<\/p>\n
Speaking at the first European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday in Strasbourg, France, T\u00fcrk highlighted growing risks faced by activists globally. T\u00fcrk said nearly 600 environmental and land defenders have been killed or have disappeared over the past three years, while activists in at least 55 countries have faced detention linked to their work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk said defenders play a critical role in protecting not only the environment but also human rights and democracy. T\u00fcrk described the environmental justice movement as a powerful alliance spanning science, law and ethics, but warned that its growing influence has been met with increasingly harsh responses. According to T\u00fcrk, some opponents have resorted to violence, abduction and the misuse of legal systems to silence activists.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The warning comes as environmental pressures continue to intensify, particularly in Europe. T\u00fcrk said the continent is warming at twice the global average, with extreme weather events contributing to thousands of deaths each summer. T\u00fcrk also pointed to widespread environmental challenges, including unsafe air quality affecting the majority of urban residents and the degradation of most natural habitats.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk said there is a contradiction between environmental ambitions and the treatment of activists, noting that some countries have introduced laws that can criminalise peaceful protest. T\u00fcrk said it is concerning that individuals advocating for environmental protection are being prosecuted under legislation designed to combat serious crimes such as terrorism or organised crime.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk called on governments to ensure the safety of environmental defenders, hold perpetrators accountable for abuses and strengthen legal protections. T\u00fcrk also urged authorities to respect court rulings and work towards establishing more robust protection systems at regional levels.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The remarks came ahead of World Environment Day, which is observed annually on June 5 under the leadership of the UN Environment Programme. The global campaign this year is focusing on the urgent need to limit global warming and reduce emissions in line with international climate targets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN Environment Programme Executive (UNEP) Director Inger Andersen said decisive action is needed to keep temperature increases within the 1.5\u00b0C threshold above pre-industrial levels. Andersen said even if this target is exceeded, efforts must continue to bring temperatures back down through sustained climate action.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To support the campaign, UNEP has launched a global awareness initiative encouraging participation through a \u201cget low for climate\u201d challenge. The campaign, which includes support from public figures such as Actor Jason Momoa, aims to amplify engagement and reinforce calls for stronger environmental action.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36344,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-36343","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk has called for stronger protection of environmental and land defenders, warning that hundreds have been killed, detained or disappeared in recent years as they campaign to protect communities and ecosystems.","published_date":"","news_description":"United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk has called for stronger protection of environmental and land defenders, warning that hundreds have been killed, detained or disappeared in recent years as they campaign to protect communities and ecosystems.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36345,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36343\/revisions\/36345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=36343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}