Environmental Human Rights Defenders: Responding to a Global Crisis

The Permanent Mission of Spain, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United

Nations Environment Program, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment,

the Universal Rights Group, ABColombia, CIDSE, Franciscans International,

ISHR, Kolko, Oidhac, and PBI

are pleased to invite you to a side event during HRC34 on:

Environmental Human Rights Defenders:

Responding to a Global Crisis

12h30 – 14h30

Monday 6th March 2017

Room XXVII, Palais des Nations

On the margins of the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Open, public event

Simultaneous interpretation English-Spanish

A light lunch will be served

Panel discussion:

Professor John Knox, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Member of the Board of Trustees, Universal Rights Group

Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders

Amanda Kron, Legal Officer, UN Environment (UNEP)

Johana Rocha, Environmental and Human Rights Lawyer, Research Centre for Social Justice ‘Tierra Digna’ (Colombia)

Isela González Díaz, Alianza Sierra Madre (Mexico)

Objectives

• Raise the profile of the situation of environmental human rights defenders

• Move the international human rights community, especially members of the Human Rights Council, towards a greater understanding of that situation, and towards a greater determination to improve support for the work of EHRDs and protection of their rights.

• Launch new URG Policy Report, authored by Professor John Knox, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, on the global situation of EHRDs.

• Present the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations to policymakers and policy-influencers.

• Launch new online resource portal for EHRDs. The portal has been created by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, URG, Not One More (N1M) and Global Witness, following proposals made by EHRDs themselves during consultations in Europe and Asia. Its development was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain.