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Gustavo Castro Soto thanks the international community and Friends of the Earth for the solidarity and pressure that secured his release from illegal detention in Honduras in March 2016, following the murder of activist Berta Cáceres.

A statement by 231 organisations calling on the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to deny funding for the Batang coal-fired power plant in Indonesia due to human rights violations and climate impacts. The signatories argue that Japan is the world's leading supporter of overseas coal and must shift its financing toward renewable energy to align with the Paris Agreement.

Climate Action Network (CAN) issued a statement condemning the murder of Berta Cáceres, a co-founder of COPINH and Goldman Prize winner who opposed a dam project in Honduras. The network urges the Honduran government to conduct a transparent investigation and protect witness Gustavo Castro Soto, while calling on those involved in regional dam projects to end violence and intimidation against activists.

The document details how palm oil production, primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, drives deforestation and releases significant carbon and methane emissions, particularly through the draining and burning of peatlands. It notes that while Indonesia and Malaysia have implemented some protections and the RSPO seeks to improve sustainability, RSPO standards remain insufficient. The text highlights a shift in the supply chain, with over 60 percent of globally traded palm oil covered by deforestation-free commitments as of 2016, while warning that future expansion in countries like Brazil and Colombia must be managed to protect forests.

The report examines the precarious lives of FARDC army wives in the DRC, who often follow their husbands to insecure deployment zones due to a lack of family benefits and the high cost of travel. These women face severe housing shortages, irregular salaries, and social stigmatization, forcing them into diverse survival strategies ranging from petty trade and day labor to illicit activities. The document also highlights the extreme vulnerability of army widows and argues that military reform must address the social and service conditions of personnel and their families to be effective.

The fact sheet advocates for a binding international treaty to regulate transnational corporations (TNCs), highlighting the inadequacy of voluntary corporate policies. It presents evidence of corporate-linked harms, including deforestation and forest fires in Indonesia caused by palm oil and paper companies, hazardous shipbreaking practices in Bangladesh, water rights violations by Mekorot in Palestine, and a chemical disaster in South Korea involving Reckitt Benckiser's humidifier sterilisers. The document emphasizes that TNCs often operate across jurisdictions to escape accountability, necessitating a legal framework supported by the UN Human Rights Council and various global governments.

A delegation of four Indigenous Lenca activists from Honduras visited Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, and Spain between April 19 and May 5, 2016. The mission sought to highlight the repression of environmental defenders in Honduras, specifically regarding the Agua Zarca hydropower project on the Gualcarque River. The activists called for the withdrawal of funding from the Dutch development bank FMO, the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), as well as the cessation of turbine sales by Siemens and Voith. The document highlights the 2016 assassination of Lenca leader Berta Cáceres and the broader pattern of violence against environmental activists in Honduras, which it describes as the most dangerous country in the world for such defenders between 2002 and 2014.

This document is an official contribution from Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) to the second session of the UN open-ended intergovernmental working group (IGWG) in October 2016. It advocates for a legally binding international treaty to hold transnational corporations (TNCs) and their executives accountable for human rights violations and environmental crimes, proposing the creation of a World Court on TNCs and Human Rights and a Public Centre for control. FoEI argues that the treaty must prioritize human rights over trade and investment agreements, specifically calling for the restriction of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms that undermine public health and environmental protections.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) argues for a legally binding UN Treaty that establishes civil and criminal liability for transnational corporations (TNCs) and their executives. The submission emphasizes the need for a World Court on TNCs and Human Rights to overcome national judicial weaknesses and the 'pattern of impunity' enjoyed by corporations. FoEI specifically calls for the primacy of human rights over investment treaties, the elimination of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms that undermine public health and environmental policies, and the protection of the treaty negotiation process from corporate lobbying. The document supports these claims with case studies of corporate abuses in Nigeria, Brazil, Indonesia, and other regions.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) advocates for a legally binding UN treaty to end the systemic impunity of transnational corporations (TNCs). The submission argues that the treaty must establish civil and criminal liability for TNCs, their executives, and financiers across global supply chains. FoEI proposes the creation of an independent international court to judge environmental crimes and human rights abuses, emphasizing the need for a hierarchy where human rights obligations prevail over trade and investment agreements, specifically targeting the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. The document highlights cases of corporate abuse in Nigeria, Brazil, Mozambique, and elsewhere to illustrate the failure of current voluntary standards and national judicial systems.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) advocates for a binding UN Treaty to end corporate impunity. The proposal emphasizes the need for direct legal obligations for transnational corporations (TNCs) and their executives, the creation of a World Court on TNCs and Human Rights, and the primacy of human rights over investment treaties. FoEI highlights systemic failures in national courts and the harmful impact of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, calling for a process free from corporate lobbying that prioritizes the rights of affected communities and environmental defenders.

The document contends that voluntary sustainability initiatives are fundamentally flawed and insufficient to curb the global land grabbing crisis. It provides evidence of the significant financial involvement of EU-based institutions in agribusinesses that cause environmental and social harm, particularly in developing countries. The authors argue that the lack of monitoring, sanctions, and accessibility in voluntary schemes allows irresponsible actors to continue harmful practices. To address this, the briefing recommends mandatory human rights due diligence, expanded reporting requirements under EU directives, and binding regulations for financial investors to ensure only legally compliant agribusiness concessions are eligible for investment.

The Paris Agreement establishes a global commitment to limit warming to well below 2°C, pursuing efforts for 1.5°C, and introduces a five-year ambition ratcheting mechanism. It creates a new mitigation mechanism that moves beyond pure offsetting and includes human rights protections in its preamble. While it acknowledges international aviation and shipping emissions, these remain outside national targets. The agreement necessitates an update to the EU's 2030 climate target to align with the 1.5°C goal.

The statement criticizes the impunity of transnational corporations, specifically Vale, BHP, and SAMARCO, following a catastrophic dam collapse on the Rio Doce watershed in Brazil. It highlights the failure of voluntary corporate social responsibility measures and calls on the UN to move beyond voluntary guidelines toward a legally binding treaty for corporate accountability.

The document criticizes the trend of transforming the VGGT from a human rights-based framework into a corporate tool for risk management and 'greenwashing'. It argues that guides produced by entities like USAID and the G7 New Alliance shift state responsibilities to the private sector, legitimize land grabbing, and falsely equate the power of corporations with that of local communities. The signatories call for states to implement the VGGT in line with human rights obligations, establish a robust monitoring mechanism within the Committee on World Food Security (CSA), and adopt a legally binding instrument for corporations regarding human rights.

The document is a declaration by social movements and civil society organizations criticizing the trend of adapting the UN's Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) into business-centric tools. The authors argue that guides produced by entities like USAID, the G7 New Alliance, and the Interlaken Group transform a human rights framework into a corporate social responsibility (CSR) tool, effectively legitimizing land grabbing. They contend that these guides erroneously treat states and corporations as equal stakeholders and dangerously suggest that private investors can manage land rights recognition and conflict resolution—tasks that are the sole legitimate mandate of the state. The statement calls for states to implement the VGGT based on human rights obligations, for the FAO to provide technical support for state regulation of businesses, and for the adoption of a legally binding international instrument on multinational corporations and human rights.

The statement criticizes recent guides developed by agencies like USAID and the Interlaken Group that frame the VGGT as a tool for corporate risk management and corporate social responsibility. The authors argue that this 'multi-stakeholder' approach wrongly transfers state duties—such as identifying tenure rights and resolving conflicts—to private investors, thereby legitimizing land grabs and ignoring power asymmetries. They call for states to enact laws regulating transnational corporations, ensure free prior and informed consent, and establish a robust monitoring mechanism within the UN Committee on World Food Security.

CIEL President Carroll Muffett critiques Secretary Kerry's COP 21 speech, stating that the US pledge to double grant-based adaptation assistance to over $800 million by 2020 is insufficient compared to the $100 billion annual pledge by developed countries. Muffett argues that US domestic politics have hindered ambitious international climate engagement and rejects the notion that the Paris outcomes are merely a "preamble," emphasizing the urgent human rights tragedies already caused by climate change.

The text examines the 'resource curse', where mineral wealth leads to corruption and conflict rather than prosperity. It highlights the role of 'conflict minerals' in funding insurgencies in regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan. The author argues that while national governance is primary, industrialized nations must implement binding transparency regulations—such as the OECD guidelines—to prevent human rights abuses and ensure resource extraction supports sustainable development.

The document examines the human rights obligations of states and the private sector in the context of climate change mitigation. It analyzes failures in stakeholder consultation and sustainable development within the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), REDD+, and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), using case studies from Panama, India, Mexico, and Georgia. The brief concludes that current UNFCCC mechanisms lack sufficient specificity and grievance procedures, recommending that the Paris Agreement explicitly mandate the respect, protection, and fulfillment of human rights in all climate actions.