Our future depends on the work of environmental human rights defenders, ASG Brands Kehris warns COP16

Thank you, madam chair Elisa Morguera, 

Excellencies, colleagues and friends,

It is an honour to sit here today to discuss the critical role of environmental human rights defenders in advancing biodiversity and climate justice. 

I extend my deepest appreciation to our co-hosts, especially the Government of Colombia. 

I would like to pay tribute to all the people around the world working to defend the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Their work is hazardous, challenging and critical. It is no secret that humanity’s efforts to stop climate change, prevent mass extinction and ecosystem collapse, and to keep our air, food and water safe and clean are off track. The precarious future of the vast Amazon rainforest— standing not far from us here in Cali – is emblematic of this struggle. 

The Amazon is experiencing its worst drought on record, with rivers reaching their lowest levels in over a century. Wildfires are ravaging it. Illegal deforestation and land conversion are rampant, while organized crime, including drug trafficking and illegal mining, exacerbates violence and environmental degradation. This is not only threatening the rich biodiversity of the Amazon but also the Indigenous Peoples who have long co-existed with it. 

Efforts and resources are being mobilized to protect the Amazon. We cannot afford to let these efforts be too little, too late or that they themselves contribute to further human rights harms. 

Environmental human rights defenders—champions of our planet – are often risking everything to protect our natural world and secure the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, a cause that transcends borders and generations.

In doing this work, and we hear this in the panel and questions from the panel, they face harassment, intimidation, criminalization, and, far too often, deadly violence. According to data from my Office, at least 320 human rights defenders, journalists, and trade unionists were killed worldwide in 2023 alone. The actual number is likely to be much higher. Preliminary analysis shows that at least half were Indigenous Peoples, peasants and people from rural communities.  

Earlier this month, in preparation for COP16, the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia issued an information note on the situation of environmental human rights defenders. It has verified the killing of 248 environmental human rights defenders in Colombia between 1 January 2016 and 30 September 2024. The vast majority of the victims were Indigenous defenders (139), leaders of African descent (18) and peasants (64). 220 were men and 28 were women. 

Enforced disappearances have also continued to rise, nearly doubling for the second consecutive year – with 54 cases reported across 14 countries in 2023. 

Environmental human rights defenders are the keepers of invaluable knowledge about biodiversity. In the case of Indigenous Peoples, their knowledge systems, passed down through generations, offer unique insights into species behaviour, medicinal plants, and sustainable land management practices. By defending their lands, they are not only preserving biodiversity but also the cultural heritage and wisdom that are essential for preserving the entire planet's ecosystems.

Target 22 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework explicitly recognizes the need to protect environmental human rights defenders and ensure the full, equitable, and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, youth, and persons with disabilities in biodiversity governance. This commitment requires implementing concrete measures to ensure defenders can work without fear. We urge all parties to integrate Target 22 into their revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans as well as relevant monitoring and reporting efforts.

Protection of environmental human rights defenders is also closely linked to SDG 16, which remains a priority for my Office. Not just as a standalone goal but as an enabler for the entire 2030 Agenda. As the custodian of SDG Indicator 16.10.1, OHCHR will continue to track killings, disappearances and attacks against defenders, to inform action and improve protection.

Dear colleagues and friends,

The first ever resolution on human rights and biodiversity adopted by the Human Rights Council earlier this month recognizes the important contribution of environmental human rights defenders. It also expresses concern over the multiple and intersecting forms of violence and discrimination they face and encourages my Office to work with these defenders to advance human rights-based biodiversity action. We thank Colombia and Costa Rica for this important initiative at the Human Rights Council.

In conclusion, let me reiterate that every attack on an environmental human rights defender is an attack on our collective freedoms and our environment, making our world less open, less informed, and less democratic.

I urge all Member States to take resolute action, through stronger protections and ensuring that defenders’ voices are amplified. Our future depends on their work, and we owe them not just our gratitude, but our unwavering support.

Thank you.