Friends of the Earth


10th anniversary of the murder of Mariano Abarca: the pain continues

November 27, 2019, marked the 10th anniversary of the murder of Mariano Abarca Roblero, environmental activist who defended human rights and the rights of nature in Chicomuselo municipality, Chiapas, Mexico, by denouncing the socioenvironmental effects caused by Canadian mining corporation Blackfire Exploration, involved in the crime. Since then, the relatives of Abarca and several organizations have been demanding the Mexican…

The main challenge is unity: Anti-Imperialist Meeting held in Cuba draws to a close

The Anti-Imperialist Meeting of Solidarity for Democracy and Against Neoliberalism closed on Sunday afternoon, with a ceremony at Palacio de Convenciones in Havana, Cuba. The political and symbolic value of this three-day meeting is reflected in the final numbers: 1300 participants from 789 social organizations coming from 86 countries. On Sunday morning, the different social movements and organizations, left-wing political…

Images of Solidarity

Photo gallery with images taken by the Social Movements Communications Convergence during the Anti-Imperialist Meeting of Solidarity, for Democracy and against Neoliberalism in Havana, Cuba. The Social Movements Communications Convergence gathers alternative media and communications teams from Latin American social movements and organizations who have been sharing for years the communications work following the agenda of popular forces in the…

Justice for Golfrid

Golfrid Siregar, member of the legal advocacy team of WALHI North Sumatra was found unconscious on the side of a road on October 3, at around 1 am. He had suffered major head injuries, though the rest of his body remained relatively uninjured. After three days at the hospital, his condition worsened, and he died. Although the circumstances of his…

Latin America needs to wake up and strengthen its unity

The Anti-imperialist Meeting of Solidarity, for Democracy and against Neoliberalism will take place in Havana from November 1 to 3, 2019, organized by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), the Cuban Chapter of Social Movements and the Continental Day for Democracy and against Neoliberalism. The Continental Day was founded in Cuba in November 2015 when different social…

New report reveals scandalous fossil fuel industry lobby at European Union

Oil and gas giants BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total, and their lobby groups, have invested 251 million euros since 2010 to influence the European Union, warns a new study by several European organizations. The research reveals that these five transnational corporations and their lobby groups currently employ 200 lobbyists in Brussels, Belgium, the EU's main administrative headquarters. In addition,…

Historic legal action against Total in France for operations in Uganda

Four organizations from Uganda and two from France filed a lawsuit against oil giant Total in French court on Wednesday,  accusing the company of not taking the necessary measures to respect human rights and the environment in its oil megaproject in Uganda. To make way for exploratory works for oil drilling, Total evicted approximately 5000 people from their lands, before…

A step closer to agroecology

During the 46th session of the UN Committee on World Food Security (14-18 October in Rome, Italy) discussions were held about the state of food security and nutrition across the planet. Proposals were in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda, notably Goal 2 for Zero Hunger. This multilateral governance space has seen an increasing presence of agribusiness corporations,…

5th Session of UN negotiations on Binding Treaty and Human Rights came to an end

The negotiations of the UN Human Rights Council Working Group towards a legally Binding Treaty on transnational corporations and human rights abuses perpetrated by them drew to a close Friday in Geneva, Switzerland. Several social movements and organizations, gathered in the Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity, welcomed the advance of the process. Nevertheless, they expressed concern…

Agroecology as the answer

The 46th session of the UN Committee on World Food Security  began this Monday in Rome, Italy. There, several national governments and different stakeholders will analyze policy recommendations for food security and nutrition, ending on Friday. Many side events were held in parallel to the official sessions, with civil society being represented by the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM) for…