Land and environmental defenders across the world face threats, attacks, or fatal violence for protecting their land, rivers, forests, and communities from large corporations, paramilitary groups and their own governments. Learn more: https://www.wri.org/events/2019/10/environmental-defenders-under-threat-addressing-human

1. ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS UNDER THREAT:
ADDRESSING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION
Photo Source: Erwin Mascarinas/Global Witness

2. IOM 2015
SPEAKER BIOS
Carole Excell
Acting Director, Environmental Democracy Practice, WRI,
Director, Defending Land and Environmental Defenders Coalition
Clemente Bautista
Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment, defender
from the Philippines
Dr. Yesid Blanco
defender from Colombia
Krystal Two Bulls
Organizer, About Face: Veterans Against War & Voices of
the Sacred, defender from the United States
Ben Leather
Senior Campaigner, Global Witness Land and
Environmental Defenders Campaign
Deborah Klepp
Senior Advisor, Environment, Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Keith Slack
Director of Strategic Impact and Campaigns, EarthRights
International

3. CAROLE EXCELL
Acting Director, Environmental Democracy Practice, WRI, Director,
Defending Land and Environmental Defenders Coalition

4. KEITH SLACK
Director of Strategic Impact and Campaigns, EarthRights International

5. BEN LEATHER
Senior Campaigner, Global Witness Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign

8. Who are land and
environment defenders?

10. 2018 statistics of
Land and
Environmental
Defenders Killed

13. What do we mean by criminalisation?
Criminalisation takes many different forms. At its simplest, it means creating,
changing or re-interpreting laws so as to make once legitimate activities
illegal, and turn those doing them into criminals.
Legal threats can be used by governments and companies to intimidate
defenders, tarnish their reputations and lock them into costly court battles
which hamper their work. New laws can be created to restrict or criminalise
protest and freedom of expression. And existing legislation designed to stop
terrorists or protect national security can be twisted and used
inappropriately against defenders.
These legal battles are generally heavily mismatched. Armies of well-paid
lawyers often face off against farmers or indigenous leaders of remote
communities, who may have little formal education or knowledge of their
rights. Once charged, defenders are stigmatised publicly, branded as
terrorists or criminals by their government and the media it often controls.
Ultimately, criminalisation is another way in which defenders and their
families are abused and intimidated by the people and institutions that are
meant to protect them.

14. FIVE STAGES OF CRIMINALISATION
1. SMEAR CAMPAIGNS
2. CRIMINAL CHARGES
3. ARREST WARRANTS
4. ILLEGAL SHORTCUTS
5. MASS CRIMINALISATION

16. What can the USA do?
•Holistic policies and mainstreamed practises
•Embassies: proactive and consultative
•Aid and assistance: transparency,
accountability, leverage
•Making US business part of the solution, not
the problem

18. DUTERTE’S
BROKEN PROMISES

21. UPDATED STATISTICS ON KILLINGS OF LAND
AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS
• June 30 2016 – June 30 2019: at least
113 land and environmental defenders
killed, compared to 65 in 3 years prior
• 46% of the killings allegedly
perpetrated by armed forces.
• 36% of the murders are linked to
agribusiness, 27% to mining.
• 44% of the murders took place on
Mindanao
• 27% of the defenders murdered under
Duterte's presidency were IPs.

23. U.S. action on the Philippines
A. The US embassy – leading the way in meeting
the challenge
B. Kicking open the windows of opportunity:
Department of Justice, HRD Bill, Pressure Points
C. US aid: improving and implementing conditions
D. Congressional action
E. Leverage in multilateral for a (UN, IFIs)
F. Civic support

25. CLEMENTE BAUTISTA
Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment, defender from the Philippines

26. Brandon Lee
Indigenous Peoples
advocate
Climate Activist

27. Jimmy Saypan
Farmer leader
Anti-mining activist

28. Cris Heredia
People’s Lawyer
Anti-large scale
mining activist

29. 225
Environmental
defenders were
killed from 2001
to 2018.

32. DR. YESID BLANCO
Environmental and Human Rights Defender from Colombia

33. KRYSTAL TWO BULLS
Organizer, About Face: Veterans Against War & Voices of the Sacred,
Environmental and Human Rights Defender from the United States

34. DEBORAH KLEPP
Senior Advisor, Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs