Those who defend their communities from environmental harms are at great risk in many countries. If those defenders are also women as well as members of indigenous communities, their struggle is amplified. In Ecuador, women defenders are persecuted by their government, beaten and mistreated in police custody, and vilified by politician/s for seeking to defend their territories from oil concessions.
A group of indigenous and mestiza women, as well as Ecuadorian NGO, Acción Ecológica, will speak at a thematic hearing in front of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington D.C. in hopes of shedding light to the gravity of this issue.
What: Thematic Hearing at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, Washington, D.C.
Who: Indigenous and mestiza women from Ecuador
Acción Ecológica
EarthRights International
When: Monday, October 19th at 4:30 PM
Where: Inter-American Commission of Human Rights
1889 F St. N.W. Washington, DC, U.S.A. 20006
Why: The thematic hearing will shed light on the gravity of the situation that indigenous and mestiza women who defend their communities and environment are confronted with regularly.
Ecuadorian women as well as NGO spokespersons will be available for interviews immediately following the hearing.
For more information, contact Valentina Stackl (USA) valentina@earthrights.org or +1-202-466-5188 x 100 or Benito Bonilla (Ecuador) bbonilla@agenciaecologista.info +593-926-05-071
