“This Report shows the daily struggle conducted by land
rights defenders, often confronted to “economic predators”
greedily supportive of unbridled development. Land rights defenders often
live in isolated areas, far from actors of protection. These factors
facilitate acts of violence against them, the level of violence being
proportional to sky-rocketing profits”, declared Karim
Lahidji, FIDH President.
Between 2011 and 2014, the Observatory documented 43 assassination cases
targeting land rights defenders and the judicial harassment of 123
defenders, sometimes together with their arbitrary detention. These figures
only reflect a small fraction of the real picture. All regions in the world
are concerned, Asia and Latin America being the most affected.
The Observatory found that authors of repression are often the police, the
military, private security agents and “henchmen”. Their
objective being to silence dissenting voices likely to slow down investment
projects.
In addition to violence, numerous States also use judicial harassment and
arbitrary detention to intimidate defenders. Thanks to laws that violate
fundamental freedoms or in violation of their own laws, they jail any person
deemed to be a nuisance. “Terrorism”, “misleading
propaganda”, “infringement to State security”,
“public unrest”, there are many abusive charges which can result
in heavy prison terms.
“Land rights defenders speak for millions of victims. When a
defender is jailed or killed, thousands of victims are silenced
”, declared Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General.
Land rights defenders are often powerless when they face physical attacks
and arbitrary arrests. According to the Observatory, 95% of violations
against them remain unpunished today.
Judicial bodies in countries where such violations occur are characterised
by a lack of independence, resources and expertise. Regarding the
possibility of prosecuting business corporations responsible for human
rights violations, the legal battle – if any – is often lengthy,
perilous, unequal and costly.
At the heart of the problem lies the issue of the participation of
individuals and communities affected by the development policies and
investment projects. The Observatory calls for meaningful consultations that
ensure the direct participation of populations affected by the projects and
the recognition of land rights defenders as the legitimate spokespersons in
order to prevent conflicts and put an end to serious human rights
violations. Furthermore, it is necessary to strengthen the capacity and
independence of domestic judicial systems, including in States hosting the
headquarters of business corporations, in order to allow defenders to access
justice and seek redress in the event of human rights violations.
The Observatory also recommends to strengthen international law in order
to trigger effectively the responsibility of business corporations when the
latter commit human rights violations and to guarantee the adequate
protection of land rights.
The Report is available on OMCT's website
in English (
OBS 2014 Annual Report_English)
French (
OBS 2014 Rapport Annuel_Français)
and Spanish (
OBS_InformeAnual2014_ES)
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The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is the
leading global programme on the protection of human rights defenders. Since
2013, it has launched more than 500 urgent interventions on more than 60
countries.
For more information:
FIDH: Arthur Manet / Audrey Couprie: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
OMCT: Miguel Martín Zumalacárregui: + 41 22 809 49
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