On November 13 and 14, during COP30 in Belém (PA), the People’s Tribunal Against Ecocide will gather grassroots leaders, social movements, and environmental defenders from Brazil and other countries to denounce the multiple forms of violence, destruction, and environmental injustice affecting their territories. The initiative is part of the People’s COP, an autonomous movement of grassroots climate organizations taking place in parallel with the official UN conference.

The Tribunal will present 17 selected cases among dozens of complaints received over the past year. The cases are grouped into four main themes: false climate solutions, rural violence, large-scale enterprises, and infrastructure. Among them are reports of murders of environmental defenders, slave labor, and the impacts of mining companies and carbon credit projects in traditional territories.

“There are some cases that are international, connected to what’s happening here in Brazil. One of them, in fact, had to be withdrawn because the country’s government found out, went to the defenders’ homes, and forbade them from leaving for the COP,” said Claudelice Santos, coordinator of the Zé Cláudio and Maria Institute, part of the People’s COP. “These are truly absurd situations that should already be under judicial investigation — even within the realm of international law — but continue to be ignored.”

Denunciations and grassroots structure

The Tribunal will be one of the central moments of the popular mobilization. Its goal is to give visibility to cases ignored by the judicial system and official negotiation spaces, gathering evidence, dossiers, and testimonies from communities affected by large enterprises, false climate solutions, and human rights violations.

“People’s tribunals have become a field of struggle and resistance for the peoples,” Claudelice explains. “It’s where we denounce what’s really happening in our territories. The COP negotiations are complex and often leave no room for the issues that matter most to communities. The People’s Tribunal is our space to speak out about what violates us.”

People’s COP opens in Belém, Pará

All cases have been documented in dossiers containing details on defendants, the number of affected families, and connections to similar violations in other countries. One of the most symbolic cases is Palestine, presented by an international delegation that links environmental destruction and political violence as expressions of the same global process of ecocide.

The first day of the Tribunal will focus on presenting the cases, featuring testimonies from witnesses and “people’s prosecutors” — residents of the affected territories. The second day will be dedicated to reading the symbolic sentences, collectively drafted by a panel of 11 people’s judges, including quilombola women, shamans, Indigenous and riverine leaders. The Tribunal’s findings will be forwarded to special invited rapporteurs, as well as the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and other national and international institutions, aiming to create political impact and strengthen the demand for environmental justice.

A political and spiritual act

The People’s Tribunal Against Ecocide will take place at the People’s COP headquarters, located at Travessa Piedade, 426, near Praça da República, in downtown Belém. Over the two days, the space will also host debates, cultural events, artistic performances, and panels highlighting the legacy of families of murdered defenders and the territories’ strategies of resistance.

The People’s COP is a movement that unites Indigenous peoples, quilombolas, riverine communities, family farmers, extractivists, and environmental defenders. Born in Belém in 2024, the movement stands as a popular response to COP30, denouncing environmental racism, deforestation, labor exploitation, and market-based “false solutions” that fail to address inequality.