The upcoming United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, COP 28, has been controversial from the outset: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the world's largest oil producers, is designated as host country, and Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, CEO of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), as president of the global event. In addition, the…
These lines are destined to fail. They pursue an unachievable goal. How can we honour the life, ideas, thought and action of someone who gave her life to the people’s needs without hesitation, and who formed, and will continue to form, generations of women fighters? Nalu Faria was, and will continue to be, an essential reference figure for understanding grassroots,…
Three leaders of the Tembé Indigenous People were shot on Monday in the Brazilian town of Tomé-Açu, situated in the state of Pará, 200 kilometres from the state capital Belém do Pará. The incident occurred during preparations for a visit from the National Human Rights Council. According to information from the Brazilian Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), the shots were fired…
June 30th marks the full circle of the first year under Philippine president Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., son of previously deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The Philippines is both a globally critical hotspot of biodiversity and natural resources, and a historic beacon of democracy and people power in Asia. But the environmental and human rights situation has deteriorated over the…
Asia is drowning in plastic, with national production and imports from the global north having devastating environmental and public health impacts. According to a report by Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific, most South and East Asian countries lack proper waste management strategies, regulations and facilities to deal with the plastic waste crisis. Often, communities are forced to resort to…
Over 20 social organisations and networks from Latin America and the Caribbean are convening an open dialogue with government representatives and civil society to develop an international and mandatory tool to protect human rights against corporate abuse. Real World Radio interviewed Iván González, Political Coordinator at the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), member of the movement Continental Day…
The Philippines has 421 principal rivers spread across 119 proclaimed watersheds. Aside from providing water to drink for 110 million Filipinos, these are also the source of irrigation for almost a million hectares of agricultural lands across the nation, and a significant source of electricity, comprising 10% of the current power mix. But the Philippine government’s emphasis on big dam…
In a context where scientists state that the natural world is in a dire situation and that “human actions threaten more species with global extinction now than ever before,” the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is taking place in Montreal, Canada, from 7-19 December. There, governments will seek to agree…
30 years after the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 27th Conference of the Parties to this Convention opened on Sunday, to negotiate potential solutions to the climate crisis. Better known as the COP27, this year’s event is held in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh. Friends of the Earth International, the world’s largest grassroots…
The eighth round of United Nations negotiations for a Binding Treaty to regulate the human rights violations committed by transnational corporations begins this Monday 24 October 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. These international talks began in Geneva in 2015 at the UN Human Rights Council. This year, they present new challenges for social movements and organisations that have been pushing for…
