APC welcomes this opportunity to provide input to the upcoming report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment. This submission draws on upcoming community-led research with environmental defenders; the work of APC’s Safety for Voices initiative, which aims to document and address digital violence against women human rights defenders (WHRDs); previous APC submissions to UN bodies; and the collective knowledge of networks and organisations of defenders.
This submission focuses on the continuum of digital violence and physical harm experienced by environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). Technology-facilitated violence (TFV), smear and disinformation campaigns and digital surveillance are increasingly being used by state and non-state actors against environmental defenders with the goal to repress, isolate and silence the resistance of communities facing violations of their territorial and land rights.
These tactics amplify existing forms of violence by enabling rapid dissemination of defamatory content, expanding surveillance capabilities and normalising public hostility. Another form of digital repression highlighted in this submission is the weaponisation of cyber-related frameworks to criminalise, censor and intimidate EHRDs. In terms of responses and measures for protecting EHRDs, the submission, in particular, features community-led strategies that seek to mobilise digital inclusion and create safe environments.
Read the full submission here.