Public Statements

As the World Bank's 20th Annual Land and Poverty Conference gets underway, we urge you to immediately put an end to the Bank's attack on land rights orchestrated though the Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) project.

One month after violent incidents in the SOCFIN plantations in Sierra Leone leading to brutal repression by security forces, the death of two people and 15 people arrested, Sierra Leonean and international civil society organisations urge the government of Sierra Leone and the company to immediately end the repression of land rights defenders and the human rights violations and abuses suffered by local communities

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on land governance and human rights in Sierra Leone and internally are concerned over the excessive use of force by state security since Monday 21st, January, 2019 in Malen chiefdom, Pujehun district.

In July 2015, while speaking to the Assembly of First Nations, soon-to-be-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged that if elected, he would usher in a new relationship between the Canadian government and Indigenous Peoples — “one built on respect, rights and a commitment to end the status quo.” But this promise — to end the centuries-long practice of exploitation, systemic oppression, and violence against the First Nations people of Canada — rang empty this week.

As Brazil prepares to inaugurate Jair Bolsonaro as president, we the undersigned organizations wish to voice our deep concern regarding positions held by the president-elect that represent a serious threat to democracy, human rights and the environment. We also wish to reaffirm our support for the courageous individuals and groups in Brazil that strive to uphold constitutionally protected rights and freedoms in an increasingly challenging environment. President-elect Bolsonaro has frequently taken positions that are fundamentally at odds with democratic values.

We are in receipt of your letter to the Oakland Institute dated September 26, 2018 regarding the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) and its relationship with Green Resources. We are writing to publicly respond to several troubling comments that it contained.

As Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly next week, a new report by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) reveals extensive and horrific use of sexual violence in post-war Sri Lanka. Based on the deeply disturbing testimonies of 121 victims, Unsilenced: Male Survivors Speak of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka provides gruesome details of sexual violence experienced by male detainees between 2009 and 2017 – after the conclusion of the civil war.

Honourable Vice-President, Greetings from Green Scenery, a national CSO, FIAN Belgium, part of FIAN international, the human rights organisation advocating for the right to adequate food, with consultative status to the United Nations, Oakland Institute a world renowned Global Policy Think Tank. By this letter, we would like to congratulate you as Vice President of the republic of Sierra Leone in the new government. We wish to share with you certain concerns, which call for clear political response.

On the afternoon of June 29, 2018, 12 Maasai from Ololosokwan village were attacked by soldiers from the Tanzania People’s Defence Force. The victims ranged in age from five to 33, including six boys under the age of 14. Three were treated in a local hospital.

From 11th to 29th June 2018, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council will be meeting in Montreal. High up on the agenda are proposed rules for a Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). CORSIA is based on the false assumption that carbon emissions from the fast- growing aviation industry can be mitigated through carbon offsetting and biofuels. During the High-Level ICAO Conference on “Sustainable Alternative Aviation Fuels” in October 2017, member states rejected proposed biofuel targets for aviation.