Building on the success of its 6th international hearing during New York Climate Week in September 2023, centered on “The End of the Fossil Fuel Era,” the Tribunal will convene its second session in Toronto, Canada, in February 2025. This session coincides with the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Conference, a flagship event for the global mining industry.
Themed “The Impacts of Mining and the Post-Extractivism Era”, this session will highlight the environmental and human rights impacts of Canadian mining companies worldwide. Witnesses from diverse regions will present cases, and an expert panel comprising international and Indigenous leaders will assess them using the Rights of Nature framework. The session will conclude with an oral judgment, offering actionable recommendations to address injustices while championing the Rights of Nature as a vital response to the environmental and climate crises.
One of the judges on the tribunal is Blue Community co-founder Maude Barlow.
Details of the 6th International Rights of Nature Tribunal, 2nd Session: “The Impacts of Mining and the Post-Extractivism Era”
Date: 28th February 2025
Location: University of Toronto, Law School, 78 Queen’s Park, Room J140, Toronto, Canada and online
Language: English with translation to Spanish and Portuguese
Background and registration (in person and online) here
This is the second session of the 6th International Rights of Nature Tribunal’s road towards the UNFCCC COP30 to be held in Bélem, Brazil in November 2025. This road is made out of two sessions addressing two of the major threats to the Rights of Nature and its defenders, and the main causes for the environmental and climate crisis our planet is facing:
- The fossil fuel industry, to be addressed during ‘The End of the Fossil Fuel Era’ session at New York Climate Week on September 22nd, 2024.
- The mining industry, to be addressed during ‘The Post-Extractivism Non-Mining Era’ session to be held in Canada in March 2025, simultaneously to the Prospectors & Developers Association Canada (PDAC) Convention, that represents some of the world’s biggest mining interests.
In preparation for both of these sessions, the Tribunal will gather material from cases all over the world affected by these industries. The findings of both sessions will be presented during the COP30 Tribunal in Bélem in November 2025, at a last session: ‘A New Pact with Mother Earth’.
