Some of the images in this video, including the landscapes, were generated by AI technology. The Escazu agreement is designed to protect biodiversity and environmental defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean. The treaty, adopted in 2018 in Costa Rica, guarantees people’s right to obtain environmental information and to participate in decision-making that affects their lives and environment. It requires countries to ensure access to justice when those rights are violated, and to establish systems to prevent environmental harm or provide redress. It is the world’s first legally binding instrument containing specific provisions on environmental defenders – requiring governments to provide safe and enabling conditions for the defenders and ensuring that those responsible for violence and intimidation against them are investigated and prosecuted. Upholding the rights established in the Escazú agreement could contribute hugely to reversing the cycle of violence and environmental destruction in the Amazon, Human Rights Watch said.

Government Delays the Move Despite Sea Level Rise, Overcrowding

Kabwe Youth Activists Urge Action in Video

Khodor Al Hauwsi listens to his battery operated radio in his dark apartment in Beirut.

Government Fails to Protect Affected Communities, Environment

Overview of illegal mining areas and deforestation around the Tapajós River, Pará State, Brazil, accessed via https://mineria.amazoniasocioambiental.org/ on November 11, 2020.

Fires resulting from unchecked deforestation are poisoning the air millions of people breathe, affecting health throughout the Brazilian Amazon, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), the Institute for Health Policy Studies(IEPS), and Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Fires and deforestation in the Amazon increased dramatically during 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro’s first year in office, and 2020 is already proving to be worse, the groups found.

Failed Oversight Enables Labor, Environmental Harm

The Indonesian government is failing to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples who have lost their traditional forests and livelihoods to oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan and Jambi provinces.

Iraqi authorities have failed to ensure for almost 30 years that Basra residents have sufficient safe drinking water, resulting in on-going health concerns, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The situation culminated in an acute water crisis that sent at least 118,000 people to hospital in 2018 and led to violent protests.