Benjamin Mosquera, leader communautaire, regarde la rivière Anchicaya du haut d'un promontoire. Crédits: Click Digital/ASF Canada 2024.
Cali, Colombia – Lawyers Without Borders Canada (LWB Canada) will participate in the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, taking place in Cali from October 21 to November 1, 2024. LWB Canada will take this opportunity to deliver a strong message on the links between the climate crisis and human rights violations.
The climate crisis is creating new threats while exacerbating existing violations, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations in Latin America and beyond. LWB Canada emphasizes that extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation jeopardize fundamental rights such as the right to life, health, a healthy environment, and access to clean water. This international conference, held nearly two years after the historic Montreal Agreement, marks a crucial moment for assessing countries’ progress in biodiversity protection.
LWB Canada also supports the Anchicayá community in Colombia, which has suffered from an ecological disaster caused by a hydroelectric company 20 years ago. The organization aims to draw global attention to this emblematic case of corporate impact on the environment and human rights, and to the responsibility of states to regulate such companies.
Screening of “Anchicayá, a River That No Longer Sings”
At COP16, LWB Canada will present a documentary followed by a discussion entitled Anchicayá, a River That No Longer Sings, along with a photo exhibition documenting the community’s fight for the recognition of its rights. This presentation will include participation from Anchicayá community leaders and their lawyer.
– October 18 at Universidad Javeriana in Cali.
– October 22 at 7:00 PM at the booth of the Colombian organization Dejusticia.
– October 23 at 10:30 AM at the German Embassy booth.
– October 25 at 4:30 PM at the Quebec booth.
Partnership
LWB Canada warmly thanks the Government of Quebec for its financial support, which made the documentary and photo exhibition possible, as well as the travel arrangements for members of the Anchicayá community to the COP16 event in Cali.
Media Contact
Stelsie Angers, LWB Canada’s Colombia Director, will be available for interviews and comments.
Press Contact:
In Colombia: Humberto Rodriguez, humberto.rodriguez@asfcanada.ca
In Canada: Sandrine Muir-Bouchard, sandrine.muir-bouchard@asfcanada.ca
About LWB Canada
Lawyers Without Borders Canada is an international cooperation organization that, for over 20 years, has contributed to the realization of human rights for vulnerable people by strengthening access to justice and legal representation.
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