociétés forestières qui exploitent souvent abusivement les forêts. Notre présence fait souvent tâche et nous sommes sujets à des menaces qui nous contraignent à limiter généralement notre champ d’action pour éviter que la situation ne dégénère et devienne trop risquée.
Au niveau administratif, le principal obstacle est l’absence de réactions positives ou de collaboration venant des responsables administratifs. Certains responsables rencontrés refusent d’être parties prenantes à nos projets, se contentant de la seule séance de discussion générale avec nous. D’autres refusent de rendre public les contacts de leurs membres.
Quels types de liens entretenez-vous avec le mouvement climatique mondial ?
L’APADIME collabore avec plusieurs organisations internationales de renom dans le monde notamment le Centre international de droit comparé de l’environnement, une OSC internationale à caractère scientifique basée en France, qui travaille sur la protection de l’environnement à travers la promotion des instruments juridiques internationaux. On travaille aussi avec l’Initiative mondiale contre la criminalité transnationale organisée (GI-TOC).
Avec le support et l’accompagnement de la GI-TOC, nous sommes actuellement engagés avec un réseau d’acteurs en République du Congo et au Gabon, dans le but de lutter contre le crime organisé environnemental dans le Bassin du Congo et protéger les droits des peuples autochtones pour parvenir à une justice climatique centrée sur les droits humains.
Nous sommes impliqués avec des acteurs internationaux dans la construction du Sommet des Peuples pour la justice sociale et environnementale, contre la marchandisation de la vie et de la nature, et pour la défense des biens communs. Notre association participe aussi activement comme orateur et observateur à des grandes rencontres internationales donc la plus récente est la 11ème Conférence des Parties à la Convention des Nations Unies contre la criminalité transnationale organisée (UNTOC), qui s’est tenue à Vienne en octobre 2022, et à l’issue de laquelle a été produite un appel à l’action de la société civile.
Quelles questions prioritaires devraient être abordées lors de la COP28 ?
Les enjeux prioritaires de la COP28 sont les mêmes que ceux que nous défendons depuis longtemps : l’appui aux peuples autochtones et aux communautés locales pour garantir la protection de leurs droits, notamment à travers le financement des activités de conservation et des activités génératrices de revenus pour relever leur niveau de vie, et le partage équitables des avantages de la nature tel que définis par le Cadre mondial pour la biodiversité de Kunming-Montréal, qui reconnaît qu’en plus du besoin urgent d’utiliser durablement la nature, il faut que les communautés bénéficient de ce qui provient de leurs terres.
Il s’agit en particulier d’examiner comment les communautés marginalisées, y compris les peuples autochtones, peuvent bénéficier des produits thérapeutiques et cosmétiques souvent lucratifs dérivés des ressources de leurs terres.
Pensez-vous que la COP28 offrira suffisamment d’espace à la société civile ? Quelles sont vos attentes quant à ses résultats ?
La participation de la société civile aux négociations sur le climat est extrêmement importante car nous sommes des participants actifs et lorsque nous sommes en mesure d’influencer les négociations, nous sommes un facteur clé de progrès en matière de développement durable. Nos actions sont complémentaires au dialogue politique, d’où la nécessité voire même l’obligation de participer à ces négociations.
Comme d’habitude, la COP28 sera officiellement bien ouverte à la société civile en tant que participants et observateurs, mais les difficultés d’accès résideront dans le financement pour se rendre et séjourner aux Émirats arabes unis, où se tiendra cet événement mondial.
Mais nous espérons que malgré toutes ces difficultés, des progrès seront réalisés sur les questions qui sont au cœur de notre travail, à savoir le financement direct des communautés pour garantir des actions d’adaptation et renforcer leur résilience.
L’espace civique au Cameroun est classé « réprimé » par leCIVICUS Monitor.
Contactez l’APADIME sur sa pageFacebook et suivez@EwouleE sur Twitter.
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COP28 : make participation inclusive for all including for UAE activists
The up-coming United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference 2023, also known as Conference of Parties (COP28), taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) should prioritise the rights of communities and people most affected by climate change. It should set a positive trend for future climate conferences by allowing full and inclusive participation in its decision making processes for indigenous peoples, activists, and civil society.
The UAE as the host of COP 28, should lead by example and lift all restrictions that have been in place for years on the rights of Emiratis to express themselves, associate and assemble in line with international human rights frameworks. We ask the UAE to release all human rights defenders (HRDs), activists and journalists currently in detention.
Create an enabling environment for inclusive participation and decision making
A successful COP requires all participants including those from civil society and under-represented groups to have full access to decision-making sessions. The conference must ensure that they can express their views, including about the state of human rightsin the UAE without fear of intimidation. We are concerned that months before the start of COP, UAE officials made utterances urging participants not to criticise the UAE, corporations, individuals or protest the restrictions on civic space.
Speakers from a pre-COP climate health Summit held in Abu Dhabi, reported that conference organisers advised speakers not to be critical of Islam, government, corporations and not to protest while in the UAE. These pre-conditions reflect the abysmal state of civic space in the UAE and the attacks on HRDs, activists and journalists who have spoken about human rights issues. The statement defeats the purpose and intent of COP and may force some participants to self censor.
We remind the government of the UAE, the United Nations and all participating states of the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan by the Parties related to civil society and civic space. They committed to consider respective obligations to human rights and recognise the roles of civil society, indigenous communities and youth when responding to climate change. Vigorous and inclusive climate action depends on the full and meaningful participation of all stakeholders including civil society, states, activists and indigenous communities.
Concerns over continued detention of HRDs in the UAE
Planning for the forthcoming COP is being done against a backdrop of an ongoing human rights crisis and heightened civic space restrictions in the UAE. The UAE is listed in the worst category -”closed” - on the CIVICUS Monitor, a participatory research platform that maps civic space globally. Currently, scores of human rights defenders and activists are still in detention for their peaceful human rights activities and for calling for democratic reforms. Those in detention include prominent human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor who is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence and has been in solitary confinement since he was arrested in March 2017 for his human rights activities.
More than 60 other activists who are part of a group known as the UAE94 were arrested in 2012 for their pro-democracy activities and sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven years to 15 years. They were prosecuted and sentenced in violation of their fair trial rights including pre-trial violations. Most have served their full sentences but no one has been released.They and other activists continue to be held in Munasaha (Counselling) Centres, in the same prison citing them as a threat to security and in need of rehabilitation. Activists including Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Helou, Abdulslaam Darwish, Ahmed Ghaith Al-Suwaidi and Dr Mohammed Al-Roken and many others continue to be detained after their prison sentences expired.
Protests often held alongside COPs are critical in highlighting concerns over restrictions faced by the most vulnerable people and call for more accountability for parties attending these gatherings. In the UAE, though the constitution guarantees the right to protest, in reality demonstrations are effectively banned as the authorities require prior notification before any protests. Restrictive legislation including the Federal Crime and Punishment Law, the Law Combating Rumours and Cyber Crimes (2021) and the Criminal Code impose harsh penalties including life sentences for those who lead or promote gatherings in public spaces with the intention of causing riots or endangering public security. These laws also restrict the ability of Emiratis to organise or plan protests online and criminalise public declarations of dissent to the state or governance system or disloyalty to the leadership.
The successful organisation of COP28 may be compromised if the government of the UAE does not urgently address these restrictions and create an enabling environment in which all stakeholders at COP are able to express their views including during peaceful protests without fear of intimidation, arrests or detention. Civil society has a crucial role to play in providing information, community perspectives, and advocating on climate issues to states, policy makers and the media.
Prioritise concerns of excluded groups including indigenous communities
Over the last two months, more than 500 representatives of indigenous communities from at least 20 countries had pre-COP consultations and raised concerns about the lack of participation of indigenous groups in COP decision making processes. Indigenous communities already face discrimination , often excluded from decision-making processes at national level, denied access to justice and forcefully removed from their ancestral lands to make way for projects. As a community most affected by climate change, indigenous groups often have to contend with large corporations who collude with governments to construct large-scale and often environmentally-harmful projects on the ancestral lands of these communities.
Deliberate efforts need to be made to guarantee the inclusion and full participation of indigenous persons in official and unofficial events leading to, during and after COP 28. While indigenous communities acknowledge the unprecedented participation in side events during last year’s COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh, this participation did not extend to key spaces where resolutions were discussed resulting in the omission of key concerns of indigenous communities in the major outcomes from the Conference.
We welcome the decisions taken in the previous COPs that created a Loss and Damage Fund to provide financing for vulnerable countries most affected by climate disasters but once again indigenous communities risk being ignored when the fund is operationalised. Current climate finance mechanisms do not prioritise indigenous communities and if the current model of financing stays the same, the actions on loss and damage will be ineffective.
To guarantee an inclusive, robust and accountable COP, we, the undersigned civil society organisations and members of indigenous communities across the world, urge the UAE, state parties and UN to:
- Guarantee the inclusive participation of all groups without any discrimination prior to and during COP. This includes granting all participants travel documents and allowing access to key decision making forums.
- Allow the freedom of peaceful assembly before, during and after COP28. Recognise Protests as a critical means for the civil society to articulate their concerns and proposals, especially for communities excluded in decision processes of the state parties during the conference.
- Take meaningful steps to address the human rights crisis in the UAE, lift restrictions on civic space and respect the right of freedom of expression, association and assembly.
- Comply with all recommendations made to the UAE under its Universal Periodic Review this year.
- Release all human rights defenders, activists and prisoners of conscience currently in detention, including Ahmed Mansoor and all members of the UAE 94, and drop all charges against them.
- End impunity for human rights violations by holding to account government representatives who work to restrict the ability of civil society and COP participants from expressing themselves without fear of intimidation and harassment.
- Place indigenous people at the centre of climate finance decisions and include specific language recognising the rights of indigenous communities in major decisions and actions that will be taken in COP 28.
- Create an indigenous peoples technical working group to serve as a formal standing mechanism for negotiations during COP 28 which will ensure the concerns of indigenous people are factored into solutions and actions from the negotiation
Endorsed by:
- A world without chemical and biological weapons-www
- J.E.P.D (Action des Jeunes Engagés pour la Paix et le Développement Durable)
- ACEDH RDC
- ACODES
- Acohof Rural Investment Bank
- Act Fathers Foundation
- Action Contre la Pauvreté, ACP
- Action for Climate and Environmental Justice (ACEJ) _ Uganda
- Action for Humanity & Social Progress
- Action for the Batwa Empowerment Group (ABEG) - Uganda
- Action Sociale pour le Bien ETRE et développement
- ACTIONS KUSAIDIA
- Advocate for Community Development and Environmental Protection
- ADWORE FOUNDATION LIMITED
- Afghanmal
- African Network Youth Policy Expert
- African Resource Centre for Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities - Africa
- African youth for community empowerment
- Afridep projet pour tous
- Agrovision She Farmers
- Aid Organization
- AIF-without Borders
- AIPDGL
- AJESH
- Akila Dignidad
- Alliance des Défenseurs des Droits Humains et de l'environnement au Tchad
- Allied Source Network Uganda
- Alpha Action for Social and Economic Development -AASED
- Amani CBO
- Amplifying Impact
- APPUI SOLIDAIRE POUR LE RENFORCEMENT DE L AIDE AU DEVELOPPEMENT
- Arapai Rural Initiative for Development
- Arjon Foundation
- Arladi Environmental and Human rights Organization - AEHRO
- AROHI
- Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders (APNED)
- Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN) - Asia
- ASOCIACION DESPLAZADA NUEVO RENACER
- ASPADI
- Assistance aux Laissés Pour Compte (ALPC) - Cameroun
- Association BIOWA - Burkina Faso
- Association de Lutte Contre Toute Forme de Violence (ALUCuOV) -Cameroun
- ASSOCIATION DES AMIS DE LA NATURE AAN
- Association for Farmers Rights Defense, AFRD
- ASSOCIATION JEUNESSE ACTIVE POUR L’INTEGRATION ET L’EDUCATION (JAIE) - Togo
- Association kaani assistance
- Association Nationale des Conseils d'Enfants du Bénin ANACEB
- Association pour Assistance Humanitaire (AAH) - Cameroun
- Association pour la Defense des Droits Humains et Développement Humain (ADDHF-DUKUNDANE)
- Association Pour la Promotion du Développement Durable et des Activités Sociales (APRODDAS) - Cameroun
- Association pour le Développement Social et Culturel des Mbororo du Cameroun. (MBOSCUDA) - Cameroun
- Association pour les victimes du monde
- Autoridades Indígenas tradicionales - Bolivia
- AVID-DRC
- Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
- Banlieues Du Monde Mauritanie
- Baringo Women and Youth Organization (BWYO)- Baringo, Kenya
- Batwa Community Development Organisation (BCDO) - Uganda
- Batwa Development Organisation (BDO) - Uganda
- Batwa Indigenous Community
- Batwa Indigenous Empowerment Organisation (BIEO) - Uganda
- Beneco Enecia
- Benet Lobby Group
- Benet Mosop Indigenous Community Association (BMCA) - Uganda
- Biba Transformations LBG
- BINNADANG Amianan!
- BISAP
- BOLCRIS INTERNATIONAL
- Botswana Khwedom Council- Botswana
- Build Peace and Development
- Bulala fm
- BW Nama Development Trust
- Cabildo Indigena Universitario Resguardo de Muellamues (CIURM) - Colombia
- Caldwell youth group for climate action
- Caleidoscopio Humano
- Camkwoki Grassroot Initiative For Development Limited
- Canada-Afghanistan Civil Society Forums-organization
- Canard Dechaine Media - Niger
- CENSODEV
- Center for Enlightenment and Development
- Center for Peace and Community Development
- Center for Women and Girls Empowerment
- Centre for Empowerment and Transformation of Young People
- Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE) - Kenya
- Centre for Peace and Development organization
- Centre for Research and Advocacy Manipur (CRAM) - Manipur Northeast India
- Centre for Social Policy Development
- Centro de Apoyo Rural - CEAR
- Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios Aymara (CEM-Aymara) - Bolivia
- Cercle des oeuvres pour les initiatives de
- Chepkitale Indigenous People Development Program (CIPDP) - Kenya
- Children Resource Centre
- Chittagong Hill Tracts Headmen Network - Bangladesh
- Civil society coalition on Sustainable development
- Coalition des Volontaires pour la Paix et le Développement, CVPD
- Coalition Nationale des Volontaires pour le Développement Durable (CNVD) - Cameroun
- COEL -WOMEN EDLERS LEARNING INITIATIVES
- Community Aid for Humanitarian Organization
- Community Democratization Initiative
- Community Health Education Sports Initiative Zambia
- Community Improvement & Development Myanmar
- Community initiative action group Kenya
- Community Resource Centre - Thailand
- Community Transformation Foundation Network (COTFONE)
- Comunidad Campesina de Pichccachuri - Puquio
- CONCRET/Human Rights
- Confederación MEIS internacional
- Confraternity of Patients Kenya (COFPAK)
- Consejo Indigena Mayas Ch'orti Olopa, Chiquimula - Guatemala
- Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations
- Coordinating Assembly of NGOs
- Coordination Nationale des Conviviums de Slow Food en RD Congo, CNC-SF/RDC en sigle
- Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) - Philippines
- Cordilleran Youth Center
- Corporación Cambio Sostenible
- Crisis Resolving Centre
- CSYM HUDUMA -MBUENET MTANDAO COALITIONS TZ 🇹🇿
- DABY Foundation
- Developpement africaine (COIDAF) - Cameroun
- East Africa Campuses and colleges green network - EACCGN
- East African Crude Oil Pipeline Host Communities
- Ecumenical Center for Promotion of the Rural World
- Egbema Voice of Freedom - Nigeria
- Endorois Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (EIWEN)
- Endorois Welfare Council (EWC)- Kenya
- English Development Centre EDC Praia
- Equality Rights Africa Organization
- Estudiantes de la Universidad de Pública de El Alto (UPEA) - Bolivia
- Euphrates Institute Peace Practice Alliance
- Eventity Hub
- Ewang’an Foundation - Kenya
- Fagnanko
- Faith and Hope Association
- FAMILY RESCUE INITIATAVES UGANDA
- Family Rescue Initiatives Uganda
- Femmes et Développement Communautaire (FEDEC)
- Forum for Indigenous Resource Management(F.I.R.M)-Kenya
- Forum for Peace and Development Initiatives (FOPEDI). KENYA
- Foundation for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue Initiatives (FIIDI)
- Foyer d’Accueil Pour Jeune Fille Mère (FAJEFIM) - Cameroun
- Fridays for Future Morelia
- Front Nasional Mahasiswa Permuda Papua (FNMP) - West Papua
- FUNDACION DE DERECHOS HUMANOS KAROL LIZETH
- Fundacion Ixcanul
- Fundacion Manos Amigas Transformando Corazones
- Fundación Victimas Vulnerables Mujeres Afro Independientes (FUNVIMUFROIN)
- Future Focus Foundation
- GHANA ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS IN DEVELOPMENT (GAPVOD)
- GIC DDH
- Girls Connect Uganda
- Giving Hopes to the Hopeless Organization
- GLIHD
- Global Advancement Initiative(GAI) - Nigeria
- Global Alliance for a Healthy Society (GAHSO)
- Global Leadership Initiative
- Global Redistribution Advocates
- Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Indonesia
- Globalcare Cameroun (G2C)
- Globe Watch Foundation
- Go Green Group - Manipur
- Grassroot Development Support and Rural Enlightenment Initiative
- Greater Benet Apiary Group
- Green Planet
- Hand to Hand Against Nation Apathy
- Hazras Charity Foundation
- Help Alive Humanitarian, Health, Education and Environmental Foundation
- Human rights support
- HUMANITARIAN RESILIENCE CENTER
- HUMANITY FIRST ASSOCIATION OF CLEANERS (HUFAC)
- Ican Kurdistan Network-IKN
- ICODEH Haiti
- iCure Health International
- inclusive humanittarians organization
- Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) - Global
- Initiative for the Disabled Welfare Association
- INNOVAZING VISION
- International Community of Women living with HIV eSwatini
- International helping for the young
- International Movement for Advancement of Education Culture Social & Economic Development (IMAECSED)
- Ipades
- IRAD
- IYAFP
- Jci Uganda
- JEUNESSE ENGAGEE POUR LA SOLIDARITE LA PAIX ET LE DEVELOPPEMENT (JESPD) - Benin
- Jim Caleb Okwiri/ VOBi+254
- JusticeMakers Bangladesh (JMBD)
- JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF)
- Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino (KATRIBU) - Philippines
- KAIBANG-CPA - Philippines
- Kalkal Human Rights Development Organization (KAHRDO)
- Kapaeeng Foundation - Bangladesh
- Kaptele youths association
- Kashmir Law and Justice Project
- Kathak academy
- Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu) - Philippines
- KCHGF
- Kenya Indigenous Youth Network - Kenya
- Kiangure Springs Emvironment Initiative
- Kilusang Magbubukid Ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines)
- Kolektif Peyizan pou Devlopman Ekonomik ak Sosyal-KOPDES
- Korron-Scientific Community Based Care for Social, Health & Human Empowerment Initiative
- Kurdish organizations Network coalition for the International Criminal court (KONCICC)
- Kurdistan without Genocide
- Lanka Fundamental Rights Organization
- Leadership Institute for Transparency and Accountability
- LEAD-KENYA
- Ligue des jeunes de grands lacs
- Lingkod Katribu
- Lita Malawi
- Live for Generation
- LUCHA RDC
- Mbulu Education Network -MBUENET MTANDAO COALITIONS TZ EAST AFRICA
- MEDIA BRAINS
- MenEngage Global Alliance
- Merdeka West Papua Support Network – West Papua
- Micronesia Climate Change Alliance
- Momoh S Kamara
- Moningolig Pogun Tokou (MOPOT) - Sabah
- Moonlight Initiative- Sagana, Kenya
- Mouvement Citoyen Filimbi
- Mouvement Humanitaire des Bâtisseurs Sans Frontières en sigle MHBSF
- Mujeres Indígenas y Jóvenes Indígenas - Bolivia
- Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization in Malaysia (MERHROM)
- Namfumu Conservation Trust
- Namibia Indigenous Peoples Advocacy Platform Trust (NIPAP TRUST - Namibia
- Namuso Community Development Organization
- Network of Indigenous Women-Bai
- NGO Federation of Nepal
- Nonviolent Network of Africa Peace Builders
- North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS) - Assam Northeast India
- Northern Recovery Project
- ODASONCORP LTD
- Ogiek Peoples Development Program (OPDP)- Kenya
- OilWatch Africa - Nigeria
- Olabisi Adebawo
- Oltoilo LeMaa CBO {OLM-K}- Kenya
- Omen for Justice and Peace- Sri Lanka
- One Life Count Empowerment Foundation
- One More Percent
- ONG LES BATISSEURS
- Organisation force des femmes
- Organizaciones de Pueblos Indígenas nivel Bolivia - Bolivia
- Organizaciones de Pueblos Indígenas Regionales - Bolivia
- Organization Against Weapons of Mass Destruction in Kurdistan
- Organization of the Justice Campaign- OJC
- Pak Education Society/Pakistan Development Network
- Panaghiusa Philippine Network to Uphold Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
- Pastoralists Indigenous NGOs Forum
- Paula Cabeçadas
- People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty
- PHE Ethiopia Consortium
- Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples' Rights
- Piging Women’s Association – Philippines
- PINGO’s Forum - Tanzania
- Plan For Hope Initiative Uganda-PHIU
- Population and Development Initiative (PDI)
- Practical CBO Development Solutions
- PRASTUTEE
- Prime Initiative for Green Development (PIGD) - Nigeria.
- Prova Society
- Public Health Research Society Nepal
- Pueblo Originario Kichwa de Sarayaku - Ecuador
- Rainbow Watch and Development Centre
- RAMATAIM Family Development Center
- Reacción Climática
- Reality of Aid-Asia Pacific - Asia-Pacific
- Recherche Sans Frontières RSF RDC
- Red de Jóvenes Indígenas de América Latina y el Caribe in Bolivia
- Red de Jóvenes Indígenas de América Latina y el Caribe in Colombia
- Refugee Protection Association,RPA
- Relief and Development Support Organization (RDSO)
- Renel Ghana Foundation
- Researcher, Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation - Bangladesh
- Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) - Pan African
- ResistTwo
- RMN Foundation - Equal Opportunity for All to Live and Progress
- Romi's Way
- Rural Resilience Transformation cbo
- Southern Africa Human Rights NGO-Network (SAHRiNGON) - Tanzania Chapter
- SAN YOUTH NETWORK
- Sandiwa Network of Advocates for National Minority Rights
- Sandugo Kilusan ng Moro at Katutubong Mamamayan para sa Sariling Pagpapasya (Sandugo Movement of Moro and Indigenous People for Self Determination)-Philippines
- Sanid Organization for Relief and Development
- Sankalpa Darchula Nepal
- Sauti ya Haki Tanzania (SHTZ)
- SDG Action Alliance Bangladesh
- Secours de femmes et enfants vulnérables(SEFEV RDC)
- Sharing Circles
- Shibganj Integrated Development Society
- SHIKSHIT BANO CHARITABLE TRUST
- Shout-Out Against Gender Based Violence Association
- SIKLAB Philippine Indigenous Youth Network
- Slopb Bangladesh
- Social Action for Development (SAfD)
- Social Movement Technologies
- SOCOODERA
- Somali Awareness and Social Development Organization
- SOS Jeunesse et Enfance en Détresse - SOS JED
- Sourire et Espoir sans frontières (SESF) - Cameroon
- South African Nama Development Association (SANDEVA) SOUTH AFRICA NC.
- Sue Ryder Foundation in Malawi
- Sukaar Welfare Organization
- Survivors in Action Grassroots Women Network
- Synergie pour la protection et le développement communautaires (SYPRODEC)
- Tanggol Magsasaka (Defend Farmers)
- The Adult Learning Forum Western Cape
- The International Children Community Network
- The Outreach Social Care Foundation
- The San Vision Foundation(TSVF)- South Africa
- The Voice of the San People - South Africa
- Tignayan dagiti Agtutubo ti Kordilyera para iti Demokrasya ken Rang-ay (TAKDER)
- TSF-COCAWI
- Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa Katutubo (TABAK)
- Turkana Development Organizations Forum -TuDOF Kenya
- UG Women for Peace- Kenya
- UMOJA PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
- Union des Femmes pour le Développement Rural et Communautaires
- Union desolidarite d'Aide au Developpement Communautaire (USADEC)
- Unissons nous pour la Promotion des Batwa (UNIPROBA) - Burundi
- United Organisation for the Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU) - Uganda
- United Voluntary Youth Council - Manipur
- Universidad Pública de El Alto (UPEA). Instituto de Investigaciones de Trabajo Social - Bolivia
- University for Development Studies
- URGENCE CONTRE LA FAIM (UCF)
- UTTHAN
- Village Common Forests Network - Bangladesh
- Volunteer Alliance for Relief and Development
- Volunteers Involving Organisations Network
- Weyone Recycling SL
- Women Empowered
- Women for Green Economy Movement Uganda (WoGEM Uganda) - Uganda
- Women of hope abled differently org WHAD- Kenya
- Yaadol organization
- YARD-Liberia, Inc
- Yiaku Laikipiak Trust (YLT)-Kenya
- YOTA - Youth Opportunity and Transformation in Africa
- Young Advocates for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future (YASIF) Nigeria
- Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines
- Youth for Community Academic and Development Services
- Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana
- Youth Initiative for Peace and Innovation (YIPI)
- Youth Initiative for Sustainable Development (YISD)
- Youth Network for Positive Change-YOUNETPO
- Youth Parliament of Benin
- Youths Transforming Africa Narrative (YOTAN)
- Zivai Community Empowerment Trust-ZICET
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COP28: ‘For us, climate change is not an abstract concept of future concern but an urgent reality of the present’
CIVICUS discusses the hopes and roles of civil society at the forthcoming COP28 climate summit with climate justice activist Disha Ravi, founder of India’s branch of the youth-led climate movement Fridays for Future. -
COP28: ‘To truly end the fossil fuel era, bold visions must now turn into historical action on the ground’
CIVICUS speaks with Kaisa Kosonen, Senior Policy Advisor at Greenpeace Nordic, about the outcomes of theCOP28 climate summit and the vital role played by civil society in setting the agenda for fossil fuel phase-out. Kaisa was Greenpeace International delegation’s lead at COP28.What were the opportunities for civil society to influence the negotiations at COP28?
I think the biggest influence civil society made was in agenda setting. Fossil fuel phase-out was never an official agenda item at this COP, but we managed to make it the number one topic for the global stocktake, and the main benchmark for success.
Within the United Nations (UN) space at COP28 civil society was guaranteed a certain level of participation and access. However, areas dedicated to civil society, such as side event and press conference rooms and pavilions for civil society organisations, were noticeably separated from negotiation areas, government press conferences and media zones.
On top of this, a unique aspect of COP28 was the record number of fossil fuel lobbyists who participated, securing more passes than all delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable nations combined. This influx of lobbyists introduced a different dimension of economic influence to the summit.
Were climate activists, both local and international, able to exercise their right to protest?
Greenpeace chose to focus its activities exclusively within the UN area, known as the blue zone. Within this area, protests were allowed if prior permission had been sought and granted. However, we encountered increased constraints and a lot of back-and-forth this time, with some unfounded wordsmithing on banner texts. Other groups also mentioned that their protests were redirected to less relevant locations and some activists experienced an atmosphere of intimidation.
It is crucial that the UN Secretariat and security safeguard civil society spaces in COPs. Freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly should not be subject to negotiation with the host country’s presidency.
What’s your assessment of the COP28 final declaration?
The COP28 outcome delivered a long-awaited signal on ending the fossil fuel era, along with a call to massively scale up renewables and energy efficiency this decade. But it fell short in some aspects, containing potentially dangerous distractions and loopholes. The lack of sufficient means to achieve the proposed goals raises questions about the practical implementation of the commitments. Real progress will be determined by actions taken on the ground.
Civil society played a crucial role setting the agenda at COP28, successfully steering the focus of world governments towards the urgent need for a fossil fuel phase-out aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees warming limit. This shift in attention, sustained for almost two weeks, marked an unprecedented achievement during a UN climate summit. There’s no way back now.
Despite its weak language, the declaration sent a clear signal that the fossil fuel era will come to an end. The practical requirement for ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels’ to achieve ‘net zero by 2050’, if implemented sustainably, would mean a near-complete phase-out of fossil fuels within the next three decades. To truly end the fossil fuel era, bold visions must now turn into historical action on the ground.
The call for countries to contribute to the phase-out in a ‘just, orderly, and equitable manner’ emphasises the responsibility of wealthy states to take the lead and support global south countries in their transition.
The operationalisation and initial capitalisation of the loss and damage fund also mark a turning point for global climate action – but only if it is built on.
In the year ahead, the fund must be set up so that funding can start flowing to those who need it. Permanent, predictable funds must be established to meet the growing needs, flowing from the countries and corporations that have contributed most to the climate crisis towards those that have contributed less but are disproportionately impacted on by its effects. We must prevent further losses and damages through a fast and fair fossil fuel phase-out.
What further steps need to be taken for the COP28 outcomes to have a tangible and positive impact?
With this COP28 outcome we now have new global benchmarks for aligning action with the Paris Agreement 1.5 degrees limit and climate justice. This crucial roadmap includes accelerating global emission cuts, increasing reliance on renewables and energy efficiency, expediting the transition away from fossil fuels, putting an end to deforestation and fostering the growth of climate finance. Focus must now shift to real action on the ground.
Over the next year, states face a critical period where they must formulate new national climate targets and plans to deliver their fair contributions to all these global goals. Simultaneously, countries need to collaboratively design the future landscape of international climate finance, moving beyond existing commitments to fill the growing gaps.
What are your thoughts on the choice of Azerbaijan as COP29 host?
The choice of Azerbaijan as the host for COP29 raises many concerns, given its economy’s very high reliance on oil and gas exports, and poor track record on human rights. The upcoming COP should primarily focus on delivering climate finance to those made vulnerable and lacking capacity, and on redirecting financial flows away from problems and towards solutions. Key to this is holding the fossil fuel industry and major polluters accountable for the damage they have caused, which won’t be easy with a host that’s highly invested in fossil fuels.
That said, as the history of this process shows, when a determined group of progressive countries come together to drive change, and they are supported by the global climate movement, breakthroughs can happen. So the priority now is to ensure that by COP29 next year, countries will have taken key steps to accelerate the fair and swift transition away from fossil fuels on the ground, and that they’re ready to take the bull by the horns and make polluters pay.
Get in touch with Greenpeace through itswebsite,Instagram andFacebook accounts, and follow@Greenpeace and@kaisakosonen on Twitter.
The opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIVICUS.
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COP28: ‘We are worried that the host country, the United Arab Emirates, restricts civil society’
CIVICUS discusses the hopes and roles of civil society at the forthcoming COP28 climate summit with Gideon Abraham Sanago, Climate Coordinator with the Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organizations’ Forum (PINGOs Forum).Established in 1994, PINGOs Forum is an advocacy coalition of 53 Indigenous peoples’ organisations working for the rights of marginalised Indigenous pastoralists and hunter-gatherer communities in Tanzania. It was founded by six pastoralists and hunter-gatherers’ organisations promoting a land rights and development agenda.
What environmental issues do you work on?
PINGOs Forum works with Indigenous peoples’ communities across Tanzania to address the impacts the environmental and climate crisis is having on them.
Although it is a global phenomenon, climate change affects communities in different ways and presents a variety of challenges. These include prolonged and severe droughts, floods, biodiversity loss, land conflicts and displacement, and the loss of livestock that communities depend on for their livelihoods. This also leads to the loss of culture and identity as young men migrate towards towns looking for an income-producing job, leaving women, children and older people abandoned at home.
To respond to these challenges, PINGOs Forum supports community initiatives for land conflict resolution, the development of land use plans and the recognition of land rights for Indigenous peoples, as well as for water provision and restocking of agricultural supplies for destitute families. We also build capacity to tackle climate issues and support Indigenous peoples’ participation in national, regional and global climate forums to ensure their voices are heard and the resulting policies respond to their needs.
PINGOs Forum is a member of the Climate Action Network (Tanzania Chapter), the CIVICUS alliance, the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change and other bodies engaging with the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change. We use these platforms for advocacy and campaigning. They have been instrumental for us in being able to voice our concerns and engage in productive dialogue and exchanges.
Have you faced any restrictions or reprisals for the work you do?
Human rights defenders face threats and intimidation when advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples to land and resources and organising to respond to their violations.
The state of Tanzania does not recognise the existence of Indigenous peoples in the country. Instead, it always refers to them as marginalised groups, forest-dependent communities, forest dwellers and other such terms. This limits the ability of Indigenous peoples to exercise their rights as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, of which Tanzania is a signatory but clearly does not respect.
The UN declaration includes the key right of Indigenous peoples to give free prior and informed consent, which of course the Indigenous peoples of Tanzania have never exercised. Their rights to ownership of land and resources have been repeatedly violated through forceful evictions from their ancestral lands. We have seen examples of this in Loliondo/Ngorongoro and Kimotorok in Simanjiro District.
Another major challenge is access to the media. We believe in the power of media and recognise the pivotal role it plays in addressing the challenges faced by Tanzanian Indigenous peoples. But the media is restricted when it comes to publishing any information coming from Indigenous people’s organisations regarding issues such as land crises, as happened in the case of Loliondo. All media outlets were warned not to publish any information about it.
What priority issues do you expect to see addressed at COP28?
There are several key priorities for Tanzanian Indigenous peoples on the frontline of climate challenges, the first one being funding of loss and damage. One of the key decisions from COP27 was to establish a loss and damage funding mechanism. We would like to see this funding mechanism operationalised with sufficient resources to urgently respond to the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples. We are eager to understand how this mechanism will address economic and non-economic losses and provide compensation for what we have already lost.
More broadly, Indigenous peoples are in dire need of direct access to reliable and flexible funding, including for adaptation measures and to build resilience in the face of the impacts of climate change.
Regarding the carbon market, Indigenous peoples would need to be engaged and the technicalities and political issues around these investment approaches should be clarified. Indigenous peoples should be able to exercise their right to free, prior and informed consent when it comes to carbon credits in their ancestral lands and forests to avoid any rights violations resulting from climate interventions.
All this would require a recognition of the rights and knowledge of Indigenous peoples and their full and effective participation in climate forums at all levels to inform better policy formulation and decision-making processes.
Do you think COP28 will provide enough space for civil society?
We are particularly worried about the fact that COP28’s host country, the United Arab Emirates, restricts civil society movements and campaigns. It is key for civil society and Indigenous peoples’ organisations to be able to exercise their rights to express their views and peacefully demonstrate at any time during the negotiations. Otherwise their perspectives will not be reflected in the outcomes and their concerns will not be addressed.
Civil society and Indigenous peoples’ organisations play a pivotal role as observers at COPs. They hold negotiating parties accountable and make a difference when they are reluctant to take important decisions during the negotiations. During COPs, civil society campaigns, mobilises, develops position papers and issues joint statements to push parties to take urgent actions on agreed points.
What are your expectations concerning its outcomes?
Our main expectation is to have an ambitious COP28 addressing key points of climate change action. We expect the loss and damage financial mechanism to be operationalised in ways that take into consideration the rights of Indigenous peoples and address both the economic and non-economic losses they are experiencing. We expect direct and flexible funding to become accessible to Indigenous peoples, as well as capacity building and the transfer of the required technologies.
We also would like to see a clear definition of adaptation actions and serious emission reduction commitments by developed countries. But above all, we want this to be a COP of actions and not of empty promises – we want to see developed states live up to their commitments, giving vulnerable communities reasons for hope that they will be able to face and survive the impacts of climate change.
Civic space in Tanzania is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with PINGOs Forum through itswebsite ofFacebook page, and follow@PINGOsForum on Twitter.
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COP28: una participación inclusiva para todas las personas, también para los activistas de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU)
La próxima Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) sobre el Cambio Climático 2023, también conocida como Conferencia de las Partes (COP28), que se celebrará en Dubai, Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU), debería dar prioridad a los derechos de las comunidades y personas más afectadas por el cambio climático. Debe marcar una tendencia positiva para las futuras conferencias sobre el clima permitiendo la participación plena e inclusiva de los pueblos indígenas, los activistas y la sociedad civil en sus procesos de toma de decisiones.
Los EAU, como anfitriones de la COP 28, deben predicar con el ejemplo y levantar todas las restricciones que han estado en vigor durante años sobre los derechos de los emiratíes a expresarse, asociarse y reunirse en consonancia con los marcos internacionales de derechos humanos. Pedimos a los EAU que pongan en libertad a todas las personas defensoras de los derechos humanos, activistas y periodistas que actualmente se encuentran en prisión.
Crear un entorno propicio para la participación inclusiva y la toma de decisiones
Para que la COP tenga éxito es necesario que todos los participantes, incluidos los de la sociedad civil y los grupos infrarrepresentados, tengan pleno acceso a las sesiones de toma de decisiones. La conferencia debe garantizar que puedan expresar sus opiniones, incluyendo aquellas sobre la situación delos derechos humanos en los EAU, sin temor a ser intimidados. Nos preocupa que, meses antes del inicio de la COP, algunas autoridades de los EAU hayan hechodeclaraciones en las que se instaba a los participantes a no criticar a los EAU, a las empresas o a las personas, ni a manifestarse en contra de las restricciones impuestas al espacio cívico.
Los ponentes de una cumbre sobre salud climática previa a la COP celebrada en Abu Dhabidenunciaron que los organizadores de la conferencia habían aconsejado a los participantes que no fueran críticos con el Islam, el gobierno o las empresas y que no protestaran durante su estancia en los EAU. Estas condiciones previas reflejan el pésimo estado del espacio cívico en los EAU y los ataques que sufren los defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos, activistas y periodistas que han hablado sobre cuestiones de derechos humanos. La declaración contradice el propósito y la intención de la COP y puede obligar a algunos participantes a autocensurarse.
Le recordamos al gobierno de los EAU, a las Naciones Unidas y a todos los estados participantes elPlan de Implementación de Sharm el-Sheikh acordado por las Partes, relacionado con la sociedad civil y el espacio cívico. Se comprometieron a considerar sus obligaciones en derechos humanos y a reconocer el papel de la sociedad civil, las comunidades indígenas y los jóvenes en la lucha contra el cambio climático. Para realizar una actuación enérgica e integradora sobre cambio climático es necesaria la participación plena y significativa de las partes interesadas, incluida la sociedad civil, los Estados, los activistas y las comunidades indígenas.
Preocupación por las constantes detenciones de defensores de los derechos humanos en los EAU
La planificación de la próxima COP se está llevando a cabo con el telón de fondo de laactual crisis de derechos humanos y las crecientes restricciones del espacio cívico en los EAU, que figuran en la peor categoría - "cerrado"- delCIVICUS Monitor, una plataforma de investigación participativa que cartografía el espacio cívico en todo el mundo. Actualmente, decenas de defensores de los derechos humanos y activistas siguen detenidos por actividades pacíficas en favor de los derechos humanos y por pedir reformas democráticas. Entre los detenidos se encuentra un reconocido defensor de los derechos humanos,Ahmed Mansoor, que cumple actualmente una condena de diez años de prisión y permanece recluido en régimen de aislamiento desde su detención en marzo de 2017 por sus actividades en favor de los derechos humanos.
Más de 60 activistas pertenecientes a un grupo conocido comoUAE94 fueron detenidos en 2012 por sus actividades en favor de la democracia y condenados a penas de prisión de entre siete y 15 años. Fueron procesados y condenados sin respetar sus derechos a un juicio justo, ni siquiera en la fase previa al juicio. La mayoría han cumplido íntegramente sus condenas, pero ninguno ha sido puesto en libertad. Tanto ellos como otros activistassiguen recluidos en centros Munasaha (Centros de Asesoramiento), en la misma prisión, por considerarlos una amenaza para la seguridad y que necesitan rehabilitación. Activistas como Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Helou, Abdulslaam Darwish, Ahmed Ghaith Al-Suwaidi y el Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken y muchos otros continúan detenidos tras haber expirado sus penas de prisión.
Las manifestaciones que se suelen celebrar al margen de las COP son fundamentales para mostrar la preocupación por las restricciones a las que se enfrentan los más vulnerables y exigir una mayor rendición de cuentas de las partes presentes en estas reuniones. Aunque la Constitución de los EAU garantiza el derecho a manifestarse,en la práctica las manifestaciones están prohibidas, ya que las autoridades exigen una notificación previa antes de cualquier manifestación. Unalegislación restrictiva, como la Ley Federal de Delitos y Sanciones, la Ley de Lucha contra los Rumores y la Ciberdelincuencia (2021) y el Código Penal, impone duras penas, incluida la cadena perpetua, a quienes dirijan o promuevan concentraciones en espacios públicos con la intención de causar disturbios o poner en peligro la seguridad pública. Estas leyes restringen, asimismo, la capacidad de los emiratíes para organizar o planificar manifestaciones en línea y tipifican como delito las declaraciones públicas de disidencia contra el Estado o el sistema de gobierno o de deslealtad hacia los gobernantes.
El éxito de la organización de la COP28 puede peligrar si el gobierno de los EAU no aborda urgentemente estas restricciones y crea un entorno propicio en el que todas las partes interesadas en la COP puedan expresar sus opiniones, incluso durante manifestaciones pacíficas, sin temor a intimidaciones, arrestos o detenciones. La sociedad civil tiene un papel crucial que desempeñar a la hora de proporcionar información, perspectivas comunitarias y defender los problemas climáticos ante los Estados, los responsables políticos y los medios de comunicación.
Dar prioridad a las preocupaciones de los grupos excluidos, incluidas las comunidades indígenas
En los dos últimos meses, más de 500 representantes de comunidades indígenas de, al menos, 20 países han celebrado consultas previas a la COP y han expresado su preocupación por la falta de participación de los grupos indígenas en los procesos de toma de decisiones de la COP. Las comunidades indígenas ya se enfrentan a la discriminación, pues a menudo se las excluye de los procesos de toma de decisiones a escala nacional, se les niega el acceso a la justicia y se las expulsa por la fuerza de sus tierras ancestrales para hacer sitio a determinados proyectos.
Los grupos indígenas, como comunidad más afectada por el cambio climático, suelen enfrentarse a grandes empresas que coinciden con los gobiernos para construir proyectos a gran escala perjudiciales para el medio ambiente en las tierras ancestrales de estas comunidades.
Es necesario realizar esfuerzos que sean concretos para garantizar la inclusión y la plena participación de los pueblos indígenas en los actos oficiales y no oficiales que tengan lugar antes, durante y después de la COP 28. A pesar de que las comunidades indígenas admiten que hubo una participación sin precedentes en los eventos paralelos durante la COP 27 del año pasado en Sharm El Sheikh, dicha participación no llegó a los espacios clave en los que se debatieron las resoluciones. El resultado fue que se ignoraron las principales preocupaciones de las comunidades indígenas en los principales resultados de la Conferencia.
Acogemos con satisfacción las decisiones adoptadas en las COP anteriores, que crearon unFondo de Pérdidas y Daños para proporcionar financiación a los países vulnerables más afectados por los desastres climáticos, pero, una vez más, las comunidades indígenas corren el riesgo de ser ignoradas cuando el fondo entre en funcionamiento. Los actuales mecanismos de financiación para el clima no dan prioridad a las comunidades indígenas y, si el actual modelo de financiación sigue igual, las acciones sobre pérdidas y daños seránineficaces.
Para garantizar una COP inclusiva, consistente y capaz de rendir cuentas, las organizaciones de la sociedad civil abajo firmantes y miembros de las comunidades indígenas de todo el mundo, instamos a los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, a los Estados Parte y a las Naciones Unidas a:
- Garantizar la participación inclusiva de todos los grupos sin discriminación alguna antes y durante la COP. Esto incluye conceder a todos los participantes documentos de viaje y permitirles el acceso a los principales foros de toma de decisiones.
- Permitir la libertad de reunión pacífica antes y durante la COP28. Reconocer que las manifestaciones son un medio fundamental para que la sociedad civil exprese sus preocupaciones y propuestas, especialmente para las comunidades excluidas de los procesos de decisión de los Estados Parte durante la Conferencia.
- Tomar medidas significativas para abordar la crisis de derechos humanos en los EAU, eliminar las restricciones impuestas al espacio cívico y respetar el derecho a la libertad de expresión, asociación y reunión.
- Cumplir todas las recomendaciones formuladas a los EAU en el marco de su Examen Periódico Universal de este año.
- Liberar a todos los defensores de los derechos humanos, activistas y presos de conciencia actualmente detenidos, incluidos Ahmed Mansoor y todos los miembros de UAE94, y retirar todos los cargos contra ellos.
- Acabar con la impunidad de las violaciones de derechos humanos exigiendo que rindan cuentas los representantes del gobierno que intenten restringir la capacidad de la sociedad civil y de los participantes en la COP de expresarse sin miedo a la intimidación y al acoso.
- Situar a los pueblos indígenas en el centro de las decisiones sobre financiación climática e incluir un lenguaje específico que reconozca los derechos de las comunidades indígenas en las principales decisiones y acciones que se tomen en la COP 28.
- Crear un Grupo de Trabajo Técnico de los pueblos indígenas que sirva de mecanismo formal permanente para las negociaciones durante la COP 28 y que garantice que las preocupaciones de los pueblos indígenas se traducen en soluciones y acciones en las negociaciones.
Apoyado por:
- A world without chemical and biological weapons-www
- J.E.P.D (Action des Jeunes Engagés pour la Paix et le Développement Durable)
- ACEDH RDC
- ACODES
- Acohof Rural Investment Bank
- Act Fathers Foundation
- Action Contre la Pauvreté, ACP
- Action for Climate and Environmental Justice (ACEJ) _ Uganda
- Action for Humanity & Social Progress
- Action for the Batwa Empowerment Group (ABEG) - Uganda
- Action Sociale pour le Bien ETRE et développement
- ACTIONS KUSAIDIA
- Advocate for Community Development and Environmental Protection
- ADWORE FOUNDATION LIMITED
- Afghanmal
- African Network Youth Policy Expert
- African Resource Centre for Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities - Africa
- African youth for community empowerment
- Afridep projet pour tous
- Agrovision She Farmers
- Aid Organization
- AIF-without Borders
- AIPDGL
- AJESH
- Akila Dignidad
- Alliance des Défenseurs des Droits Humains et de l'environnement au Tchad
- Allied Source Network Uganda
- Alpha Action for Social and Economic Development -AASED
- Amani CBO
- Amplifying Impact
- APPUI SOLIDAIRE POUR LE RENFORCEMENT DE L AIDE AU DEVELOPPEMENT
- Arapai Rural Initiative for Development
- Arjon Foundation
- Arladi Environmental and Human rights Organization - AEHRO
- AROHI
- Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders (APNED)
- Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN) - Asia
- ASOCIACION DESPLAZADA NUEVO RENACER
- ASPADI
- Assistance aux Laissés Pour Compte (ALPC) - Cameroun
- Association BIOWA - Burkina Faso
- Association de Lutte Contre Toute Forme de Violence (ALUCuOV) -Cameroun
- ASSOCIATION DES AMIS DE LA NATURE AAN
- Association for Farmers Rights Defense, AFRD
- ASSOCIATION JEUNESSE ACTIVE POUR L’INTEGRATION ET L’EDUCATION (JAIE) - Togo
- Association kaani assistance
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- Southern Africa Human Rights NGO-Network (SAHRiNGON) - Tanzania Chapter
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É.A.U. : faites en sorte que la COP n’exclue personne et libérez les défenseurs des droits humains emprisonnés
Alors que la COP 28 s’ouvre dans un mois à Dubaï, 346 organisations de la société civile demandent aux autorités émiraties, aux Nations Unies et aux États parties de faire en sorte que la COP n’exclue personne et de libérer les défenseurs des droits humains emprisonnés aux Émirats arabes unis (É.A.U). Dans une lettre ouverte, les organisateurs de la COP ont été exhortés à placer les citoyens, notamment les communautés marginalisées, au cœur de la Conférence des Parties à l’occasion de la COP 28, qui réunira plus de 70 000 personnes et se tiendra du 30 novembre au 12 décembre 2023.
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EAU: Garantizar una COP inclusiva y liberar a las personas defensoras de los derechos humanos detenidas
Con motivo de la inauguración de la COP28 dentro de un mes en Dubai, 346 organizaciones de la sociedad civil piden a las autoridades emiratíes, a la ONU y a los Estados Partes que garanticen una COP inclusiva y liberen a las personas defensoras de los derechos humanos que se encuentran encarceladas en los EAU. En una carta abierta, se insta a la organización de la COP a que considere a la ciudadanía de a pie, incluyendo a las comunidades excluidas, como protagonistas de la COP28, que reunirá a más de 70.000 personas del 30 de noviembre al 12 de diciembre de 2023.
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GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: ‘We cannot address 21st-century challenges with 20th-century foundations’
CIVICUS speaks with Nudhara Yusuf,Executive Coordinator of the Global Governance Innovation Network at theStimson Center, about the deficits of the current global governance system and civil society’s proposals for reform.
The Stimson Center is a non-profit, nonpartisan think tank that promotes international peace and security and shared prosperity through applied research and independent analysis, global engagement and policy innovation.
Nudhara also serves as Coordinator of theGlobal Futures Forum and as Global Youth Coordinator at theCoalition for the UN We Need.
What were the key global challenges identified during the Doha Forum?
The Doha Forum is a global platform for dialogue, bringing together leaders in policy to discuss critical global challenges and build innovative and action-driven networks that champion diplomacy, dialogue and diversity. This year it centred around the theme of building shared futures, addressing risks and opportunities.
As it couldn’t ignore the current context, we delved into the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the humanitarian situation in the region, while also acknowledging other crises occurring elsewhere in the world. We analysed the context and the path forward, both in terms of response and recovery, including the role of the broader international community.
Two other big themes emerged during the forum. One of them was artificial intelligence and frontier technology, of which we explored the implications, risks and opportunities.
The other theme was the climate crisis. As it closely followed COP28, the Forum paid considerable attention to the ways the future of humanity is being shaped by climate change and the steps needed to address it. Insights from the Climate Governance Commission and other stakeholders contributed significantly to these discussions.
To what extent is the existing global governance system is able to address these global problems?
The effectiveness of the current global governance system hinges on how we define the role of global institutions. If we consider their ability to bring diverse agenda items to the table, I will largely agree that it works. Over the past decade there has been a notable increase in awareness regarding global issues and the foresight needed to address them. However, there’s room for improvement in democratising the agenda-setting process. To that effect, We The Peoples is campaigning for a United Nations (UN) World Citizens’ Initiative that would allow people to bring agenda items to the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council.
While identifying problems seems to be a strength of the system, the challenge lies in transitioning from identifying issues to implementing effective solutions. The road ahead demands solution-oriented approaches, but again, a significant challenge here lies in the inequalities and remnants of mistrust from past global injustices. Effective solutions will require gestures of multilateral trust-building.
A big problem is that we are trying to address 21st century challenges with 20th century foundations. The UN was established in 1945, based on assumptions that belong to that era. How can it function on those same principles today? Take for example the global financial system, different on so many levels – with different stakeholders, practices and policies – from the one that existed when the Bretton Woods systems were created. It is worth also simply considering context: the UN was created at a time of post-war optimism; how do we create a new understanding of peace and security that reflects the need for positive peace in an increasingly tense geopolitical environment? We keep trying to stretch a system that is based on a logic from several decades ago. We need to rethink the basics.
This mismatch hinders our ability to address crises effectively. At the most, it allows for limited solutions that serve as band-aids rather than address the complex and connected causes of crises.
What changes are you advocating for?
The Summit for the Future, coming up in September 2024, is an invitation to rethink the fundamentals of the current global governance system. This summit is expected to result in a Pact for the Future, an outcome document negotiated among governments. It will be an opportunity to rethink the fundamentals of the global governance system in a more future-oriented manner.
The Pact for the Future will encompass five key chapters: sustainable development and financing for development, peace and security, science, technology and digital governance, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance. The Coalition for the UN We Need and the Global Governance Innovation Network are working on reform proposals for all five chapters.
We are calling for inclusive global governance through several civil society initiatives including the We The People’s campaign and the UNMute Civil Society campaign. As an umbrella platform, the Coalition for the UN We Need is crafting a People’s Pact for the Future to support the Pact for the Future that will be negotiated by governments.
Born out of the Global Futures Forum held in March 2023, the People’s Pact draws on the perspectives of people worldwide, resulting in three dozen recommendations. We will refine it in the run-up to the Summit in the hope that it will provide valuable insights for the UN system and member states, fostering a collaborative dialogue with civil society.
To facilitate dialogue and collaboration, the Coalition for the UN We Need is also supporting the UN Department of Global Communications in organising a UN civil society conference in Nairobi in May 2024 toward the Summit of the Future.
How can civil society have a bigger say in shaping future global governance?
International civil society is eager to be a part of the conversation. While many raise questions on the way forward with international systems and the UN, there is a very active community that wants to participate – but how they are effectively and meaningfully included is a whole different question.
We have moved from lack of recognition to some formal acknowledgement of civil society’s role in global governance to calls for networked and inclusive multilateralism. But the extent of civil society’s involvement is still constantly being debated. For example, the UN Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report calls for greater UN system engagement with civil society through focal points, but consultations for the Summit of The Future have been held behind closed doors. There is a tension between the need for member states to have candid discussions and the call for transparency to enable civil society to provide input and hold member states accountable.
Despite these challenges, there have been notable wins, the UN Civil Society Conference set to take place in Nairobi being one of them. The hope is that member states will engage meaningfully. I personally think that COP28, for instance, has been one of the best in terms of young people’s active involvement. Young participants received increased media attention as they took part in panel discussions on the main stages, in negotiations and even as heads of some of delegations. This huge achievement is the result of young people beginning to truly understand how the system works and having become empowered to take part in it.
However, challenges persist, particularly in regions where civic space is closed.
Get in touch with the Stimson Center through itswebsite and follow@StimsonCenter and@nudharaY on Twitter.
This interview was conducted as part of the ENSURED Horizon research project funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. -
GLOBAL: ‘With a wealth tax on the biggest fortunes, extreme poverty can be eradicated’
CIVICUS speaks about climate change, global inequality and the need for redistribution with Adrien Fabre, a France-based climate economistand founder of Global Redistribution Advocates (GRA).GRA is a civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes public debate about three global redistribution policies that enjoy wide public opinion support worldwide – a global wealth tax, a global climate plan and a global climate assembly – and advocates towards political parties in several countries to incorporate these into their agendas and programmes.
What inspired you to become a climate economist and found GRA?
I started my PhD in economics with the goal of understanding humanity’s problems and proposing solutions. I always wanted to give voice to every human, so I naturally specialised in running surveys. Then, in the context of the Yellow Vests protests that began in 2018, I surveyed French people about their attitudes towards climate policies. This sparked interest at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which called on me to conduct a similar survey in other countries. I seized the opportunity to ask people questions they had never been asked before, such as whether they supported a global tax on millionaires to finance low-income countries. I was amazed by the levels of support: more than 70 per cent in every country!
I ran complementary surveys in Europe and the USA. I tried asking questions differently and tested policies in which the respondents would lose money, but the results were the same: people in western countries were willing to lose a few dozen euros per month to end climate change and global poverty. Furthermore, the support is sincere: you can read this scientific article or my Twitter thread for details.
Now, if there is such strong support for global redistribution, why doesn’t anyone propose it or defend it in public debate? To advocate for global redistributive policies to transfer resources or power from high to low-income countries I launched GRA in April 2023.
What are your proposals?
We have three main proposals to promote wealth redistribution, environmental sustainability and global cooperation to address pressing global challenges. The first is a global wealth tax on individual wealth exceeding US$5 million, with half of the tax proceeds distributed to lower-income countries.
This tax would spare 99.9 per cent of the world’s population, who have wealth below US$5 million. And if the tax were just two per cent, it would collect one per cent of the world’s GDP, which is more than the GDP of all low-income countries, home to 700 million people, combined. Our proposed tax schedule is moderate: two per cent for fortunes above US$5 million, six per cent for those above US$100 million and 10 per cent for those above US$1 billion. A tax of two per cent is far lower than the interests, rents and dividends such a fortune generates.
Our second proposal is a global climate plan aimed at combatting climate change through a worldwide carbon emissions cap, implemented by a system of global emissions trading, and financing a global basic income.
This plan would enter into force as soon as signatory countries cover 60 per cent of global carbon emissions. Participating countries would enforce a cap on carbon emissions, decreasing each year and down to net zero emissions after three decades, in line with the temperature target. Each year, emissions permits would be auctioned to firms that extract fossil fuels or import them from non-participating countries, making polluters pay. To cover the cost of emissions permits, firms would increase fossil fuel prices, which would in turn encourage individuals and businesses to change their equipment or adjust their habits, eventually reducing carbon emissions. The revenues from carbon pricing would fund a global basic income estimated at US$50 per month for each person over 15.
This plan would bring a massive redistribution from countries with a carbon footprint higher than the global average – like OECD countries – to those with a lower-than-average carbon footprint, including most of Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Latin America. It includes mechanisms to encourage participation by all countries, such as a tariff on goods imported from non-participating countries in proportion to their carbon content, a provision allowing middle-income countries such as China to opt out from the mutualisation of revenues to guarantee that it would not lose from the plan while ensuring that it decarbonises with the same carbon price, and a provision facilitating the participation of subnational entities like California or the state of New York even if the federal level does not participate.
The wealth tax and the climate plan would each redistribute one per cent of the world’s GDP from high to low-income countries every year. Extreme poverty can be eradicated. The average income in a country like the Democratic Republic of the Congo would double following the transfers.
Our third proposition is that of a global climate assembly, comprised of representatives elected through proportional representation in participating nations, tasked with drafting a comprehensive treaty to address climate change globally. Before even the beginning of that experiment in democratic governance at the global scale, the assembly would bring a radical change, as the election campaign would foster a global public debate on climate justice.
Please check our website for details: each policy has its own advocacy campaign, with a fully-fledged policy proposal, a petition and a video.
Who are you targeting these proposals at, and how are you working to get the message across?
We are targeting our campaigns at policymakers, scholars, civil society and lay people. Many scholars have endorsed our proposals. GRA is a member of civil society networks in each of our policy domains, and we are hoping that key CSOs will endorse our proposals. We have already met with cabinet members of various governments, including Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany and South Africa, as well as many European Union (EU) politicians. And we are sending dozens of emails every day to get more meetings. Once we get a book on our climate plan and the scientific article finished and published, we will reach out to the public. We will publish an open letter in widely read newspapers, calling on world leaders to discuss global redistributive policies at the United Nations (UN), the G20 and climate summits.
Hopefully, we will get media attention and the movement will grow. It will help if well-known personalities, including celebrities, endorse our proposals. But it will take a social movement to make change happen, perhaps a global demonstration. Our hope is that a large coalition of political parties, CSOs and labour unions throughout the world endorse some common policies towards a sustainable and fair future – ours, or similar ones. This will likely strengthen the parties of the coalition and help them win elections. Our research shows that progressive candidates would gain votes if they endorsed global redistributive policies.
What are the prospects of these proposals being implemented in the near future?
Our proposals are getting more and more endorsements every day. The African Union just called for a global carbon price and will defend this idea in international negotiations.
But our proposal that receives the largest support is the global wealth tax. The next European Parliament elections will be held in June 2024, and left-wing parties will campaign on a European wealth tax. We have proposed that one-third of this European wealth tax would be allocated to lower-income countries outside Europe, and there are good chances that some parties will take this forward. A petition in favour of a wealth tax has recently been signed by 130 members of the European Parliament, and politicians from all parties on the left and centre endorse our proposal. However, a majority in the European Parliament would not suffice, as this proposal would require unanimity at the Council of the EU, that is, the approval of each EU government.
However, three things can help. First, Brazil will chair the G20 in 2024, and we hope that President Lula, along with other leaders, will put pressure on global north states for global redistribution. Second, it would help if US President Joe Biden included wealth taxes on the agenda of his re-election campaign. Third, the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections could create momentum for some countries to move forward, even if the EU does not.
I am optimistic that wealth taxes will be implemented – perhaps not in 2024, but within the next decade. However, I fear negotiations might end up being overseen by the OECD, resulting in a disappointing agreement, as happened on international corporate taxation. Negotiations on international taxation must be hosted by the UN, not the OECD. And regarding the content of the negotiations, we should be vigilant of three elements: the exemption threshold, which should not exceed US$5 million; the tax rates, which should be progressive and not too low; and the distribution of revenues, a substantial part of which must go to low-income countries.
Civil society mobilisation will be key to promoting the global wealth tax, making it a central campaign issue and turning it into effective international policy. You can help by signing our petitions, donating, or volunteering for GRA. GRA is also hiring, so feel free to contact us!
What are your hopes and expectations regarding the upcoming COP28 climate summit?
COPs sometimes bring good surprises. Last year, high-income countries finally accepted the principle of a fund to compensate vulnerable countries for the loss and damage from climate change, after 30 years of demands from the developing world.
But I don’t expect any good news this year, as the upcoming COP28 in Dubai is chaired by the CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company. More generally, I do not expect much from COPs because its decisions are made by consensus, so countries like Saudi Arabia can block any meaningful proposal. This is what led to the current system of nationally determined contributions: while all countries supposedly share the common goal of limiting global warming to ‘well below 2°C’, there are no binding commitments, no harmonised policies, no agreement on burden-sharing, and the sum of countries’ voluntary pledges is inconsistent with the common goal.
To break the deadlock, states with ambitious climate goals should start negotiations in parallel with the UN framework. I think the EU and China should start bilateral negotiations. If they put forward something like the global climate plan that we propose, countries that would benefit from it would surely accept it, and more than 60 per cent of global emissions would be covered. This would put enormous pressure on other countries to join, and particularly other OECD countries such as the USA.
Get in touch with Global Redistribution Advocates through itswebsite or itsFacebook page, and follow@GlobalRedistrib and@adrien_fabre on Twitter.
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MEXICO: ‘When climate activism threatens powerful interests, it is labelled on the same level as terrorists and drug traffickers’
CIVICUS speaks about the role of civil society and its expectations for the upcoming COP28 climate summit with María Reyes, a young human rights and environmental activist from the Mexican state of Puebla.María is part of the Indigenous Figures (Futuros Indígenas) collective, made up of peoples, including young people, from Mexico and Central America. She participates in the global south division of Fridays for Future (FFF), an organisation that fights for environmental justice and advocates for action in the face of the climate emergency.
What are Mexico’s main environmental problems?
Generally speaking, Mexico is very vulnerable to the climate crisis. Water scarcity is a central issue, partly caused by droughts, but also by infrastructure problems, as many people do not have access to piped drinking water, and by very poor distribution and overexploitation of aquifers by private companies. If we add to the existing drought the fact that in many communities there are companies that obtain concessions through non-legal and non-transparent means and appropriate the little water that is left, the situation for people becomes unbearable.
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries to be an activist and environmental defender. In the southeast of Mexico there is a series of transnational extractive megaprojects, such as the Interoceanic Corridor and the ‘Mayan Train’, which threaten the environment through logging and water extraction, and displace wildlife, expropriate territories and resources, harm people and commit human rights violations. Local communities, particularly Indigenous communities, are criminalised when they oppose these megaprojects that are imposed on their territories without any consultation and without their consent or through the staging of rigged consultations.
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MÉXICO: “Cuando el activismo climático amenaza intereses poderosos, es catalogado al mismo nivel que el terrorismo y el narcotráfico”
CIVICUS conversa acerca del rol de la sociedad civil y sus expectativas frente a la próxima cumbre climática COP28 con María Reyes, una joven activista por los derechos humanos y ambientales del estado mexicano de Puebla.María es parte del colectivo Futuros Indígenas conformado por pueblos y juventudes de México y Centroamérica. Participa en la división Sur Global de Fridays for Future (FFF), una organización que lucha por la justicia ambiental y aboga por acción frente a la emergencia climática.
¿Cuáles son los principales problemas ambientales de México?
En términos generales, México es muy vulnerable ante la crisis climática. Un tema central es la escasez de agua, en parte causada por sequías, pero también por problemas de infraestructura, ya que muchas personas no tienen acceso a tuberías de agua potable, y por una muy mala distribución y sobreexplotación de mantos acuíferos por parte de empresas. Si a la sequía existente le sumamos el hecho de que en muchas comunidades hay compañías que consiguen concesiones por medios no legales ni transparentes y se apropian de la poca agua que queda, la situación para la gente se vuelve insoportable.
México es uno de los países más peligrosos para ser activista y defensor ambiental. En el sureste de México hay una red de megaproyectos extractivos transnacionales, como el Corredor Interoceánico y el “Tren Maya”, que además de amenazar al medio ambiente por la tala de árboles y la extracción de agua, desplazan fauna, expropian territorios yrecursos, dañan a los pueblos y cometen violaciones de derechos humanos. Cuando las comunidades locales, y sobre todo las comunidades de pueblos originarios, se oponen a estos megaproyectos que son impuestos en sus territorios, sin ninguna consulta y sin su consentimiento (o con consultas amañadas), resultan criminalizadas.
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PHILIPPINES: ‘Climate change is no longer theoretical. It is a fact of life and a threat to our lives’
CIVICUS speaks about the impacts of climate change and the response of climate activism with Ronan Renz Napoto, founder and executive director of Balud, a youth-led movement from the Philippines that promotes ecological consciousness by engaging with and empowering young people.Why did you become a climate activist?
What made me a climate activist was the trauma of living through one of the strongest-ever recorded super typhoons in the world’s history. Almost 10 years ago, on 8 November 2013, super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) hit the Philippines. It provoked a lot of global discussions on how climate change was affecting the global south, particularly the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
The typhoon caused enormous damage and killed more than 6,000 people. We lost relatives and friends, our homes were destroyed and our livelihoods were compromised.
Because typhoons usually hit around this time of year, now we are all anxious again. We are constantly reminded of how our lives and livelihoods were affected, and of how nothing changed for the better despite our efforts and the global media coverage we got.
We have continued to experience similarly destructive typhoons. Extreme weather events have affected our farmers’ crops and diminished the catch of our fishers. Climate change has resulted in greater food insecurity and poverty.
In the Philippines, climate change is no longer theoretical. It is a fact of life and a threat to our lives. Before the typhoon we had dreams and hopes for the future, but we have had to push them aside to focus on surviving and fighting back.
What is climate activism focusing on in the Philippines?
We want to hold polluters accountable for their emissions and for the neglect of their climate responsibilities. In the Philippines, environmental defenders are often threatened and risk their lives when protecting our resources from corporations’ greed. To hold them accountable for their emissions, numerous organisations and activists have submitted a landmark petition to the Philippines’ Commission of Human Rights. The next step should be to force them to decrease their emissions drastically and eventually stop emitting carbon.
We push for reparations so that communities are properly compensated, and for funding for adaptation. The transition to renewable energy sources must be a just transition, ensuring that communities’ vulnerability to disaster decreases. Otherwise catastrophes will hit over and over, and the response will continue to be reactive, limited to responding to what has happened instead of producing proactive and preventative solutions. It’s not enough to go help communities after the disaster has happened – disasters must be prevented from happening.
But the resources of the Philippines are limited, so we will need external support. Since this crisis is the global north’s doing, it is only right for them to support our adaptation.
We want global north governments to acknowledge their responsibility for their pollution and its effects on the global south. If you look at emissions data, you will find the Philippines contributes very little compared to the big polluters of the global north. But the biggest impacts of their pollution are being felt in the Philippines and the rest of the global south. This is unfair.
But it’s not just our issue; it is a global issue. What has happened – and continues to happen – in the Philippines is an experience shared with many other countries, particularly in the Pacific, where people are very susceptible to sea level rise, typhoons and cyclones.
That’s why the leaders of nine small island states have gone to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the United Nations’ maritime court, to ask it to determine if carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the oceans can be considered pollution, and if so, what obligations countries have to prevent it.
Why is it important to have carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by oceans recognised as pollution?
In an archipelagic country like the Philippines, which is surrounded by waters, livelihoods depend on the bounty of marine resources. Whatever comes into the ocean that is not part of its natural ecosystem is bad. Pollution of our marine sanctuaries, oceans and beaches translates into health risks and economic losses. It affects sea life and therefore our food security.
Carbon dioxide is a pollutant, but it is not specifically mentioned in international law on maritime pollution, and as long as it is not recognised as such, it creates no obligations for states.
Will you take part in the upcoming COP28 climate summit?
I don’t think I will be taking part in COP 28 since it is far away, expensive and very hard to get funding for. I think this will be the case for most climate activists in the Philippines. Unsurprisingly, one of our main concerns is getting a good amount of representation in the ongoing discussions on climate change. Apart from the lack of funding, it is always hard to get into global climate discussions because there is not a dedicated space for us.
However, I look forward to seeing planned actions being implemented. So far, the results of the summits have been mostly about acknowledging concerns and making statements. Now it’s time to ensure that decisions are operationalised and states – particularly the rich and powerful ones that are part of the problem – are held to account. We cannot continue planting trees on one side while allowing them to cut down trees on the other side. That way we’ll never make any substantial progress.
Civic space in the Philippines is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Balud through itsFacebook page, personalemail andLinkedIn.
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UAE: Guarantee an inclusive COP and release detained human rights defenders
With the start of COP28 in Dubai in a month, 346 civil society organisations call on the Emirati authorities, UN and State Parties to guarantee an inclusive COP and release jailed human rights defenders in the UAE. The letter stresses the imperative for the organisers to put ordinary citizens, including excluded communities, at the centre of the conference as more 70,000 people gather from 30 November to 12 December 2023 for COP28.
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UAE: Release all those unjustly imprisoned before COP28
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) should release all those unjustly imprisoned in the country before the start of COP28, which will be held at Expo City Dubai between 30 November and 12 December 2023. UAE authorities continue to detain dozens of people who completed their prison sentences some years ago, including 55 dissidents, lawyers and other people convicted in a mass trial known as the “UAE94” case. The UAE also continues to detain prominent human rights defenders, including Ahmed Mansoor and Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith, and to retaliate against people, including Amina Al-Abdouli and Maryam Al-Balushi, for speaking out about abuses in prison.
The authorities should also put an end to other human rights violations, including: monitoring government critics with sophisticated surveillance technology to stifle dissent; using repressive laws to imprison human rights defenders and dissidents; effectively denying the right to freedom of peaceful assembly through draconian legal restrictions and practices; and denying migrant workers, who suffer a range of violations linked to the abusive kafala system, the right to form unions.
Detaining people long after they have served their sentences
There are at least 58 people being held past the end of their sentences in the UAE. (See detailed list in the appendix below.)
The authorities appear to have used Article 40 of Federal Law No. 7 of 2014 on Combating Terrorism Offences, which includes a vague and overbroad definition of terrorism, to indefinitely detain people who have completed their sentences.
In its first paragraph, Article 40 states: "A terrorist danger exists in a person if he has adopted extremist or terrorist thinking, such that it is feared that he will commit a terrorist crime." The second paragraph states: "If a terrorist danger is present in a person, he shall be put in a counselling centre by a court judgment based on a request from the prosecution."
The process of detaining people beyond the completion of their sentences is not transparent and lacks minimum standards of fairness and due process. The Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi, at the request of the State Security Prosecution, issues referral orders to counseling centers without any fair trial guarantees. Such detention for "counselling" can apparently be extended indefinitely.
Authorities argue that many of the people held beyond their sentences pose a threat to state security and are in need of rehabilitation. Although the law speaks of "counselling centres," people whose detention is extended in this way often continue to be held in the same prison where they served their regular sentence. Prisoners scheduled for release are transferred from Al-Razeen Prison to the Munasaha (“Counselling”) Centre which is often just another building in the same prison that is isolated from the other wings.
The majority of the people being held beyond their completed sentences are part of the “UAE94”, a group of government critics who were arrested in 2012 and sentenced to between seven and ten years in prison after a grossly unfair mass trial in 2013. Among the “UAE94” group, 55 of them have completed their sentences, yet remain in prison. They include human rights lawyers Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken and Dr. Mohammed Al-Mansoori. In addition, Khalifa Rabia was arrested in July 2013 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges related to a tweet he wrote after the verdicts of the UAE94 case were issued, yet he remains in prison.
One of the main catalysts for the “UAE94” arrests and subsequent mass trial was a reform petition launched on 03 March 2011. The reform petition was signed by hundreds of men and women from across the Emirati intellectual, legal and political spectrum and had two main demands: democratic elections for the UAE’s Federal National Council and constitutional amendments to shore up the Federal National Council’s legislative and oversight powers. More than 30 petition signatories were charged as defendants in the UAE94 trial.
In addition to holding many beyond their sentences, UAE authorities have obstructed contact between some UAE94 prisoners and their families by only allowing calls or visits months apart, and have denied all calls between UAE94 prisoners and their immediate family members who are outside the UAE. This is a violation of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules).
No tolerance forhuman rights defenders and dissidents
The UAE has a Ministry for Tolerance but insists on charging, sentencing, detaining and mistreating human rights defenders and dissidents. The UAE should immediately release prominent human rights defenders, including Ahmed Mansoor, who has been held in prolonged solitary confinement since his arrest on 20 March 2017 for his human rights activities, and academic Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for tweeting about a previous imprisonment.
Recommendations
The undersigned organisations call on the international community, especially governments that have influence with the United Arab Emirates, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the members of the European Union, in addition to all United Nations mechanisms including concerned special rapporteurs, to urgently call for and take steps to obtain the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners listed in this appeal and to seek an end to grave human rights violations in the UAE. We also call on the international community to demand that independent monitors be granted permission to visit these prisoners in order to ensure their physical and mental health and safety.
We call on the UAE authorities to:
- Release all human rights defenders and dissidents who were arrested, detained, charged or sentenced for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, or other human rights including Ahmed Mansoor, Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith, Amina Al-Abdouli, Maryam Al-Balushi, and members of the “UAE94” case;
- Release all detainees who are being held past the end of their sentences, in flagrant violation of their human rights, and end the practice of arbitrarily detaining human rights defenders and dissidents in Munasaha (Counselling) Centres after they have served their full sentences.
- Repeal the text of Article 40 of Federal Law No. 7 of 2014 on Combating Terrorism Offences, which allows people to be detained indefinitely;
- Protect human rights in the country, including freedom of expression, assembly and association, and ensure nobody is arrested in violation of these rights; and
- End restrictions on civic space and uphold human rights, including freedom of expression and assembly, during the COP28 and beyond.
Signed,
- Access Now
- ALQST for Human Rights
- Amnesty International
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
- CIVICUS
- Emirates Detainees Advocacy Centre (EDAC)
- FEMENA
- Front Line Defenders
- Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- Human Rights First
- Human Rights Sentinel
- Human Rights Watch
- IFEX
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- MENA Rights Group
- Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
- Rights Realization Centre
- Salam for Democracy and Human Rights
- SMEX
- Stand up for UAE Detainees (SANID) Campaign
- Vigilance for Democracy and the Civic State
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Appendix: Prominent human rights defenders currently detained
Civic space in the United Arab Emirates is rated as "Closed" by the CIVICUS Monitor
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UGANDA: ‘Shrinking civic space means affected communities are not able to make their voices count’
CIVICUS discusses the hopes and roles of civil society at the forthcoming COP28 climate summit with Ireen Twongirwe, a climate activist and CEO of Women for Green Economy Movement Uganda (WoGEM).WoGEM is a community-based civil society organisation (CSO) dedicated to advocating for and promoting women’s and girls’ participation in a greener economy. It brings together vulnerable women and girls and equips them with knowledge and capacities to engage in the search for sustainable community livelihoods and climate change mitigation and resilience efforts.
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UGANDA: ‘We’ll participate in COP28 to pressure world leaders to divert funding away from oil and gas’
CIVICUS speaks about recent developments involving the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and civil society’s efforts to stop it with Zaki Mamdoo, Campaign Coordinator of Stop EACOP.Established in 2020, Stop EACOP is a coalition of Ugandan environmental and climate justice organisations that oppose the pipeline project due to the significant threats it poses to protected ecosystems, water resources and community lands across Tanzania and Uganda.
What are your coalition’s aims?
Our aim is to halt the construction of EACOP to avert the catastrophic environmental and climate consequences associated with the pipeline and safeguard human rights and communal territories.
To achieve this, we employ a multifaceted strategy: heightening public awareness, exerting pressure on financial institutions and raising their reputational costs so they distance themselves from the project, mobilising impacted communities and rallying to force governments and oil corporations to suspend the project.
A cornerstone of our approach is engaging with young people. Our partner programmes in both Tanzania and Uganda are focused on youth. We proactively seek out young people in various initiatives, including security training sessions. Recently, we’ve identified student leaders from various universities who had organised to spread awareness about the project’s impacts among their peers. We are actively pursuing funding and other opportunities to bolster their efforts.
Internally, we give space to youth representatives to contribute their perspectives. We’re committed to amplifying young voices and offering avenues for their growth and development as activists. A reflection of this is that I am 26 years old and trusted with the leadership as campaign coordinator.
How has the situation evolved since welast spoke over a year ago?
There have been significant changes over the past year. Drilling has started in one of the most important biodiversity hotspots. One of the companies leading the project, French energy conglomerate Total Energies, has launched oil drilling in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park, home to diverse animal and bird species, including elephants, giraffes and lions. Its ecological significance is heightened by the presence of the Murchison Falls-Albert Delta Wetland System, essential for Lake Albert fisheries.
The pipeline threatens the park’s biodiversity and tourism appeal. It will also have economic impacts, as the park is a major contributor to Uganda’s economy, accounting for 59 per cent of exports and having generated over US$1 billion in revenue in 2022.
Negative consequences are already evident, with displaced elephants damaging crops and posing threats to human lives in nearby communities. Tragic incidents involving elephants have already occurred in Buliisa district, where the park is located.
This is clearly just another a case in which profit is prioritised over environmental and socioeconomic considerations.
Our demands, however, remain unaltered: we adamantly call for the project’s complete cancellation due to its intolerable environmental and human risks. And while governmental authorities have largely remained unresponsive, we’ve achieved progress with financial institutions. Remarkably, 27 banks have already denied funding for EACOP, and an additional 23 major insurers and reinsurers have declined to support the pipeline.
What restrictions do Stop EACOP activists face?
We operate in fairly restrictive environments in which the freedom to protest is often violated. Recently, for instance, four of our activists were forcibly arrested on charges of ‘inciting violence’, transported in police vehicles and kept in jail overnight for protesting against the pipeline in Kampala, Uganda’s capital.
The activists, three women and one man, were protesting peacefully, but their arrests were unnecessarily violent. It must be emphasised that only four protesters were involved, so the degree of force applied was clearly excessive, yet not entirely unexpected. Historically, Ugandan authorities have responded aggressively to any demonstrations perceived as anti-government, in line with a dictatorial regime indifferent to public sentiments or alternate viewpoints. This reaction is not unprecedented, although it’s intriguing that the government seems threatened by even small-scale protests like this four-person event.
But this won’t stop us: we will continue to demonstrate peacefully. Several of our members maintain a fund to secure bail or engage lawyers whenever activists are arrested. We arrange legal representation and explore the possibility of anticipatory bail when possible. However, given the sporadic nature of these protests, support is often provided post-arrest. We’ve also partnered with organisations that specialise in security training so that we can provide tools for advocates to voice their concerns without jeopardising their personal safety.
How do you connect with the global climate movement?
We connect with climate activists worldwide by sharing experiences and strategies and providing each other with support across borders. Global solidarity strengthens our efforts, so we appreciate any form of international backing for our cause.
What lies ahead remains uncertain, but as demonstrated in numerous instances globally, when we come together to back local communities as they advocate for their rights and a more promising tomorrow, there is a potential to counter even the largest of corporate giants effectively.
More than a million people have already raised their voices against EACOP. We believe that together we can stop it.
Are you planning to engage with the upcoming COP28 climate summit?
We’re deliberating on the optimal way to participate in COP28 to pressure world leaders to address the pipeline project directly and divert funding away from new oil and gas developments. I will be there to represent the campaign.
Despite controversies surrounding the summit’s leadership and lack of an enabling civic space in the host country, the United Arab Emirates, we are hopeful that substantive progress will be made. But we recognise that lasting change will require continued people-powered mobilisation. We’re committed to sustaining our fight for climate justice and environmental preservation in East Africa.
Civic space in Uganda is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Stop EACOP through itswebsite and follow@stopEACOP on Twitter.