[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 142 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 142
Expressing concern about environmental crimes and attacks on the human
rights of environmental and land defenders in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 30, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Cardin, Mr.
Padilla, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Murphy) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing concern about environmental crimes and attacks on the human
rights of environmental and land defenders in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Whereas rising instances of environmental crimes, land grabbing, unregulated and
illegal natural resource destruction and extraction, and irresponsible
infrastructure development threaten biodiversity and rural and
Indigenous community livelihoods in Latin America and the Caribbean,
which is home to 40 percent of the world's species and more than 24
percent of the Earth's forests;
Whereas harassment, threats, assaults, and killings against environmental and
land defenders protesting such crimes and development have increased
throughout the region since 2018;
Whereas, according to Global Witness, Latin America is the deadliest region in
the world for environmental and land defenders, with nearly 75 percent
of the 200 known attacks against such defenders during 2021 taking place
in the region, including--
(1) in Mexico, where 54 environmental and land defenders were murdered
in 2021, representing the highest number of such murders in any country
that year;
(2) in Colombia, where 33 environmental and land defenders were
murdered during 2021, representing the second highest number of such
murders in any country that year;
(3) in Brazil, where 342 environmental and land defenders have been
murdered since 2012, representing the highest number of such murders of any
country since the reporting of such murders began; and
(4) in Peru, Venezuela, and Brazil, where 78 percent of the attacks
against environmental and land defenders in the Amazon region occurred;
Whereas more than 25 percent of the attacks on environmental and land defenders
during 2021 were reportedly linked to resource exploitation, including
logging, mining, large scale agribusiness, hydroelectric dams, and other
infrastructure;
Whereas, approximately 40 to 60 percent of logging activities in the Peruvian
Amazon are illegal, according to INTERPOL, and approximately 95 percent
of deforestation in Brazil in 2021 was irregular, according to the
Brazilian Annual Land Use and Land Cover Mapping Project;
Whereas, in 2021, Indigenous peoples made up more than 40 percent of victims in
fatal attacks against environmental and land defenders worldwide,
despite Indigenous peoples only comprising approximately 5 percent of
the world's population;
Whereas Indigenous peoples, who steward more than 80 percent of the world's
biodiversity, are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of
environmental loss and more frequently targeted in attacks on
environmental and land defenders;
Whereas women acting in defense of their lands and natural environments in Latin
America face additional threats to their human rights, as Latin America
has the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world;
Whereas many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean lack sufficient
oversight capacity, transparency, and accountability for regulations of
environmental permits and investigations of environmental crimes,
especially in Indigenous lands, nationally protected forests, and other
remote geographical areas with limited government presence, forcing
affected populations to advocate for their land and natural resources at
great personal risk;
Whereas corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean enables the subversion of
laws designed to prevent environmental crime and protect natural
resources, undermining efforts to prevent ecological destruction;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has strained the resources and institutional
capacity of Latin American and Caribbean Governments to address
environmental crimes and prevent the expansion of nonstate actors into
remote areas and border regions where these groups target environmental
and land defenders and engage in illicit mining and drug trafficking
activities;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Development has developed
programs to reduce environmental crimes and other threats to the
Amazon's forests, waters, and peoples throughout Brazil, Colombia,
Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname;
Whereas all Latin American and Caribbean countries have ratified the decision by
the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, adopted at Paris December 12, 2015
(commonly known as the ``Paris Climate Agreement''), which states,
``Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect,
promote, and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the
right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities,
migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable
situations'';
Whereas 15 countries in Latin America ratified the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labor Organization,
establishing the rights of Indigenous people to land, natural resources,
and prior consultation on projects affecting their communities, although
many such countries have consistently failed to respect these legally
binding standards;
Whereas 25 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have signed, and 14 of
these 25 countries have ratified, the Regional Agreement on Access to
Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters
in Latin America and the Caribbean, adopted at Escazu, Costa Rica March
4, 2018 (commonly known as the ``Escazu Agreement''), to ensure the
protection of environmental defenders across the region; and
Whereas, on June 9, 2022, at the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles,
heads of State and Government of the Western Hemisphere adopted ``Our
Sustainable Green Future'', a commitment to draft and approve national
plans, before the commencement of the Tenth Summit of the Americas in
the Dominican Republic in 2025--
(1) to respond to threats and attacks on environmental defenders and
collect data on such threats and attacks, in accordance with domestic law;
(2) to enact, as appropriate, and enforce domestic laws to protect
environmental defenders and the resources they defend: and
(3) to carry out and implement environmental assessments in accordance
with existing domestic law: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) underscores the urgency of protecting biodiversity in
Latin America and the Caribbean, ending impunity for
environmental crimes, protecting environmental and land
defenders, and confronting risks and addressing threats to such
actors;
(2) urges governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to
protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and other
environmental and land defenders, including--
(A) strengthening efforts and initiatives aimed at
combating environmental crimes and protecting the
territory of environmental and land defenders;
(B) complying with commitments made under the Paris
Climate Agreement, Convention 169 of the International
Labor Organization, and the Escazu Agreement to pursue
environmental justice and protect the rights of
Indigenous peoples and other environmental and land
defenders, particularly in relation to rights to land
titling and prior consultation; and
(C) implementing ``Our Sustainable Green Future''
commitments made at the Ninth Summit of the Americas to
advance the protection of environmental and land
defenders;
(3) calls on the Secretary of State, in coordination with
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, to support and assist governments in Latin America
and the Caribbean in meeting regional and international
standards and commitments for the protection of Indigenous
peoples and other environmental and land defenders, including
through--
(A) capacity building initiatives aimed at
strengthening networks of environmental and land
defenders, Indigenous peoples, and civil society
organizations;
(B) providing technical assistance and other
support to combat corruption within agencies dealing
with forestry management and environmental crimes;
(C) collaborating with law enforcement authorities,
including through the sharing of intelligence, to help
dismantle criminal groups responsible for committing
environmental crime and violence against environmental
and land defenders;
(D) reinforcing the importance of free, prior, and
informed consent of Indigenous peoples within such
regional and international commitments;
(E) promoting the participation of women,
Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities,
environmental and land defenders, and other affected
and vulnerable communities in regional and
international forums related to human rights,
environmental protection, and climate change; and
(F) hosting summits and other multilateral forums,
with the participation of governments in the region and
relevant civil society organizations, to share the
experiences of environmental and land defenders and
advance solutions to protect biodiversity and confront
impunity around environmental crime; and
(4) calls on the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development, in coordination with the
Secretary of State, to develop comprehensive regional and
subregional action plans with input from environmental and land
defenders to counter environmental crime and attacks against
environmental and land defenders in Latin America and the
Caribbean, including by--
(A) strengthening current programs in Brazil and
Colombia;
(B) expanding key pillars of ongoing programs to
Mexico, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador,
where such initiatives are largely absent; and
(C) ensuring that projects supported or funded by
the United States Government in Latin America and the
Caribbean take into account the protection of
Indigenous peoples and environmental and land
defenders.
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