Defending territories, Defending our lives
Every day, peoples and communities across the world come together to take collective action, often fighting for their collective rights, for dignity and for access to resources and their sustainable use.
Yet many of these Defenders of Territories and Human Rights are being threatened, suppressed or in extreme cases killed. In the last few years, Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific’s member groups’ staff, activists and supporters have been beaten, sued, kidnapped, bankrupted, defamed, jailed and murdered for campaigning for environmental justice.
To keep Defenders safe we need both systemic change and the introduction of practical policies at the local, national and international level, and also within civil society organisations.
Image caption: “Farming food next to a coal plant caused big loss to my income. I want my children to have a future better than this, so that’s why I resist the new coal plant!” Ibu Rumsiah from Kalimantan, Indonesia resisting the Indrumayu coal fired power plant. © Luka Tomac/ Friends of the Earth International
Listen to our special report on Real World Radio:
“International human rights day: cases of serious violations across Asia”, December 10, 2019.
