On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military overthrew an elected government. Although the military has claimed that it is following Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution, there is no credible legal argument for this position. The military junta, known as the State Administration Council (SAC), has not been recognized as the legitimate government of Myanmar by the United Nations nor any government. The coup has been condemned by the U.N. Secretary-General and Myanmar’s own Ambassador to the U.N., along with numerous governments. EarthRights International stands with communities and civil society organization ..read more

“Justice is not only law. Sometimes law is not justice. It sometimes violates culture, violates history.” Sor.Rattanamanee Polkla is a Thai lawyer and executive coordinator of the Community Resource Centre Foundation. She is also the coordinator of the Mekong  Legal Network. Sor.Rattanamanee Polkla works to secure justice for 700 Cambodian families who were forcibly displaced due to a Thai sugar company. With the families, she sought justice for the community to hold the company accountable for their human rights violations. Recently, the courts ruled that the families can sue the sugar ..read more

“We cannot survive without the river. This is our home. We cherish our homeland.” One community in Thailand is fighting to protect the Yuam river— and their way of life— from an environmentally hazardous dam project. A special thank you to the Bertha Foundation for their funding and support of this video. The post Nam Yuam Water Division appeared first on EarthRights International ..read more

After 25 years, EarthRights International co-founder Katie Redford is moving on from the organization to lead a new initiative, while still supporting EarthRights in an advisory capacity. She reflects on the past 25 years at EarthRights, and what’s next for the organization as we continue to grow.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but next year, EarthRights will celebrate our 25th Anniversary. In so many ways, those early days with three of us—Ka Hsaw Wa, Tyler Giannini, and myself—and one computer in a tiny office in Thailand seem like yesterday. But as we approach this milestone, and re ..read more

Following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court in Jam v. International Finance Corporation (IFC) [LINK], stripping the World Bank Group of absolute immunity, the IFC’s head released a statement [LINK] today expressing his commitment to “bolster accountability in my own organization.” In Jam, EarthRights International represents communities from India seeking to hold the IFC – the private lending arm of the World Bank Group – accountable for upending their lives and destroying their livelihoods by financing a disastrous coal-fired power plant. The statement, from IFC CE ..read more

An activist standing up against a dam on the Salween River in Myanmar. A community leader trying to uncover the impacts of a coal-fired power plant in Thailand. A young organizer fighting for the land rights of rural farmers in her home in Cambodia. At the EarthRights School, we bring these emerging earth rights defenders together to expand their toolkits, techniques, expertise, and networks. The short version of the longer EarthRights School video. The post EarthRights School (short version) appeared first on EarthRights International ..read more

An activist standing up against a dam on the Salween River in Myanmar. A community leader trying to uncover the impacts of a coal-fired power plant in Thailand. A young organizer fighting for the land rights of rural farmers in her home in Cambodia. At the EarthRights School, we bring these emerging earth rights defenders together to expand their toolkits, techniques, expertise, and networks. The post EarthRights School appeared first on EarthRights International ..read more

Since 1999, EarthRights International has been committed to supporting the next generation of earth rights defenders through its EarthRights School. Based in the Mitharsuu Center for Leadership and Justice in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the EarthRights School is a unique program that brings together a diverse group of earth rights defenders to learn about human and environmental issues along with legal and campaigning tools. The school program is about shifting power from corporations and financial institutions to the people and communities who are affected by large scale development projects. On 1 ..read more

Protecting the earth has become one of the world’s most dangerous professions. In 2017, more than 200 earth rights defenders were murdered–the worst on record. In response to this violence and to mark the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, we launched our action plan and interactive web platform entitled Fighting Back: A Global Protection Strategy for Earth Rights Defenders.  The global protection strategy outlined in the report and accompanying web platform contain concrete actions that we believe will help reduce the number and severity of attacks ag ..read more

From the banks of Mekong River to the mountains of Colorado, 2018 has been another exciting year for EarthRights International. We argued our first case in front of the Supreme Court; we held the first Forest Defenders conference in Thailand; we launched the Protect the Protest Task Force; we trained our third class of indigenous lawyers from the Amazon; and we filed the first climate change lawsuit on behalf of a non-coastal state. Check out the journey the last year has been. Thank you for standing with us along the way ..read more