“When we defend the land, we are not saving Nature. We are Nature defending itself — because we are part of Nature.” – Saramaka defender from Suriname, Hugo Jabini

On the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Berta Cáceres, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal convened a public webinar bringing together Tribunal members and partner organizations to examine the current situation of land and environmental defenders and to present the Rights of Nature Tribunal’s Policy on Defenders of Mother Earth and Territories.

The event gathered contributions from:

• Francesco Martone, Coordinator of the Tribunal’s Judges’ Assembly
• Patricia Gualinga, Kichwa leader from Sarayaku and long-standing defender of Indigenous territorial rights
• Javier Garate, representing Global Witness
• Jorge Nawel, Mapuche leader and territorial defender representing ICCA Consortium
• Adam Lunn, representing the Zero Tolerance Initiative
• Hugo Jabini, Saramaka defender from Suriname

The discussion situated the legacy of Berta Cáceres within a broader global pattern of violence, criminalization, and structural impunity affecting defenders of land, water, and ecosystems.

Opening the session, Francesco Martone emphasized the legal and political principle that underpins the Tribunal’s work:

“You cannot separate the recognition of the Rights of Nature from the rights of their guardians. They are completely interconnected. The violation of the Rights of Nature entails violations of peoples’ rights, and violations of peoples’ rights entail violations of the Rights of Nature.”

This interdependence forms the foundation of the Tribunal’s Policy on Defenders of Mother Earth and Territories, which establishes that the effective protection of Nature requires structural guarantees for those who defend it.

Data presented during the webinar by Global Witness’ Javier Garate highlighted the scale and persistence of attacks. According to documentation by Global Witness, Honduras remains one of the most dangerous countries per capita for environmental defenders. Of 94 documented cases in the country, 90 occurred after Berta Cáceres’ assassination.

These findings reinforce the need for preventive, structural measures rather than reactive or purely individual responses.

Speakers addressed the broader political context in which violence occurs. Extractive projects often proceed with State authorization, while defenders are stigmatized or prosecuted for opposing environmental destruction. The Tribunal’s analysis identifies both corporate and State responsibility in creating conditions that enable violence, whether through regulatory failures, lack of due diligence, or ineffective protection mechanisms.

From Argentina, Jorge Nawel addressed the political economy behind these patterns:

“That temporary well-being promised by royalties is in reality a sentence for our future. There is no multinational that destroys territory without a State that opens the door and a justice system that legitimizes it. Instead of demanding that the State comply with the law, we are criminalized for defending our territory.”

The issue is not limited to physical attacks. Judicial harassment and misuse of criminal law have become increasingly common tools to weaken community resistance.

A key theme of the webinar was the need to move beyond individual protection models. Adam Lunn, Zero Tolerance Initiative representative, highlighted that when communities are attacked collectively, protection must also be collective.

Collective protection includes community-based early warning systems, territorial monitoring, Indigenous governance structures, and social cohesion strategies rooted in ancestral knowledge.

The Tribunal’s Policy explicitly recognizes the legitimacy and importance of these collective systems.

The Tribunal’s Policy on Defenders of Mother Earth and Territories

The Policy adopted by the International Rights of Nature Tribunal establishes:

• A prevention-centered approach
• Recognition of community-based and Indigenous protection systems
• A differentiated framework for Indigenous Peoples
• A call for structural security guarantees and accountability
• Alignment with evolving international standards on environmental defenders

The Policy situates defender protection within the broader development of Rights of Nature jurisprudence, recognizing that legal innovation must be accompanied by practical safeguards for those on the front lines.

Ten years after Berta Cáceres’ assassination, the urgency remains. While there have been advances in visibility, international recognition, and legal frameworks, patterns of violence and impunity persist across regions.

“The attempt to silence her voice has not succeeded. Berta is still alive — in every community, in every river that has been protected, and in every person who begins to see nature not as a resource but as part of our vital existence. This is no longer only the struggle of Indigenous peoples. It is a struggle for all humanity.” – Sarayaku defender and Tribunal judge Patricia Gualinga

The webinar reaffirmed that defending Nature is not an abstract legal project. It is a lived struggle carried out by communities whose safety, dignity, and collective rights must be guaranteed.

The full recording of the webinar is available in English and in Spanish.
The Tribunal’s Defenders Policy can be accessed through the Tribunal Library: https://bit.ly/tribunal-library

Protecting Nature requires protecting those who defend it. The two are legally, politically, and ethically inseparable.