Joint briefing for UNFCCC COP28 on Land and Environmental Defenders

The document argues that Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs) are critical to climate mitigation but face escalating violence, criminalization, and exclusion from global climate processes. It calls for the UNFCCC and COP28 parties to guarantee civic space, prioritize land tenure security—particularly for women—and integrate human rights-based protections into the Global Stocktake and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

• Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs) are among the most targeted human rights defenders globally, facing high rates of lethal and non-lethal violence. In 2022, 48% of the 401 recorded killings of human rights defenders were identified as LEDs, and there were 355 non-lethal attacks against 536 distinct individuals, communities, and organizations.
• LEDs face systemic harassment and criminalization through various tactics to deter dissent against climate-damaging industries. These include Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Lawsuits (SLAPPs), surveillance, smear campaigns, and gender-based violence.
• There is a significant lack of recognition for LEDs within the UNFCCC framework, specifically in the Global Stocktake and the Sharm El-Sheik decisions, which the authors argue undermines the role of LEDs in climate mitigation.
• The briefing recommends that the UNFCCC Secretariat implement a zero-tolerance policy for intimidation and violence against LEDs and develop host agreement protocols that require host countries to meet minimum standards for civic space and human rights.
• Prioritizing land rights and tenure security, especially for women and girls, is presented as a mechanism to reduce violence against LEDs and meet obligations under Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Rio Conventions.
• The document argues that the Global Stocktake (GST) outcome must be human rights-based, providing specific guidance for parties to fulfill human rights obligations and integrate the protection of LEDs into their next round of NDCs.
• The authors call for a rapid and equitable phase-out of all fossil fuels and a transition that prioritizes human rights over 'false solutions' and offsets, which they claim pose risks to LEDs and Indigenous Peoples.

APA

Natural Justice (2023). Joint briefing for UNFCCC COP28 on Land and Environmental Defenders. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Joint-Policy-Brief_2023_LED-1.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. Joint briefing for UNFCCC COP28 on Land and Environmental Defenders. 2023. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Joint-Policy-Brief_2023_LED-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=Joint briefing for UNFCCC COP28 on Land and Environmental Defenders |date=November 2023 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Joint-Policy-Brief_2023_LED-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2023joint, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Joint briefing for UNFCCC COP28 on Land and Environmental Defenders}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Joint-Policy-Brief_2023_LED-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }