Dear friends,

I have long been moved by the courage and resilience shown by land and environmental human rights defenders in your struggles to protect the environment, your way of life and your histories. In recent years, the vital importance of your work as we face a climate apocalypse has become more widely understood, yet the attacks you face have not diminished and I know how you are smeared, criminalised, attacked and killed. This is why I have made the issue of the killing of HRDs one of my mandate’s top priorities and I will continue to push States to do more to address these murders, the threats which precede them and the impunity which follows them for the remainder of my mandate. I also want to hear your ideas on what can help lessen the risks you face, so please do get in contact with me via my website: https://srdefenders.org/contact/

I truly believe in the importance of memory and paying tribute to those who have sacrificed their lives so others may live in a more just, healthy and sustainable world.

In my native city of Dublin, following years of work, I was delighted to inaugurate a permanent memorial to murdered human rights defenders on Human Rights Day in 2020. On it are plaques with quotes of defenders who have been killed. One of those plaques contains the words of Mexican environmental and indigenous peoples rights defender Bety Cariño, words which have stayed with me since I heard her say them in February 2010. Two months later Betty was shot dead.

“Today we want to live another history: we are rebelling and we are saying enough is enough. Today and here, we want to say that they are afraid of us because we are not afraid of them, because despite their threats, despite their slander, despite their harassment, we continue to walk towards a sun which we think shines strongly”.

So please continue in your walk towards that sun and know that you are not alone.