First Annual Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean

Organized by ECLAC, in its capacity as Secretariat of the Escazú Agreement, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Government of Ecuador, with the support of the World Bank's Human Rights, Inclusion and Empowerment (HRIE) Umbrella Trust Fund.

The objective of the first forum was to provide a space for discussion on the situation of human rights defenders in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, bringing together the Parties to the Escazú Agreement, recognized specialists in the field, and the public, especially human rights defenders, indigenous peoples and local communities, and people or groups in vulnerable situations who defend the environment.

In order to achieve its objectives, the forum focused mainly on the following topics:

• The situation and challenges experienced by human rights defenders on environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Testimonies of human rights defenders
• Experiences and best practices in the promotion of the rights of environmental defenders
• Mechanisms for the protection of defenders within the framework of the Escazú Agreement and specific content of Article 9
• Initial discussion on the elaboration of the Action Plan on Environmental Defenders of the Escazú Agreement.