In the framework of permanent cooperation with the United Nations’ institutions and agencies, our Association informed the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Professor Margaret Satterthwaite, for the preparation of her new Report on the role of justice systems in addressing the climate crisis.
Our submission, published at the UN official web-sources now, reminded that Russia-controlled troops and mercenaries committed in Ukraine, during the ongoing aggression, gross violation of international law, including crimes against informational, cultural rights and environment, attacks on forests, dams, national parks, riparian and maritime ecosystems.
The ARC submission added that Russian de-facto authorities, except the “official control” over media, use the “independent bloggers”, the influencers and groups in social networks and channels in messengers, controlled by the Russian special services, to spread the disinformation, including events of ecologic disaster, like fakes about destruction the dam of Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and about the catastrophe that occurred in the waters of the Black Sea with the Russian tankers “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239”.
The ARC submission stressed that local lawyers and human rights defenders on the occupied territories of Ukraine, who took part in the environmental cases, are subjects of total repressions and they are deprived of freedom by Russian invaders, or they are forced to leave those territories to government-controlled part of Ukraine or to the third countries.
The submission added that disinformation, hate speech, and repressions in absentia are used broadly by Russian de-facto “authorities” and circles of their influence to discredit the independent lawyers, human rights defenders, and bloggers, who left the Crimea and other occupied territories.
Relevant examle of Russia-controlled stuctures’ illicit activities were given in the submission on example of our expert Borys Babin, including the situations, reflected in the cases 521/11949/24, 758/978/20 and others.
A relevant UN Report A/81/166, by Professor Satterthwaite stressed regarding those issues that lawyers are too often stigmatized and ridiculed by government officials, companies, and others with a stake in climate-harming industries or projects and that such lawyers are framed when defending Indigenous Peoples or affected communities.
Vested economic and political actors are using their power and influence to resist the shift away from carbon-based systems, including through efforts to capture and curb judicial systems, instrumentalize criminal and civil law, and coerce or harm legal personnel, the Report A/81/166 added, demanding from the states to shut down the instrumentalization of judicial systems against climate and environmental defenders and justice personnel.
