On 29 January 2021, after 13 years of legal proceedings, the Dutch court ruled in favour of four farmers who, with the support of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, denounced Shell for oil spills in the Niger Delta between 2004 and 2007. “My first impression is that of joy and happiness. When you struggle and you see the fruit of…
The African Peoples Tribunal, organised in Lagos and online by Friends of the Earth Africa, saw testimonies on cases from 10 African countries. The 24-28 November event ended with a call on governments to urgently ensure that human rights are respected and protected. It also denounced the collusion between governments and transnational corporations as objectionable and unacceptable. “This was probably…
New research by the OCI (Oil Change International) shows that Shell’s climate ambitions are nowhere near enough to prevent further global warming. The OCI examined the climate plans of 8 oil giants. If their plans are implemented, it will be impossible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The researchers used 10 criteria to assess the companies to see whether…
Mama Fikile Ntshangase was shot dead at her home in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal province, by four gunmen on 22 October. She was Vice-Chairperson of a sub-committee of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation (MCEJO) and actively opposed the expansion of the Tendele coal mine near her home. “We feel that she was actually the target, and in killing her, the aim…
“We are the guardians of land, seeds, life and love" is the slogan of the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) of Southern Africa, a movement of rural women founded in 2009 with a membership of over 100 000 women, mainly farmers from South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Mauritius, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Their focus is on the defense of the commons…
Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG) is suing the government over the commercialization of GM cowpeas and GM rice for safety issues of concern for the organization, although commercial distribution has not been approved yet. Edwin Baffour, Director of Communications of FSG, explained to RWR why they are suing the government: "Right now there is no commercial granting of any GMO, but government…
After many months of debate and with a strong support from the public opinion, the Liberian government passed the Land Rights Act in September, 2018, which officially recognizes the rights of local communities over their productive lands, without the need of long entitlement proceedings. With this huge step, Liberia could promote deep land and forest reforms in Central and Western…
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…
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…
Shell is one of the biggest climate polluters in the world. This transnational company has known about the severity of climate change and the impacts of oil drilling for years, but has not only misled the public on the issue, it continues drilling for oil. On April 5, Friends of the Earth Netherlands/Milieudefensie is issuing a writ of summons to…
