INTRODUCTION
The third International Rights of Nature Tribunal was held concurrently with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 21) at Maison des Métallos in Paris, France. Hosted by the Global Alliance of the Rights of Nature in partnership with End Ecocide on Earth, NatureRights & Attac France, the panel of judges consisting of internationally renowned lawyers and leaders for planetary justice heard evidence and pronounced judgments on 4 cases after the first day and 4 cases on day 2.
The Tribunal is a unique, citizen-created initiative that relies on the mandate granted to it through the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth. It gives people from all around the world the opportunity to testify publicly as to the destruction of the Earth. The Tribunal provides a systemic alternative to environmental protection, acknowledging that ecosystems have the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate their vital cycles.
The Tribunal features internationally renowned lawyers and leaders for planetary justice, who hear cases addressing issues such as climate change, GMOs, fracking, extractive industries and other environmental violations. The Tribunal offered judgments and recommendations for the Earth’s protection and restoration based on the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth. Among other things, the Declaration binds us to respect the integrity of the vital ecological processes of the Earth.
Accordingly, the Declaration also helps advance proposed amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to recognize the crime of Ecocide. The Tribunal has a strong focus on enabling indigenous peoples and local communities to share their unique concerns and solutions about land, water and culture with the global community.
The Tribunal opened on December 4 with a formal signing of the Tribunal Convention by Tribunal delegates and Indigenous Leaders from around the world. Shown here is the signing by Chief Raoni of the Kayapo people of the Brazilian Amazon and Tribunal Officiates.
This court also saw the birth of an important case called: OCEAN IN DANGER by Lisa Mead.
PRESIDENT CORMAC CULLINAN CONCLUDES RIGHTS OF NATURE TRIBUNAL
“So the first point is inescapable. This is a systemic issue and the responses must be systemic.
Secondly, if anyone came here with any doubts about whether or not human rights and the rights of nature are compatible, I think that they must have been dispelled. Everybody has demonstrated that they are inseparable. As Chief Seattle is reported to have said so long ago: ‘What befalls the Earth, befalls the children of the Earth.’”
Cormac Cullinan, President of the Paris Tribunal, presents conclusions of proceedings of the 2-day International Rights of Nature Tribunal in Paris on, Saturday December 5, 2015.
Closing Statement by Cormac Cullinan
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I think you will all agree with me that over these last two days we have been extraordinarily fortunate to participate in these proceedings. These proceedings will, we hope, prove not only to have been extraordinary in terms of what we have heard and the evidence that has been led but also to be historic.
The formal establishment of truly International Tribunal
The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, which as you heard was approved in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2010, has created a manifesto for earth justice for organizations and people all over the world. What has happened here today and yesterday has been the consolidation of that effort by the establishment of the Tribunal – the formal establishment the Tribunal because it already existed – by the People’s Convention which entered into force yesterday. This represents a significant step forward because it is an example to people everywhere how, when the governments of the world failed, we can step forward as people and begin to create the world that we want to see. We can create People’s institutions; we can enter into agreements ourselves and begin to create the future that we want.
More than 80 people from many different countries of the world have participated in these proceedings as judges, as experts, as presenters, as prosecutors, etc. So I think we can safely say that this is a truly international tribunal.
Systemic problems require systemic responses – “What befalls the earth, befalls the children of the earth.”
It has been wonderful to hear the stories from all over the world coming together. And what they have shown us, is that if you had any doubts about this before, we are facing systemic problems. We are facing deep-rooted problems in the dominant civilizations which need to be addressed. Roots which are not only to do with environmental degradation but which also affect issues of patriarchy and the military.
So the first point is inescapable. This is a systemic issue and the responses must be systemic.
Secondly, if anyone came here with any doubts about whether or not human rights and the rights of nature are compatible, I think that they must have been dispelled. Everybody has demonstrated that they are inseparable. As Chief Seattle is reported to have said so long ago:
“What befalls the Earth, befalls the children of the Earth.”
The evidence before the Tribunal and its findings
And the evidence has been harrowing. We have all been through an emotional journey. Sometimes it has evoked anger, sometimes heartbreak and sorrow. We have heard about the attacks on the Defenders of the Earth and we have heard about the attacks on the Earth. Can you imagine how much deeper and intense this journey would have been if all our relations had been able to come here and testify? If the fish, and the birds, and the trees, and the creatures in the soil had been able to come here and tell us about how they are experiencing the assault on Mother Earth. If they had been able to talk about the destruction of their home, the poisoning of their children, and the extinction of their species.
The findings which flow from this evidence are damning. There is no doubt about it -we are experiencing systematic violations of the Rights of Mother Earth. Almost all beings on the planet are affected and almost every single article in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth has been violated, as you have heard.
Tribunal Protagonists
Here you can find the Judges, Prosecutor, and Secretariat of the tribunal.
Cormac Cullinan
President of the Tribunal
Tom Goldtooth
Judge
Nnimmo Bassey
Judge
Osprey Orielle Lake
Judge
Alberto Acosta
Judge
Ruth Nyambura
Judge
Philippe Desbrosses
Judge
Felicio Pontes
Judge
Terisa Turner
Judge
Atossa Soltani
Judge
Damien Short
Honorary Judge
Dominique Bourg
Honorary Judge
Ramiro Ávila
Prosecutor
Linda Sheehan
Prosecutor
Natalia Greene
Secretariat
Edgardo Lander
Secretariat Advisor
Enrique Viale
Secretariat Advisor
Thomas Coutrot
Secretariat Advisor
Cases from Paris Tribunal
Learn more about the cases related to this tribunal.
Chevron/Texaco Case
Defenders of Nature and Mother Earth Case
The UDRME requires all human beings and institutions to defend the rights of Mother Earth and of all beings ...
Yasuni ITT Case
The Yasuní ITT Case highlights Ecuador's violations of environmental and indigenous rights due to oil extraction in Yasuní National Park. The tribunal condemned the government, recommended halting extraction, and supported indigenous rights. In August 2023, a national vote stopped exploitation in Block 43, showing civil society’s impact.