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Explore our work with partners, globally and locally, to tackle social and economic injustice using a human rights lens.

Significant victory of the women of the Mexican indigenous community

Significant victory of the women of the Mexican indigenous community

Significant victory of the women of the Mexican indigenous community over a transnational company that violated their rights

 

On 3 June 2022, the Mexican authorities cancelled the electricity supply contract for the large-scale Gunaa Sicar? wind energy project that the transnational company Electricit? de France (EDF) planned to build in Zapotec indigenous territory. For years, the community of Uni?n Hidalgo in Oaxaca, Mexico has has made public the violation of the rights of the community, which produced gender differentiated impacts.

The Zapotec territory of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is one of the most favourable areas for the development of wind energy in the world due to its geographical conditions and has been one of the sites attracting important flows of foreign investment for the development of mega wind projects in the region. However, the so-called wind corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has been developed for decades at the expense of the rights of indigenous communities and the local population that lives in conditions of structural poverty and with limited access to public services.

The energy megaprojects installed in the region tend to socialize the social and environmental impacts without ensuring that the economic and energy generation benefits are shared with the local communities. In addition, the projects have eroded the social tissue and made the work of defending the lands and territories a dangerous activity, especially for indigenous women who have led the fight against these extractive projects.

Despite the importance for the entire globe of continuing to move towards a green energy transition, the development of this wind megaproject, which was one of the largest projects planned in the Latin American region, would have resulted in the deepening of the conditions of marginalization and violence that particularly affect Zapotec indigenous women and girls.

The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) had the privilege of collaborating with ProDESC, the local organization in Mexico that leads the litigation and advocacy strategy in defence of the Uni?n Hidalgo community. Together with ProDESC, we work to identify the accumulated and differentiated gender impacts of the Gunaa Sicar? wind project. This information was forwarded to the United Nations Special Human Rights Procedures. As a result, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the Special Rapporteur on the right to development, the Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples sent letters of allegation to the Government of Mexico and France, as well as to the company EDF. These letters warned about the situation of violation of rights and requested additional information on the human rights impacts of the project. Likewise, the Rapporteurs made a particular call for the authorities and institutions responsible for supervising and carrying out the Gunaa Sicar? project to take measures to prevent the project from hindering the human rights of the represented indigenous women and their community.

The case of Uni?n Hidalgo is paradigmatic since it reflects the structural problems that are commonly present in energy transition processes. It is essential to move towards renewable energies, putting marginalized populations and communities at the centre of the debate and taking into account the perspectives, voices and experiences of women and girls in order to achieve a rapid and effective just transition with a gender perspective. Otherwise, the energy transition is delayed by social conflicts and the mistrust it generates within communities and does not help to move towards fairer and more sustainable societies that allow present and future generations to exercise their fundamental rights.

In the future, it would be convenient for any consultation process to ensure the participation of women, taking into account the specific obstacles they face, such as domestic and care workloads -which frequently impede their participation-, and to guarantee that their voices are taken into account in decision making. This is essential to prevent the development of energy projects from exacerbating gender gaps in access to natural resources, lands and territories, essential elements to sustain their quality of life and that of their families, as well as to protect their economic social and cultural rights.

We believe that one of the lessons that this case should leave us is that renewable energy projects must respect the rights of indigenous women from their conception. We urge the Mexican government to demonstrate its commitment to the human rights of indigenous communities, taking concrete measures in favour of a green and sustainable energy transition that respects the rights of communities. As an alternative, an energy policy largely dependent on fossil fuels cannot be reinforced. It is essential to strengthen the climate policy and meet the renewable energy development goals to urgently advance in the decarbonization of the national energy system. It is an urgent task to rethink the energy paradigm to promote a feminist energy transition with a human rights perspective that avoids replicating the extractive policies present in the fossil fuel industries while ensuring the effective fight against the climate emergency based on the perspectives and needs of historically marginalized populations.

 

  • Learn more about the report sent to the UN Special Rapporteurships on the differentiated gender impacts of the wind project at Gunaa Sicar? here.

  • You can also read the three allegation letters issued by the Human Rights Special Rapporteurships and sent to the governments of Mexico, France and the company EDF.

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Climate and Environmental Justice

We have advanced rights-based and gender-transformative transition frameworks through research that centres the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities on the frontlines of extractive energy policies, promoting climate and energy frameworks attentive to the social and care-related impacts of transition pathways. We have developed a clear vision for a gender-just transition, firmly rooted in gender and human rights norms, establishing both the legal basis and the direction for the transformative changes our planet and societies urgently need. In particular, the ‘Guiding Principles for Gender Equality and Human Rights in the Energy Transition’, a collective effort built through online consultations, an in-person workshop and multiple rounds of revision with activists, practitioners and experts from around the world, outline a transformative vision for reshaping global energy systems through a human rights and gender equality lens.

Our work recognises that the climate emergency is both an existential threat and an opportunity to reimagine societies built on social, gender, economic and environmental justice. We ground our advocacy in feminist and intersectional principles, prioritising the agency and perspectives of communities in the Global South who have contributed the least to the climate emergency yet face its most devastating consequences. Central to our approach is the understanding that energy is not merely a commodity but a fundamental human right; essential for dignity, health, education, work and the realisation of countless other rights. We challenge approaches to the energy transition that risk replicating the harmful patterns of fossil fuel extraction and, instead, advocate for transformative policies that ensure human rights and gender equality as central to building climate-resilient societies rooted in dignity, justice and planetary well-being.

What's next?

We will continue to challenge approaches that treat energy transition as merely a technical shift, instead positioning it as an opportunity to reimagine economies and societies rooted in dignity for all, with particular attention to communities in the Global South who have contributed least to the climate emergency yet are most exposed to its worst effects.

We will connect community-level evidence and the lived experiences of those on the frontlines of extractive policies to national reform and global norm-setting, breaking down silos between human rights, gender, and climate movements, and advancing a shared vision that recognises just transitions as not only fundamental to achieving climate-resilient and sustainable societies, but as transformative pathways that advance social and gender equality, redistribute power and resources equitably, and ensure that energy systems serve the public good rather than profit.

We will mainstream rights-based and genderjust transition priorities in key multilateral spaces (particularly, within the Just Transition Work Programme and the to-be-developed Just Transition Mechanism, within the UNFCCC) to guarantee that just transitions are advanced at all levels.

We will also translate our work, through strategic advocacy, into at least two concrete policy wins, whether promoted, adopted, implemented, or scaled, in priority countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, or Kenya), ensuring these policies align with human rights standards, centre gender equality, and reflect the needs and views of affected communities.

We will build momentum for the progressive recognition of the right to sustainable energy to shift dominant narratives away from purely extractive solutions that sideline gendered impacts, community participation, and Global South perspectives.

Economic Justice and Climate Finance

Our work has transformed the global discussion on fiscal policy in a more just, emancipatory and sustainable direction. Our approach has combined both high-level, expert contributions within decisionmaking circles, with bold, impactful work on narrative change with the general public.

We have been instrumental in the inclusion of human rights as a guiding principle of the future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a multilateral instrument with the potential of raising approx. USD 492 billion per year in public revenues currently foregone to global tax abuse. In the process leading to the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ decided at FfD4, we proposed and succeeded in creating a specific human rights workstream within the Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism, which was critical to ensure that explicit commitments on the matter were included in the negotiating outcome. In a context of cutbacks in multilateral institutions, we have amplified the capacities of technical experts, providing rigorous technical support and leveraging our influence to ensure the enactments of groundbreaking standard-setting instruments, such as the 2025 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Statement on Fiscal Policy and Human Rights, and the first ex oficio hearing on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Fiscal and Economic Policies to Address Poverty and Structural Inequality, leading to an upcoming thematic resolution on the matter. We have also bridged the silos between multilateral tax discussions and climate finance debates, promoting ambitious financing commitments to increase international and domestic resource mobilisation during COP 28, 29 and 30.

At the regional level, our engagement with fiscal cooperation platforms such as the Platform for Fiscal Cooperation of Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC), where we are member of its Civil Society Consultative Council, and the African Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker, for which we participated in the pilot mission in Ivory Coast together with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), have been critical in cementing a growing engagement between tax administrations and ministries of finance with international legal experts, exploring actionable and transformative initiatives, such as the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, beneficial ownership registries and corporate countryby-country reports, to be implemented at the international level.

At the local level, our interventions in fiscal reform debates in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria have contributed to shaping legislative outcomes in a more progressive, rights-compliant direction.

As for our leadership in narrative change, we have a measurable track record in delivering tailored, innovative campaigns which have decisively expanded economic justice constituencies by appealing to a broader tent. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we created the ‘Date Cuenta’ campaign, coordinating over 40 organisations across civil society to deliver plain language, innovative messaging connecting progressive fiscal reforms to the financing of health, education and social protection. ‘Date Cuenta’ generated over 55 original campaign messages that were tailored to the realities of seven priority countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras) and disseminated in Spanish, Portuguese and English. In doing so, we convened more than 65 online co-creation workshops with partners, coordinating a unified communications strategy which combined digital outreach, press and media coverage, and collaboration with influencers. Ultimately, ‘Date Cuenta’ resulted in more than 60,000 interactions on social media, coverage in major regional and international media outlets, including El País, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg and France 24, and the participation of at least 63 social media influencers through 58 dedicated publications. In collaboration with Fundación Gabo and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, we also organised a two-day workshop in Bogota with 20 journalists from 13 countries, building a regional network trained in a human rights-based approach to fiscal policy that has since generated published media coverage on outlets such as La Diaria, Ciper, El Diario Ar and Milenio. Through ‘Date Cuenta’ and our regional advocacy, we strengthened civil society engagement in key processes, including the Financing for Development track and FfD4, co-organised highlevel dialogues with states and civil society from Latin America and Africa.

What's next?

We will shape the UN Tax Convention and its Protocols so they embed human rights principles, and we will stay engaged through follow-up processes (including the expected Conference of the Parties) to support effective implementation. We will keep linking tax and climate finance so that new resources mobilised through fiscal cooperation are channelled to adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage, in line with UNFCCC commitments.

Public Services for Care Societies

We have translated participatory research into accountability and policy outcomes.

In Ivory Coast, our work with Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains and affected communities since 2023 exposed how privatisation and lack of accountability restrict access to quality healthcare. It contributed to the closure of 1,022 illegal private health centres, an executive instrument strengthening the regulation of private hospitals across the country, and the creation of a permanent complaints management committee in healthcare through a bylaw issued by the prefect of Gagnoa. Partners engaged through this process also advanced concrete improvements at facility level: members of the Gagnoa Midwives Association who took part in the participatory action research pooled resources to renovate the neonatal unit of the Regional Hospital, and the Director of the Gagnoa General Hospital launched an action plan to expand services and improve patient reception, with the facility receiving the award for best hospital in the country in 2025.

In Kenya, our research with the Mathare Education Taskforce documented the absence of public schools and the expansion of private provision, evidencing impacts on households and caregivers and strengthening demands for free, quality public education. This work contributed to stronger community agency and collective organisation, alongside ongoing strategies ranging from communications to litigation to secure a public school in the area, some involving GI-ESCR and others led independently.

Across Africa, this work is complemented by a multi-country study examining the human rights implications of austerity in education and health, including how regressive fiscal policies, rising debt burdens and persistent underinvestment undermine the financing and delivery of public services.

In Latin America, from 29 November to 2 December 2021, over a thousand representatives from over one hundred countries, from grassroots movements, advocacy, human rights, and development organisations, feminist movements, trade unions, and other civil society organisations, met in Santiago, Chile, and virtually, to discuss the critical role of public services for our future. Following the meeting, the Santiago Declaration on Public Services was adopted to demand universal access to quality, gender-transformative and equitable public services as the foundation of a fair and just society.

We are currently advancing work on care systems, linking public services and fiscal justice through integrated research, advocacy and communications, including a regional campaign framing care as a collective responsibility requiring sustained public investment.

What's next?

In Ivory Coast, we will evaluate and strengthen the complaints management committee and position it as a replicable model for other health facilities. In Kenya, we will support the Mathare community to co-design a model public school for Mabatini and Ngei wards, grounded in human rights standards. Building on our multi-country austerity study, we will drive national advocacy on financing for education and health: advancing reforms in Ghana; launching a fiscal policy and public services financing agenda in Kenya through the CESCR process and targeted coalition work; and, in Nigeria, using the new tax acts in force since 1 January 2026 to catalyse a national accountability campaign for adequately funded, quality public services. In Latin America, we will amplify locally led care pilots across 8 countries and turn lessons into influence—advancing care policies that strengthen care organisations, protect care workers’ rights, support unpaid caregivers, include disability and family networks, and redistribute care more equitably.