[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 58 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1097-S1098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 142--EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES 
AND ATTACKS ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND DEFENDERS IN 
                    LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

  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:

                              S. Res. 142

       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;

[[Page S1098]]

       (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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