PRESS RELEASE – Paris, November 10, 2015
COP21: Young French activists denounce the exclusion of civil society from the Global South
This morning, fifteen activists from Young Friends of the Earth France denounced the exclusion of civil society from the Global South from the UN climate talks by French authorities. In the last few weeks, many public figures from the Global South publicly denounced the failure to obtain appointments in time at French embassies, and deplored the denial of visas, as their motive to come to Paris was not considered “legitimate” by the French authorities (1).
“By refusing to issue visas to the civil society from the Global South, France is silencing the voices of communities most impacted by climate change. We cannot accept this. As we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Nigerian environmental activists, who paid their fight against Shell with their lives in 1995 (2), we are reminded that climate justice implies that frontline communities are fully involved in the process,” denounces Clemence Hutin of Young Friends of the Earth.
Criticisms against France have been increasing recently, as the host country of COP21 is being accused of attempting to minimise the expression of civil society by any means. The “Coalition Climat 21”, encompassing more than 130 organizations, also questioned the French authorities on October 22 on its refusal to listen to civil society’s demands (3) and the international network 350.org has in turn launched a petition to push France to react on November 8 (4).
Friends of the Earth France emphasises the contrast between the exclusion of civil society and the space the private sector enjoys at the summit. “It’s hard not to see the similarities with the Warsaw Conference of 2013, the “Coal COP” as it had been re-named, which had caused the mass exodus of massive civil society before the end of the negotiations. (5) This year, we notice EDF, Engie, BNP Paribas, Renault, Air France among the sponsors of the COP21… France is repeating past mistakes” says Malika Peyraut of Friends of the Earth.
This criticism comes in a larger context of accusations of the growing lack of inclusion of civil society in the UN process. The issue was raised during the intersessional conference of Bonn last October in particular, when civil society observers were prohibited from attending the negotiations, at the request of Japan and against the will of developing countries. Many organizations had then stressed that a fair agreement could not be achieved without a fair process.
Press contacts:
Clémence Hutin, clemencehutin@gmail.com – +33 6 69 48 21 97
Malika Peyraut, malika.peyraut@amisdelaterre.org – +33 6 88 48 93 68
(4) http://act.350.org/sign/ne-nous-reduisez-pas-au-silence/
(5) http://www.bastamag.net/BMW-et-ArcelorMittal-sponsorisent