On March 21, the 40th session of the Human Rights Council has adopted a first-of-its-kind resolution recognizing the importance of environmental human rights defenders and their protection. 

3月21日，联合国人权理事会第四十届会议通过了首项决议，指出环境人权保护者和他们保护环境的重要性。

Over the last three weeks, the Human Right Council (HRC) has rolled up its sleeves to further promote and protect human rights around the world. During this session, they’ve shed a light on the precarious situation of human rights defenders. In spite of some countries’ resistance, a strong consensus came together to adopt a resolution proposed by Norway entitled “Recognizing the contribution of environmental human rights defenders to the enjoyment of human rights, environmental protection, and sustainable development.” 

在过去三周里，人权理事会准备在世界范围内进一步促进和保护人权。在本次会议中，他们阐述了人权维护者境况堪忧。尽管有一些国家的反对，但强烈的共识促使通过了由挪威提出的一项决议，题为“认识到环境人权维护者对享有人权、环境保护和可持续发展的贡献”。

This development is not only very welcome, but also highly necessary: In 2018, 321 defenders were targeted and killed for their work — the highest number on record so far. More than three-quarters of those murdered were environmental human rights defenders.

此项决议的通过不仅受到广泛的认可，并且十分必要。在2018年，321位维权者因其工作被视为攻击目标并杀害——这是迄今为止的最高纪录，其中超3/4是环境人权维护者。

Environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) play a key role in promoting and protecting our human rights. They’re the true champions working on the ground to protect people’s human right to a safe, healthy, and sustainable environment. But defending their land, ecosystems, and indigenous rights often comes with immense risks — from intimidation and harassment, to detention and criminalization, to sexual violence. And as we’ve already seen, in many places and most particularly where accountability is at its lowest, environmental human rights defenders face a very real risk of assassination.

环境人权维护者在促进和维护人权方面起着重要作用。他们是当地真正的拥护者以保护人们的人权，使其生活在安全、健康和可持续的环境中。但是在保护他们的土地、生态系统和土壤过程中时常伴有巨大风险——从恐吓和威胁到拘留和定罪再到性暴力。正如我们已经看到的那样，在许多地方尤其是责任追究制度不完善的地方，环境人权维护者面临着十分真实的暗杀风险。

You might wonder how this can happen. Don’t States have obligations to protect defenders from harm? The answer is yes. Under international human rights law, States must respect their rights and protect them from harm. And besides governments, businesses must also comply with human rights obligations — an ongoing challenge as corporations are one of the key perpetrators of human rights violations for human rights defenders

你或许会好奇为什么会发生这些。国家难道没有义务来保障维权者免受伤害？答案是肯定的。在国际人权法的规定下，各国必须尊重其权利并保护维权者免受伤害。并且除政府外，企业必须遵守人权的相关义务——这是一项旷日持久的挑战，因为企业是侵犯人权维护者相关人权的主要角色之一。

Latin America is the region with the most recorded killings of EHRDs. So it’s good to see the region take an important step toward tackling this situation with the adoption of the Escazú Agreement last year. This legally binding agreement on access to information, public participation, and justice in environmental matters is a milestone for protecting EHRDs. It’s the first agreement of its kind to include an article fully dedicated to the protection of EHRDs and their ability to access information and participate in environmental matters. This emphasis was echoed by yesterday’s Human Rights Council resolution, which advocated – among other issues – unhindered access to international bodies, particularly those of the UN.

拉丁美洲是记录谋杀率最高的地区。因此很高兴看到该地区在去年通过了埃斯卡苏协议，意味着在解决这一局面的过程中迈出了重要一步。这项具有法律约束力的决议关于获取信息、公众参与和公平评判环境事务，它是保护环境人权维护者过程中的里程碑。这是此类协议中的第一份，其中一篇文章是关于完全致力于保护环境人权维护者以及他们获取信息和参与环保事务的能力。昨天的人权理事会决议呼应了这一重点，该决议主张，除其他问题外，环境人权维护者进入国际机构尤其是联合国机构，将不受阻碍。

Beside access rights and underlining the positive impacts of EHRDs for society as a whole, the HRC resolution also addresses another important related issue: the environment of impunity for those who threaten human rights defenders. Research shows only 34 perpetrators were charged, and just 10 convicted, of the 908 recorded killings between 2002 and 2013. And this doesn’t consider the countless other human rights violations that go uninvestigated. The HRC resolution recognizes the need for access to justice and an effective remedy for EHRDs.

除保障权利和强调该群体对整个社会的积极影响外，人权理事会的决议还提出了另一个重要的相关问题：威胁人权维护者人员免受惩罚的情况。调查显示，在2002-2003年，期间有908起被发现的谋杀事件，只有34名肇事者被指控，其中仅有10名被定罪。并且这不包括其他数不胜数但是未经调查的侵犯人权事件。人权理事会的决议提出了诉诸司法的必要性和对环境人权维护者的有效弥补措施。

Other key aspects of the resolution include: 

该决议的其他主要方面：

· The need for countries to guarantee the protection of environmental defenders by adopting laws and holistic protection measures, and by ensuring investigation into and accountability for attacks and threats against them;

各国需要通过法律和全面的保护措施来保障环境维护者，并确保要调查和追究攻击并他们的人员的责任。

· The call for businesses to carry out human rights due diligence, including with regard to the right to a safe, clean, and healthy environment, by conducting meaningful and inclusive consultations with potentially affected groups and other relevant stakeholders.

呼吁企业通过与潜在的受影响群体和其他相关利益相关方进行有意义且具有包容性的磋商，开展人权尽责调查，包括调查在安全，卫生和健康的环境方面的问题。

The fact that the HRC resolution was adopted this week by consensus — and therefore didn’t have to go to a vote — is a positive development in recognizing the importance of better protecting our EHRDs.

本周人权理事会一致通过了决议——因此无需投票——这是更好地认识到保护环境人权维护者重要性进程中的一个巨大发展。

Still, the fight is far from over.

但是，斗争远未结束。

Even today, the issue of environmental human rights defenders still meets with systematic resistance by some countries. The HRC resolution was watered down substantially before its adoption. And in another example, during the UN Environment Assembly just last week, a reference to women environmental human rights defenders was stripped from a resolution on women’s rights and the environment.

即使在今天，环境人权维护者的问题仍然受到一些国家的一贯抵制。人权理事会的决议在通过之前已大幅淡化。再举一个例子，在上周的联合国环境大会期间，在一项关于女性权利和环境的决议中，没有提及女性环境人权维护者。

We have to realize and appreciate the risk these activists take to defend our environment, on which we depend for our health and general well-being. We must continuously push for strong policies that enable a save environment for EHRDs and make sure perpetrators of rights violations are brought to justice. The HRC resolution is a first step in the right direction. Now, we need to turn our attention to governments to demand urgent and effective steps toward protecting environmental human rights defenders.

我们需要意识到并且理解这些积极分子为维护我们的环境而面临的风险，我们的健康和人类的福祉都依赖于环境。我们必须不断推行强有力的政策，为环境人权维护者提供安全的环境，并确保将侵犯人权者绳之以法。人权理事会的决议是朝着正确方向迈出的第一步。如今，我们需要将注意力转向政府，要求政府采取紧急有效的措施来保护环境人权维护者。

Every loss of a human being fighting for the rights of their communities and families to live in a healthy environment is a loss to the international community. Environmental defenders are at the heart of the future of our planet — and therefore, our future. We mustn’t rest until people everywhere can safely stand up for their ecosystems, land, and rights.

每失去一个为人类社区和家园而奋斗的人，都是国际社会的损失。环境维权者是地球未来的核心——因此也是我们人类未来的核心。在世界各地的人们能够安全地维护他们的生态、土地和权利之前，我们不能停歇。

翻译/陈姜敏

原文链接：

https://www.ciel.org/environmental-human-rights-defenders-human-rights-council/