The 6th International Rights of Nature Tribunal convened on February 28, 2025 at the University of Toronto in Canada, analyzing the devastating impacts of Canadian mining and the country’s extractive industries, particularly on Indigenous Peoples and their communities, water systems, and critical ecosystems worldwide. With cases spanning Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Serbia, and Canada itself, the Tribunal, themed “The Impacts of Mining and the Post-Extractivism Era”, heard harrowing testimonies from frontline defenders, legal experts, and environmental activists who exposed Canada’s role in perpetuating environmental destruction and human rights violations through its mining and trade policies – just in time for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Conference, a flagship gathering of the global mining industry, taking place the following week in Toronto.

Watch the full Tribunal here.

Download the press release in English here.

Comunicado de prensa en español.

Télécharger le communiqué de presse ici.

Access the Tribunal’s final recommendations in English and Spanish here.

Access the Tribunal’s letter for Xingu in English and Spanish here.

“The industry claims it is building the future, but the only future it guarantees is one of drought, contamination, and displacement,” declared James Yap, Earth Prosecutor. “Today we reject the myth that extraction at all costs is inevitable. We call for an end to the era of plunder and the beginning of an era of restoration, regeneration, and respect.“

A global pattern of destruction

The evidence presented to the Tribunal made clear that mining activities pose serious risks to people and the planet: Ana Zbona, expert from the Business & Human Rights Resource Center, explained the devastating impacts of transition minerals mining in the context of the current climate crisis, through the findings of the Transitions Minerals Tracker, which has recorded over 600 allegations of human rights abuses related to large-scale mining operations. She stressed the disproportionate impact of these activities on Indigenous communities, as more than 50% of transition minerals are located near or on Indigenous lands. Additionally, she underscored the dangers faced by human rights defenders, with mining being the most dangerous sector for activists, often leading to threats, intimidation, and even killings. 

In her recommendations, Zbona called for mandatory human rights due diligence, fair negotiations with communities, and zero tolerance for attacks on defenders, urging governments and corporations to prioritize responsible mining practices: “We don’t have to choose between fighting climate change and protecting human rights. A just transition must mean working towards greater global equity and equality, which means that policy options to reduce demand for new minerals must be considered first.“

Brazil: Mining in the Amazon – A looming disaster

Ana Laide Soares Barbosa, member of the Xingu Vivo movement, and Verena Glas, from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, denounced the Canadian mining company Belo Sun for its operations in the Volta Grande do Xingu, a region already devastated by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. “Belo Sun arrived without permission, without consultation, and with violence,” they stated. The project, they warned, could trigger one of Brazil’s worst environmental disasters, as explosions near the Belo Monte dam threaten its structural integrity. Furthermore, the mine is expected to extract 43,000 cubic meters of water per hour, exacerbating the region’s water crisis. “More than 50 people have been judicialized for defending their land, and one human rights defender has already been murdered,” they testified. 

The Tribunal learned of the arrest of José Rones, a farmer in the PA Ressaca Agrarian Reform settlement in Pará, Brazil, amidst conflicts with Canadian mining company Belo Sun. Despite Brazilian court rulings suspending Belo Sun’s environmental license and annulling land agreements, the company has deployed armed operatives who intimidate and harass farmers resisting mining. Reports of violence have been ignored by authorities. The Tribunal condemns the farmer’s arrest while Belo Sun’s violations go unpunished and calls on the Brazilian government to uphold the rights of land defenders and Nature in the Volta Grande do Xingu. Read the Tribunal’s letter for Xingú in English and Spanish here.

Canada: Uranium mining’s toll on Indigenous communities

Jordyn Burnouf, Nehîyaw|Cree woman and Black Lake First Nation member, exposed the social and environmental devastation caused by uranium mining in Northern Saskatchewan. “Like the liver in our bodies, the muskeg cleanses the waters and the lands—this ecosystem is one of North America’s largest carbon sinks,” she explained. But mining is destroying this delicate balance, and Indigenous workers face unsafe labor conditions, including rampant sexual harassment. “I was warned on my first day: ‘Be prepared to be sexually harassed.’ That was my introduction to the industry.“

Thanks to the witness recommendation, the Tribunal urged Canada to enact environmental and human rights corporate duty of vigilance law and due diligence legislation similar to those in France and Germany to account for human rights abuses. 

Chile: The false promise of “green” mining

Chilean witness Valeria Sepúlveda, president of Parque para Penco, rejected claims that rare earth mining in Penco, Chile, serves the energy transition. “This is not about clean energy—this is about the military-industrial complex,” she asserted. The project moved forward without consultation, illegally deforested protected areas, threatening the endemic Queule, among many other species, and has repeatedly failed to meet environmental standards. “They want to sacrifice our land, our water, and our community for a lie,” she warned. “This is not development; this is destruction.” Sepúlveda emphasized that her community has been fighting for years to protect their ecosystems, proposing the creation of a protected park instead of allowing further extractive industries. “We want a park, not a mine, we want to be able to stay home, not be displaced, and not become a sacrifice zone.“

Argentina: Lithium and cyanide – The new sacrificial zones

Domingo Jofré, a member of Jáchal No Se Toca in San Juan, Argentina, stood before the Tribunal to relay the devastating impacts of large-scale mining in his territory, focusing on Barrick Gold’s operations and the 2015 spill at the Veladero mine, where over a million litres containing cyanide and other heavy metals leaked from this gold mine into five rivers in the Jachál basin. This spill was concealed both by the company and the government: “We found out through a WhatsApp message,” that the water had been polluted and they shouldn’t drink it, he denounced.

Jofré described how mining has contaminated the Jáchal River with heavy metals, destroyed glaciers and high-mountain ecosystems, and endangered water availability for local communities. He also denounced political corruption that enables these companies’ impunity and demands that they no longer be financed or listed on the stock market. He warns about the José María project, which threatens to further damage the region’s water sources and glaciers: “For Nature, let there be justice.”

Witness Verónica Chávez, president of the Santuario Tres Pozos community in Jujuy, highlighted the resistance of Indigenous communities in Salinas Grandes and Laguna Guayatayoc: “They treat our land as a resource to be plundered, but for us, it is our Mother, our life, our home,” she stated. “We refuse to be sacrificed for their so-called progress.” Chávez denounced the systematic violation of Indigenous sovereignty and called for the immediate withdrawal of mining companies from their sacred lands. “​We do not want to be sacrificial lambs so some people can drive luxury cars. We want to leave the salt flats so that future generations can enjoy them: our grandchildren, our great grandchildren.”

Expert Miranda Solís from FARN revealed the ecological devastation caused by lithium mining in Argentina’s high-altitude wetlands, which are drying out due to excessive extraction. “The water in the salt flats sustains life—not just human, but entire ecosystems unique to this region,” she stated.

Ecuador: The battle for water and sovereignty

Hortencia Zhagüi, representative of the Kimsakocha region, exposed Ecuador’s ongoing struggle against Canadian mining companies, denouncing how extractive projects threaten critical water sources like Kimsacocha’s “páramos”, or moors. “The moors are our resistance, our life, our family. We will not allow their destruction,” declared Zhagüi, who has fought against mining for over 30 years and described the long history of community resistance and the devastating effects of mining on the fragile ecosystem: “Our waters have sustained us for generations. We cannot let them be poisoned for corporate profit,” she emphasized.

Meanwhile, Zenaida Yasacama, vice president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) brought forward seven critical cases from the 15th Local Rights of Nature Tribunal in Ecuador: Las Naves, Kimsacocha-Loma Larga, Warintza, Nabón, Fierro Urco, Espíndola, and Palo Quemado – Las Pampas, presenting them to the judges along with the local Tribunal’s official mandate. “These cases represent the lived realities and experiences of communities resisting extractivism across Ecuador. We stand here today not just to denounce, but to demand action,” Yasacama declared, and warned of the systematic criminalization of Indigenous land defenders. More than 200 people have been criminalized in different territories in Ecuador: “We are persecuted, threatened, and treated as criminals for defending water and life.”

Viviana Herrera from Mining Watch highlighted the dangers of the Ecuador-Canada Free Trade Agreement signed in February, which grants corporations the power to sue governments that reject mining projects. “Canada brands this as an ‘inclusive’ trade agreement, yet frontline communities have been systematically excluded from negotiations. This is nothing but an expansion of corporate colonialism.” The content of this agreement has been negotiated behind closed doors, and there is a Ministerial reservation regarding its content that communities urge to be disclosed.

Serbia: The new extractive frontier

Judge Francesco Martone brought forward the case of the Homolje region in Serbia, where Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals (DPM) is expanding its extractive activities: “The Serbian government is turning the country into a mining colony, easing environmental restrictions and repressing civil resistance,” he warned. The company’s gold mining operations threaten 143 species, including several already endangered, and pose an existential risk to the ecosystems of the region. “The rivers, the forests, and the communities that have lived here for generations are being sacrificed in the name of profit,” Martone stated.

Rade Mošić from the village of Laznica, in Serbia, recounted how his family’s water source, used for generations, became undrinkable after DPM’s drilling activities, which contaminated local water sources with toxic substances such as arsenic, aluminum, copper, and cadmium, as well as destroyed forests, caused wildlife displacement, and mentioned the psychological pressure and surveillance imposed on activists. “Homolje will resist. The land, Nature, and the children of Homolje will triumph.“

The Serbian case was first presented at the 14th Local Rights of Nature Tribunal, where grassroots organizations and environmental defenders documented the extensive damage caused by foreign mining investments, and the results of this Tribunal were turned in as a complaint to the Bern Convention.

The Tribunal’s oral verdict

In his final statement, judge Tom Goldtooth, from the Indigenous Environmental Network, voiced that each of the cases demonstrated a clear case of the violation of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, reaffirming that Nature is a living, self-regulating being with inherent rights, and challenged the legitimacy of corporate-driven development models, demanding that governments, investors, and corporations be held accountable for their role in the destruction of Indigenous lands and cultures. He further cited the cases as violating the Seed of Siena Declaration adopted by GARN and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “Who asks Nature? Who asks Mother Earth, the water, the air, for permission to do the damage and destruction they are planning to do or currently doing?” he asked. “Violations of the Rights of Nature are violations of Indigenous rights and human rights—one cannot exist without the other.“

Judge Tzeporah Berman, from the Fossil Fuel Treaty, went on to condemn the ongoing environmental and human rights abuses of Canadian mining companies, exposing their role in poisoning freshwater sources, destroying biodiversity, and trampling Indigenous rights. “A problem for which there is no solution is a tragedy. A problem for which there is a known solution not being acted upon is not a tragedy—it’s a scandal,” she stated. “Listening to the heart-wrenching testimonies today, more than once I thought: this is a tragedy. But then I reminded myself: it is not a tragedy, it is a scandal.” Berman stressed the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels and mining activities, while centering justice in the transition: “Courage is contagious. Your courage has inspired us all.”

Canadian author, activist and Tribunal judge Maude Barlow warned of an impending global water crisis, with demand set to exceed supply by 40% within the next decade. “We have diverted, polluted, and used water as a resource for pleasure and profit. We must stop. Loving and honoring water is essential to getting where we need to go,” she said. She denounced the financialization of Nature as a corporate strategy to greenwash destruction, declaring, “The antidote to the financialization of Nature is the Rights of Mother Earth.”

Ponca Nation elder Casey Camp Horinek emphasized that the destruction caused by extractive industries is an attack on the interconnected web of life itself. “Our Mother Earth has laws, and these laws must be honored above the laws of corporations and governments that seek to exploit her,” the Tribunal judge declared. “The Rights of Nature must not only be recognized but fiercely defended.” 

As a Plains Cree woman from the Kawacatoose First Nation on Treaty 4 territory in Canada, judge Danii Kehler highlighted the violent imposition of Canadian lithium mining in Indigenous territories, exposing how communities have repeatedly rejected extraction, only to be ignored. “We have said ‘no’ time and time again, but they continue to impose this destruction on us,” she declared. “This is not a sacrifice we are willing to make.” Kehler emphasized the need for Indigenous sovereignty to be upheld, stating that true environmental justice must include the right of communities to refuse extractive projects.

Judge Francesco Martone exposed the role of free trade agreements in facilitating environmental destruction and corporate impunity. “Trade agreements are modern instruments of colonialism. They grant corporations rights over Nature while stripping communities of their ability to resist.” He called for the dismantling of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, which allow corporations to sue governments for protecting ecosystems.

Chilean engineer Lucio Cuenca Berger condemned the expansion of mining under the pretense of “critical minerals for the energy transition,” warning that this rhetoric is being used to further the extractivist model at the expense of communities and ecosystems. “We are being forced into a false urgency to make Nature available for the energy transition,” the judge stated. “Regulatory standards are being weakened, and democracy itself is being undermined to benefit corporations.”

Enrique Viale, Argentinian lawyer and Tribunal judge, put the plundering of Latin America’s ecosystems by Canadian mining companies on blast, warning that “sacrifice zones are not a mistake, they are a business model.” He emphasized that extractivism is a continuation of colonial violence, stating, “These corporations are writing new chapters in Eduardo Galeano’s The Open Veins of Latin America. But we will not let them dictate the end of our story.“

To close the session, Heather Milton Lightening, who served as the president for this session of the Tribunal, made a direct call for land back and an end to green colonialism. “Being an Indigenous person in Canada, I want to say—it’s time for land back. Canada is committing ecocide and should be responsible for the remediation and repair of the damages in all of these cases—including the removal of these corporations from all of these countries. Just transition should be just—not sacrifice anyone.“

Tribunal advisor Osprey Orielle Lake also called for the adoption of the Declaration, asserting that this framework is critical in the face of climate chaos and ecological destruction: “We need to move to frameworks that uplift justice, rights, reciprocity, restoration, reparations, and healthy relationships with each other and our sacred Earth,” she urged. “Rights of Nature is not a fantasy—39 countries are already advancing it, and legal cases have been won. This is a real idea in action. There is no more time to delay systemic change.“

The Rights of Nature Tribunal issued a series of urgent recommendations addressing the widespread human and non-human rights violations of Canadian mining companies locally and internationally, with the endorsement of the Canadian government. The judges of the Tribunal call for the UN Special Rapporteur to investigate the impact of critical mineral extraction on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, urge the adoption of a UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights, and demand the recognition of the Rights of Nature in affected countries. 

Specific cases include calls for Canada to enact stronger environmental and human rights due diligence laws, respect Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), and suspend destructive projects like Belo Sun in Brazil. Additionally, the Tribunal denounces corporate impunity in Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, and Serbia, highlighting violations related to lithium, uranium, and gold mining, and calling for urgent protection of natural ecosystems and impacted communities.

The Tribunal urges governments to halt mining projects in ecologically sensitive areas, end the criminalization of environmental defenders, and ensure genuine consultation with affected communities. It demands the immediate withdrawal of Canadian mining companies from Ecuador, the rejection of the Ecuador-Canada Free Trade Agreement, and full restoration for damages caused by mining operations worldwide. The Tribunal further calls for the Serbian government to suspend gold exploration in Homolje and implement environmental remediation. 

In response to these widespread violations, the Tribunal finds Canadian mining companies guilty of infringing collective rights, Indigenous rights, and the Rights of Nature. A final judgment, the “New Pact with Mother Earth,” will be presented at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, building on the first session of the 6th International Tribunal hearing in New York during Climate Week 2024, themed “The End of the Fossil Fuel Era”, and this second session in Canada, to emphasize that the fossil fuel and mining industries are interconnected components of the same destructive system and must be addressed collectively. 

The Tribunal is also planning for a fact-finding mission to the three lithium-producing countries in Latin America to further investigate the impact of mining on Nature and communities.

Watch the full Tribunal and all the individual interventions here.

Background

The Tribunal’s session followed its November 2021 hearing in Glasgow, where it addressed the ongoing threats to the Amazon, particularly in the Xingu and Carajás territories in Brazil, impacted by projects like the Belo Sun gold mine. A delegation from the Tribunal visited the region in 2022, witnessing firsthand the devastation caused by large-scale mining operations, including deforestation, contamination, and land grabbing. Local communities and Indigenous peoples, supported by organizations such as Xingu Vivo Para Sempre (MXVP), have petitioned the Tribunal to take action against these destructive practices.

Canada is a key player in the global mining industry, with 47% of the world’s public companies listed on Canadian stock exchanges. Despite significant environmental and human rights abuses linked to Canadian mining operations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, Canada continues to prioritize resource extraction. The Tribunal’s hearing aims to expose these practices and propose a critical response to uphold the Rights of Nature and affected communities. Before the Toronto session, the Tribunal held a local hearing on Dundee Precious Minerals (DPM) in Serbia, resulting in a statement from the Tribunal judges condemning both DPM and the Serbian government for their roles in ongoing and potential violations of the Rights of Nature.

About the Rights of Nature Tribunal

The International Rights of Nature Tribunal is a citizen-led institution that addresses violations against Nature and the rights of its guardians, holding corporations and governments accountable for environmental destruction. By offering legal recommendations and amplifying grassroots voices, the Tribunal advances a framework for environmental justice rooted in the Rights of Nature.

Since its inception, the Tribunal has heard cases from every continent, covering issues such as fracking, deforestation, fossil fuel extraction, large-scale infrastructures, and mining. Its decisions serve as a model for protecting Nature and upholding its rights as the basis for effective and just stewardship. Learn more about the Tribunal here.

For Media Inquiries:

• Natalia Greene, Tribunal Secretary
  📞 +593 99 944 3724
  📧 secretariat@rightsofnaturetribunal.org 
• Josefina Mösle, Tribunal Communications Lead
  📧 communications@garn.org