Peace Brigades International co-hosts Women Human Rights Advocacy Week in Geneva, September 16-21

Published by Brent Patterson on October 17, 2024October 17, 2024

Photo: María Eugenia Gabriel Ruiz of the Human Rights Solidarity Network (Red Solidaria DH) meets with UN Special Rapporteur Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, September 18, 2024.

The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) reports that Peace Brigades International and other organizations co-hosted the Women Human Rights Advocacy Week (WHRD-AW) this past September 16-21 in Geneva.

The ISHR article explains: “Throughout this experience, the women defenders deepened their advocacy work with the UN mechanisms, including Special Procedures, the Human Rights Council (HRC, or the Council), the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR). They also engaged with the international community in Geneva.”

The event brought together eleven women environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders from Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia, Sri Lanka and Nigeria.

Tania Hernández from Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) drew attention to the impact of extractive companies on Lenca territories, called for the confirmation of the convictions of those who have been held responsible for the murder of Berta Caceres, and called for justice for Guapinol River defender Juan López who was murdered on September 14 for his opposition to the Los Pinares megaproject.

Video still: Tania Hernández, Honduras.

The ISHR article also highlights: “In a roundtable on Gender and Environmental Rights: Exploring the Intersection in International Law co-hosted with PBI, María Eugenia Gabriel, from Red Solidaria de Derechos Humanos de Michoacán, shared  the situation of avocado monocultures. She explained the socio-economic effects of these crops, which are aggravated by organised crime, causing the systematic violation of the rights of Indigenous peoples.”

Photo: María Eugenia Gabriel, Mexico.

The ISHR article further notes: “In the same event, Dorthea Wabiser from Pusaka Bentala Rakyat shared the challenges that Indigenous peoples face in Indonesia, as the government does not recognise Indigenous peoples under national law. She stressed that non-recognition infringes international standards such as the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent in West Papua.”

Photo: Dorothea Wabiser, Indonesia.

The article also notes that Deyanira Soscué  of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) in Colombia “talked about the socio-environmental impacts that multinational corporations have on the Nasa Indigenous territories” while Yasmeen El Hasan, a representative of ​​the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in Palestine, “raised the issue of farmers’ rights and their access to land and resources in the context of the Israel’s war on Gaza and the genocide against the Palestinian population.”

Photo: Yasmeen El Hasan, Palestine.

The full International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) article by Isabella Matias Heredia and Salomé Boucif can be read at Together for environmental justice: The Women Human Rights Advocacy Week 2024 (October 14, 2024).

Photos: Dorothea Wabiser (Indonesia), Tania Hernández (Honduras), María Eugenia Gabriel (Mexico), Yasmeen El Hasan, (Palestine).

Photos: Yannick Wild of PBI-Switzerland and Manuel Jabonero of PBI-Mexico were both at the Women Human Rights Advocacy Week in Geneva.