Peace Brigades International joins in civil society call for Brazil to respect the right to protest at COP30 in November
Video still: A protest at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, November 2024.
Folha de São Paulo reports: “A coalition of more than a hundred civil society organizations has prepared a letter with recommendations for Brazil to organize the logistics and structure of COP30, the United Nations climate conference that will be held in Belém in November. One of the main requests is that the summit welcome and respect protests, after years of COPs in authoritarian countries.”
The news report continues: “The letter from the NGOs, published on Wednesday (April 30), is intended to influence the formulation of the so-called Host Country Agreement (HCA), in which the organization of each edition registers guidelines on logistics and structure.”
“According to the letter, the HCA for Belém must contain explicit clauses of freedom of expression and non-retaliation against protesters. Thus, they argue, civil society will feel safe to contribute to discussions, lectures and protests that were limited and even prohibited in the three previous COPs.”
The article also highlights: “The recommendations presented by the coalition are, among other points, the protection of human rights and civil liberties; security, accessibility and participation; and immediate transparency and accountability.”
The organizations that signed this letter include Global Witness, Amnesty International, and Peace Brigades International.
PBI-Canada also supports the call that all State Parties at COP30 should “recognize the link between the climate crisis and growing violence and repression against land and environmental defenders and take meaningful steps to protect defenders and civic space (online and in person) to promote ambition and climate action.”
Climate defenders under attack
An estimated 2,106 land and environmental defenders have been killed around the world between 2012 and 2023. The Front Line Defenders Global Analysis report released today (May 6, 2025) notes that 324 human rights defenders were killed in 2024 and that 20.4 percent of those were land rights defenders and an additional 17.9 percent were Indigenous rights defenders.
Global Witness has documented that 401 land and environmental defenders have been killed in Brazil between 2012 and 2023. Front Line Defenders specifies that 15 human rights defenders were killed in Brazil in 2024.
PBI and COP30
PBI is collaborating with the “Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life” that is scheduled to begin on Sunday October 12.
PBI has also made a submission to UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor who will be presenting a thematic report about human rights defenders working on climate change and a just transition at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in October.
Then on Tuesday November 18, during COP30, PBI is planning to bring together a United Nations Special Rapporteur and PBI accompanied defenders to talk about the risks and protection needs of those on the frontlines challenging the extractive industries that are accelerating the climate crisis.
You can pre-register for this webinar by clicking here.
COP30 takes place from November 10 to 21 in Brazil.
Additional reading: PBI notes COP30 caravans, assemblies and calls for the protection of environmental defenders (PBI-Canada, March 25, 2025).
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