Receiving Body
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
Report Type
Submission for the report of the Special Rapporteur, to be presented to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly
Tags
This report details the case of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, affectionately known as “Tortuguita,” the first environmental human rights defender in history to be killed by law enforcement in the United States.
Manuel Esteban Paez Terán (hereinafter “Manuel”) was a 26-year-old earth defender tragically killed by Georgia State Patrol police on January 18, 2023. Manuel was an indigenous Venezuelan of Timoto-Cuica descent and an immigrant permanent resident of the United States who identified as queer and non-binary, using they/them pronouns. Manuel was killed while sitting cross-legged, engaged in peaceful protest of plans by state officials to raze an urban forest for construction of a militarized police training facility known as Cop City.
Manuel’s brutal killing by state actors and the subsequent lack of accountability is emblematic of an alarming pattern in the United States of suppression of civic space and unchecked police terror carried out against civilians. Additionally, the recent $660 million verdict against Greenpeace finding the environmental NGO guilty of defamation for opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrates how corporations are using Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) to silence dissent. As climate pressures accelerate, the state and private sector work to criminalize and chill environmental defense.
What solutions exist?
We encourage the Special Rapporteur to publicly condemn the murder of Manuel Paez “Tortuguita” Terán and subsequent criminal prosecutions of protestors. We also ask her to urge the United States to meaningfully implement the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders to ensure the protection of environmental human rights defenders.
How can I get involved?
Read our submission to learn how the United States uses police violence to suppress the speech of environmental human rights defenders.
Share this information with your networks.
April 30, 2025
Submission to Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders on the situation of human rights defenders working on climate change and a just transition
