Fwd: INVITATION - Addressing the Impacts of Pesticides on Human Rights in the Framework of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | Road to 2025 BRS COPs - 3rd April 2025, 14:00 CET
Silvani E Mng'anya
Silvani Mng'anya
P.O. Box 77266
Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA
Mobile: +255 762 986 953 / +255 713 226 568
From: UNEP Geneva Environment Network <gensec...@un.org>
Date: Tue, Mar 25, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Subject: INVITATION - Addressing the Impacts of Pesticides on Human Rights in the Framework of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | Road to 2025 BRS COPs - Thursday 3 April 2025, 14:00 CET
To: UNEP Geneva Environment Network <gensec...@un.org>
Apologies for cross-posting
Excellency,
Dear Colleague,
Dear Madam and Sir,
We would like to bring to your kind attention the online event “Addressing the Impacts of Pesticides on Human Rights in the Framework of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions” organized within the framework of the Road to 2025 BRS COPs event series, that will take place on Thursday 3 Aptil 2025, at 14:00 CEST, on Webex.
ABOUT THE EVENT
You are cordially invited to this event “Addressing the Impacts of Pesticides on Human Rights in the Framework of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions” co-organized by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva Environment Network within the framework of the Road to 2025 BRS COPs.
This event seeks to address the critical intersection between pesticide management and the enjoyment of human rights, with a particular focus on the right to food and the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Pesticides have played a significant role in global agriculture, yet their unsound management has far-reaching implications for human rights, ecosystems, and food security and nutrition. The International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management, as a voluntary framework, provides guidance to States for the development of tailored national pesticide management policies and normative frameworks. However, the 2013 version of the Code falls short by not incorporating a human rights-based approach, which significantly undermines its effectiveness in addressing the diverse risks that pesticides pose to a wide range of human rights. Moreover, the negative impact of poor pesticide management disproportionally affects groups of people in higher vulnerability situations (e.g. rural workers, children, pregnant women, Indigenous Peoples, etc.), whose protection needs to be prioritized by States when developing their normative frameworks.
The event will highlight the urgent need to align pesticide management practices with international human rights obligations. Unsound pesticide management not only contaminates soil, water, and air but also undermines the resilience of food systems, threatening long-term food security by compromising the nutritional quality, safety, and overall integrity of food. It disrupts ecological balance, reduces biodiversity, and exposes both consumers and agricultural workers to harmful chemical residues, thereby impairing sustainable agricultural practices and the overall health of our food supply. A human rights-based approach to the Code of Conduct can foster accountability, transparency, and participation, ensuring that stakeholders, and rights-holders, including Indigenous Peoples and affected communities, have a voice in decision-making processes. By embedding human rights principles into the Code, stakeholders can better address the disproportionate impacts of pesticides on marginalized groups and promote equitable access to safe and nutritious food. This event will provide a platform for dialogue among policymakers, civil society, and experts to explore strategies for integrating human rights into the Code, ultimately contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the realization of a just and sustainable future for all.
SPEAKERS
By order of intervention:
- Marcos ORELLANA | UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights
- Shalmali GUTTAL | Member, Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas
- Juan Jose ECHANOVE | Right to Food Team Lead, FAO
- Ana Maria SUAREZ-FRANCO | Secretary General, FIAN International
- Tadesse AMERA | Executive Director, PAN-Ethiopia & Member, IPEN
- Larissa MIES BOMBARDI | Professor of University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Leah UTYASHEVA | Policy Director, Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, University of Edinburgh
- Pauliina NYKANEN-RETTAROLI | Human Rights Unit Lead, WHO
- Rochelle DIVER | UN Environmental Treaties Coordinator, International Indian Treaty Council
- Jago WADLEY | International Advocacy Manager, PAN UK
- Fredrick OTIENO | Centre for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD)
- Ana Paula SOUZA | Human Rights Officer, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) | Co-Moderator
- Diana RIZZOLIO | Coordinator, Geneva Environment Network | Co-Moderator
rEGISTRATION
This event will take place online. To participate, kindly register on Webex.
ROAD TO 2025 BRS COPs
In the lead up to the 2025 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, taking place from 28 April to 9 May 2025 in Geneva, the Geneva Environment Network is collaborating with various partners, including the BRS Secretariat, for a series of events providing information on preparations and facilitating dialogues on key issues to be discussed at the meetings.
Other upcoming sessions in this series include:
· The Hidden Plastic Waste Exports, the Case for Basel Convention Controls on RDF and Textiles | 9 Apr 2025 11:00 – 12:30 CEST | Online – organized with IPEN
· Briefing on the 2025 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | 10 Apr 2025, 10:00 – 11:30 CEST | International Environment House I & Online – organized with the BRS Secretariat
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS
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United Nations Environment Programme
International Environment House
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The Geneva Environment Network (GEN) is a cooperative partnership of over 75 environment and sustainable development organizations based at the International Environment House and elsewhere in the Geneva region, including United Nations offices and programmes, non-governmental organizations, local authorities and academic institutions.
Set up in 1999, the GEN secretariat, led by the UN Environment Programme and supported by Switzerland, actively promotes increased cooperation and networking between its members.