Human rights defenders who speak up about pollution, land rights, and other environmental issues often experience high levels of violence and criminalization. The perpetrators of these attacks tend to possess significant economic, political, or military power within their home countries. In these cases, foreign embassies, multinational corporations, and international institutions can play a key role in stopping violence – using their leverage and access to those with power to discourage attacks from happening.
Since 2018, EarthRights has worked alongside partners in the Alliance for Land, Indigenous and Environmental Defenders (ALLIED) to encourage embassies, corporations, and international institutions to contribute to efforts to reduce violence against defenders.
Key successes have included:
- Advocating for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to include stronger standards for protecting human rights defenders in its updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, in partnership with the OECD Watch coalition. Although not legally binding, the OECD Guidelines are a leading global standard that the private sector uses to guide its environmental and social practices. As of 2023, corporations from 38 OECD member countries along with 13 non-member countries adhere to the guidelines.
- Providing expert input into the Guidance on Respecting the Rights of Human Rights Defenders that forms part of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, a global standard used by the energy and extractive sectors.
- Advocating for the U.S. government to adopt a more systematic approach to supporting at-risk human rights defenders, which was taken up by the previous U.S. administration through the Guidelines for U.S. Diplomatic Mission Support to Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders and the joint U.S.-EU statement on Recommended Actions for Online Platforms to Improve Human Rights Defender Protection and the subsequent U.S. government detailed guidance.
- Supporting members of U.S. Congress, led by former Senator and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, in introducing and advocating for the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act to further strengthen the U.S. government’s ability to support human rights defenders.
- Convening dialogues between human rights defenders and representatives of the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States to identify best practices for embassy support for human rights defenders.
We continue to protect environmental defenders in Latin America, Southeast Asia, the United States, and globally, by providing legal defense, training, and strategic advocacy to combat intimidation, criminalization and violence. To learn more about our broader work to protect defenders, visit Earth Rights Defenders.