This side-event will present a multi-stake holder perspective, including the States of France and Costa Rica, and ocean defenders from The Bahamas, Colombia and Senegal, who will share the importance of including human rights in ocean issues, including examples on international standards and obligations, best practices and community practices to ensure human rights-based ocean governance.

Overview

Our Ocean, Our Rights is a high-level side event that highlights the immediate, ambitious and coherent action necessary for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14 to mitigate irreparable loss and damage, advance ocean protection and restoration. Today the ocean faces important threats due to unsustainable human activities, such as fossil fuel extraction, including offshore development; industrial fishing and agribusiness; risky marine technologies and inadequately planned urbanization. Frontline communities, including fisherfolk, Indigenous Peoples, and coastal populations are facing increasingly severe threats, aggravated by climate change, biodiversity loss, and marine and toxic pollution. These impacts endanger livelihoods and their rights, food security, health, and cultural heritage, and the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. At the same time, many viable community-based solutions are under way that could inspire significant protection, and the reversal of trends needed for ocean protection.

Objective

The discussion will present lessons learned based and expertise from States and the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment regarding the importance to include a human rights-based approach to ocean governance, as highlighted in the Rapporteur’s report to the Human Rights Council on the ocean and human rights (A/HRC/58/59) and the Council’s Resolution on the same topic. Ocean defenders from Senegal, The Bahamas, and Colombia will discuss the connection between ocean ecosystems and human rights, and the particular threat of expanding oil and gas activities in the ocean.

The event aims to contribute to the understanding of how integration of human rights into national, regional, and global ocean policies is urgent and vital to strengthen ocean governance. By sharing human rights standards, best practices, community-based experiences, and scientific evidence in supporting rights-based ocean action, this side-event will evidence both why and how, including human rights in all ocean efforts and actions is fundamental to increasing ocean protection. The discussion will highlight existing gaps and opportunities 

Speakers:

• Astrid Puentes Riaño, UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
• Ambassador Georgina Guillén Grillo, Special Presidential Envoy of Costa Rica for the Ocean
• Representative for the French Republic - TBC
• Andurah Daxon, Executive Director, Waterkeepers Bahamas
• Julian Medina Salgado, Fisherfolk leader and ULAPA co-founder, Colombia
• Mbacke Seck, Executive Director, Hann Baykeeper, Senegal

Moderator:

• Emelina Corrales, Marine Biologist

Live interpretation:

For the people on-site, the event will have simultaneous translation to Spanish, French and English, which can be accessed through this Zoom link.
Note: Please bring headphones to connect to your device.

Organizing Partners:

• UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
• French Republic
• Republic of Costa Rica
• Waterkeeper Alliance (Hann Baykeeper, Waterkeepers Bahamas, Bargny Coast Waterkeeper)
• Fossil Free Wider Caribbean Network
• Fundación Quantum (Costa Rica)
• ULAPA (Unión Latinoamericana de Pesca Artesanal)
• SkyTruth
• Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA)
• Earth Insight
• ONG FIMA (Chile)