Greetings!

"Earth rights" is not a common phrase - yet - but it is a very simple concept. It stresses that human rights, the environment, and many important issues such as labour rights, social justice and peace, are all interconnected. As environmentalists, or human rights activists, or social justice advocates, we cannot afford to separate or isolate our concerns.


Here are some key focus areas for the Victoria Earth Rights Network

- Environmental activists who are targetted, persecuted, detained or killed for giving the Earth a voice. (Ken Saro-Wiwa, for example, was executed in Nigeria for speaking out against Shell Oil's pollution there)

- Indigenous peoples everywhere who are rarely consulted or compensated for resource extraction which pollutes their traditional lands, often by powerful multinational corporations working with corrupt governments. (ie. the U'Wa people of Columbia, who oppose Occidental Petroleum drilling on their lands).

- Climate Justice. International scientists have confirmed climate change is happening, and that we are to blame for its rapid acceleration. But our privileged minority of the world's population will be relatively unaffected - if there are floods, we can afford to move. If there are droughts, we have lots of food to go around. But what about the people of the Caribbean, or the Pacific, or other, less privileged coastal societies? Climate change is not just about environment; it is also about justice.

- Globalization. Victoria Earth Rights Network supports "grassroots globalization" - increased communication and expressions of solidarity between cultures, fair and equitable trade between rich and poor nations, and international cooperation on environmental and social problems. However, the trend to corporate market globalization is based on models of "development", unbridled economic growth, and corporate expansion that are at the heart of many earth rights abuses.



Please sign up for the Victoria Earth Rights Network e-mail list by clicking here, or by e-mailing the address below. Network e-mails will focus on timely events, and will usually suggest some form of action - for instance letter-writing, events or website links. Remember, it only takes a dedicated minority of compassionate citizens to make positive change.

The time has come to stand together.

David Ball
Victoria Earth Rights Network

earthrights@socialchangenow.ca


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