Both ENDS
Two weeks ago, the Monsanto Tribunal took place in The Hague. With this civil tribunal, activists from all over the world aim to add 'ecocide' as a crime in international laws. Zinaba Rasmane from Burkina Faso states that "currently we can't sue multinationals like Monsanto in our country for the damage they are causing."
This week, Laura Zuniga Cáceres, daughter of Berta Cáceres*, visits the Netherlands. She will talk with the directors of the involved departments of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in a colloquium about indigenous right of Leiden University and meet with several Dutch NGO's. Both ENDS asked this brave young woman about the situation in Honduras and her motivation to continue her mother's work.
The supposed consent given by the indigenous population for the controversial canal through their territory is deceptive. Testimonies of the Rama and Kriol population show how the consultation process has been manipulated, and that their consent is invalid.
Both ENDS will join the protest against trade treaties TTIP, CETA and TiSA on Saturday October 22nd in Amsterdam. These treaties will have negative impacts, not only in the Netherlands and Europe, but also - and maybe even more so - in developing countries.
The Netherlands has not reached the 100% target it set itself for the purchase of responsibly sourced soy, with only 34% of imports reaching the RTRS (Round Table on Sustainable Soy ) or an equivalent sustainability standard in 2015. The pork and poultry sectors are lagging behind with an uptake of less than 10% of responsibly sourced soy.
Last week, the conclusions of an independent fact-finding mission to the Agua Zarca Hydro-electric Project in Honduras, were released. The report was commissioned by one of the project financiers, the Dutch development bank FMO after human rights defender and fierce opponent of the dam Berta Cáceres was murdered in March 2016.
Guest blog by Debora Calheiros, Brazil
