Interviews


African youth for system change

The lives of human rights defenders in Africa are seriously threatened. For example, in Cameroon, on 26 May, human rights defender Elvis Brown Luma Mukuna received a death threat via a call from an unknown number. Ten days earlier, two men had forcibly entered Elvis’s house, abducted his younger brother and tortured him for more than two hours. Faced with…

Honduran voices against Juan Orlando Hernández demand his removal

At the end of May, Juan Orlando Hernández´ administration announced several reforms aiming to privatize services, through the passing of the Law of Restructuring and Transformation of the National Education and Healthcare System. So people took to the streets once against in Tegucigalpa against the threat of massive dismissals of doctors and teachers and to denounce the general state of…

Impacts of coal megaprojects in South Africa

Boom and Bust in the Waterberg is the title of a report published by environmental justice organization groundWork in March. It documents the history of coal megaprojects that have reshaped this remote corner of the country. It also addresses the impacts of coal megaprojects and warns about how a third boom is expected in Waterberg, which is considered South Africa´s…

“Women are on the frontline of defending rights and the environment”

This was the third meeting of Friends of the Earth International´s Working Group since it was created. From May 2 to 5, its members analyzed what has been done so far and the steps to follow. Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) seeks to mainstream the feminist perspective and gender justice in all its programs, campaigns and member groups. Real…

Anti-Chevron Day with an open letter to Ecuadorian President

Several organizations and networks are endorsing an open letter to Lenín Moreno Garcés, President of Ecuador, that will be delivered on May 21 to Ecuadorian embassies around the world. They are asking for justice and are deeply concerned about the Chevron-Texaco case in the Ecuadorian Amazon region: “The case is irrefutable proof of the way the system whose purpose is…

NOAH – Friends of the Earth Denmark celebrates its 50th anniversary

Bente Hessellund has been an activist at NOAH/Friends of the Earth Denmark for the past 25 years. She works around issues related to climate and agriculture, biomass for energy and REDD+. Real World Radio interviewed her to know more about this important celebration: "NOAH is an organization based on democracy and consensus, we don't have hierarchy", said Hessellund. The organization…

8th National Native Seed Festival in Uruguay

The National Network of Native Seeds of Uruguay, REDES - Friends of the Earth Uruguay and the Agronomy School of the University of the Republic of that country are organizing this Saturday and Sunday the 8th National Native Seed and Family Farming Festival. This time it will be held in Termas del Arapey, in Salto department. “In this edition of…

Rana Plaza is everywhere

Six years have passed since that April 24 when over 1000 women died and other 2000 were injured after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh. This event shocked the world. It exposed the inhuman conditions these workers experienced in exchange for miserable wages and generated an international movement to demand compensation for the victims. Since 2015,…

“Peasants are the ones who are standing up to a rise of fascism”

April 17 marks the International Day of Peasant Struggle to remember the 19 peasants  of the Landless Rural Workers Movement of Brazil who were murdered in 1996 in the “Massacre of Eldorado dos Carajas”. That day, tens of police officers attacked 1500 landless peasants in Eldorado dos Carajás. Since then, every April 17, there are thousands of demonstrations around the…

CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PEACE IN COLOMBIA

The leader of the Association of Rural Workers of Nicaragua (ATC) Fausto Torres, called for an “International Day for Peace in Colombia” and urged governments to demand Colombian president Iván Duque to advance in the fulfillment of the Peace Accords signed in 2016 by the State with the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). “Solidarity is crucial. It depends on peasant…