Accessibility Tools

Web Accessibility plugin by DJ-Extensions.com

On the Ground

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

UN experts call on all Électricité de France (EDF)

UN experts call on all Électricité de France (EDF)

UN experts call on all Électricité de France (EDF) key stakeholders to uphold their human rights obligations in the development of a wind-farm in Unión Hidalgo, Mexico

 

  • For the first time, Four UN Special Procedures have sent joint requests to the states of Mexico, France and EDF.

  • Special Rapporteurs acknowledged that if allegations are accurate, EDF would be complicit in human rights violations associated with the acts of its subsidiary company, Eólica de Oaxaca S.A.P.I de C.V, which have specially affected local indigenous women and girls.

  • Having four UN Special Rapporteurs come together for this joint allegation letter is thus a strong indication of the importance and urgency of the Unión Hidalgo case.

Since 2015, the indegenous community of Unión Hidalgo claims that it has not been effectively included in the decision-making process about the business project to set up a wind farm on community land by French state owned company Électricité de France (EDF). Moreover, in the context of demands for respect for their human rights, the community's human rights defenders are stigmatized, threatened and even physically attacked. 

The community of Unión Hidalgo supported by Mexican NGO ProDESC initiated proceedings before local authorities and the OECD National Contact Point in France. However, efforts to install the park continued, and attacks on defenders were exacerbated.  For this reason, the indigenous representatives, ProDESC and ECCHR sent a formal letter to EDF, demanding that the company redouble its efforts to carry out human rights due diligence. As the energy company did not comply, ProDESC, ECCHR and representatives of the community filed a lawsuit in the Paris civil court in October 2020.

In addition, there is a growing concern over the human rights impact of the large-scale wind energy farms on the Zapotec indigenous people of Unión Hidalgo, in Oaxaca, Mexico, which have been implemented without considering the impacts on women. 

Therefore, for the first time, Four UN Special Procedures have sent joint requests to the states of Mexico, France and EDF, one of the largest transnational energy enterprises in France, requesting additional information regarding the course of the development of the Gunaa Sicarú wind park.   

Special Rapporteurs acknowledged that if allegations are accurate, EDF would be complicit in human rights violations associated with the acts of its subsidiary company, Eólica de Oaxaca S.A.P.I de C.V, which have specially affected local indigenous women and girls.

The Special Rapporteurs call on the corporation to provide information on the steps taken to implement and adopt a human rights and gender impact assessment on the wind farm project, measures taken by EDF and its subsidiary to engage in genuine, meaningful and inclusive consultation to obtain their free, prior and informed consent in compliance with art. 6 of the ILO 169 convention”. (page 11, point number 6).

This is because companies, including EDF, usually try to restrict their obligation towards indigenous people to “genuine consultation with stakeholders”, whereas the challenge is to ensure they respect FPIC with all its guarantees. Plus EDF needs to promote a genuine consultation with the affected communities to ensure the  free, prior and informed consent of indigenous women and girls, the identification of human rights risks and effective remedies, the establishment of mitigation and prevention measures, as well as steps taken to ensure that women have access to and use and control of land, enjoy the benefits of the energy project, and employment opportunities where large-scale energy project is intended to be developed. 

Towards the governments of Mexico and France, the Special Rapporteurs ask for additional information on the measures taken to protect local communities against human rights violations from corporations and measures taken to ensure due diligence processes by these companies, the measures taken to ensure that people have access to effective remedies according to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and on the investigations that either State is undertaking in this case. 

The letters reinforce that corporate actors should be held responsible for its business-related human rights abuses in line with the standards set on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and underpin that parent companies have an obligation to respect human rights in their foreign operations and should be held liable for the actions of their subsidiaries operating in foreign jurisdictions, especially in developing countries, which often do not have the resources or institutional capacities to enforce human rights standards.

Quote from Alejandra Ancheita -Eexecutive Director ProDESC

"The UN special procedures communication sent to the Mexican government, the French government and EDF makes clear the urgent need for rigorous implementation of the precautionary principle of due diligence. It is no coincidence that it is the rapporteurs on extreme poverty, the right to development, indigenous rights and the situation of human rights defenders who are underlining the need for corporate accountability of corporations and specifically the obligations of EDF to provide information on the measures taken for the protection of the community of Unión Hidalgo".

Quote from Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona – Executive Director GI-ESCR

“The allegation letter sent by the United Nations special procedures to both Mexico and France as well as to the Électricité de France (EDF) is a major step towards ensuring accountability for the violations of women's rights in the transition to renewable energy”.

Having four UN Special Rapporteurs come together for this joint allegation letter is thus a strong indication of the importance and urgency of the Unión Hidalgo case. While it pushes France, Mexico and EDF to respect their human rights obligations and pay attention to the situation in Unión Hidalgo, it highlights that this case is gaining international attention and concern in key international human rights mechanisms, as it remains unsolved in its respect and protection of human rights and its attention to its disproportionate impacts on women and girls. Communications of the Special Procedures are also annually reported to the UN Human Rights Council, thus raising public awareness, and putting pressure on Mexico and France to take a public position on the case. Given that the case against EDF is currently at the French court, under the Duty of Vigilance Act, these letters support the lawsuit submitted by community members to demand EDF it respect, protect, and fulfil the human rights of the Zapotec peoples and adopt measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the construction of the Gunaa Sicarú wind park on indigenous women and girls.

You may download the three letters addressed to the governments of Mexico, France and EDF here. You may also consult the official website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OCHR) where these letters were published. 

*****

  • Additional & relevant information:

What is the specific development EDF is working on?

Since 2015, EDF has been planning to build a large-scale wind park in the Zapoteca community through its subsidiary. The negotiations and administrative processes to obtain necessary permits were conducted without any good-faith consultations with the community. It is only after several amparo writs that the community members were even able to receive information on the energy project. Nevertheless, the project continued without any further in-depth consultations. In 2018, a federal court ruled on the violation of the community’s right to free, prior, and informed consent, ordering the reinstatement of the consultation process. The authorities have so far failed to fully comply, also based on the COVID-19 outbreak which has led to the suspension of the consultation process after the end of the informative phase. Moreover, attacks, intimidation, and harassment of those opposing the wind farm are common, women human rights defenders within the community explained that these attacks have sparked fear for them and their families. To gain the support of the indigenous community, it is alleged that the company tried to influence members to vote in favour of the wind park, thus dividing the Zapoteca community.  

The development of the wind farm in the context of the energy transition in Mexico has had multiple human rights impacts for the local population, but has most disproportionately affected indigenous women and girls. For instance, severe diversity issues in the consultation process, with only 5% of participants being women, and choosing meeting times that do not work for women with care duties, made it impossible for women’s perspective to be heard within the consultation process. Women are more heavily affected by violence in their communities, which has hindered them from actively participating in the consultation out of fear of being attacked. Moreover, since women rarely hold land tenure rights, women are disproportionately impacted by the lease or sell of land, as they do not receive direct benefits from these transactions. Such a transaction often also impedes on women’s livelihood as they are precluded from accessing natural resources which are key for their care responsibilities.

Who are the UN Special Rapporteurs?

The Special Procedures are the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Olivier de Schutter; the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Saad Alfarargi; the UN Special Rapporteur on human right defenders, Mary Lawlor and the UN Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples, José Francisco Cali Tzay.

UN Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Bodies and are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. The system of Special Procedures is a central element of the United Nations human rights machinery. Their importance derives from their ability to raise international awareness of allegedly significant violations and advocate on behalf of victims. They also give States and other key stakeholders an opportunity to set the record straight and justify their actions, while generating a record of abuses alleged against States over time and providing an incentive for governments to act to rectify any violations. Special Procedures further enable the mandate holder to offer an interpretation of the applicable law. The mandates envisage a process of communicating with governments about alleged human rights violations either through allegation letters, in which they seek an official response from a government about an alleged human rights violation, or through urgent action letters, which allege imminent harm unless a government acts immediately. The letters of allegation on the Unión Hidalgo case are particularly relevant as they are amongst the few that not only call on the States, but also on the corporate non-state actors engaged in the allegations of human rights violations.

Who are GI-ESCR and ProDESC and why are they involved?

GI-ESCR and ProDESC are highly concerned about energy transition processes which do not consider gender equality and human rights principles. The rights of people must be at the forefront of the green transition at all stages to ensure it is sustainable and just for everyone. The right to participation within plays a crucial role in doing so. Only then can we ensure that marginalized communities, including women, are taken into consideration in the process. 

ProDESC is a feminist Mexican NGO that focusses on economic, social and cultural rights. ProDESC defends and accompanies collective processes in three main areas: the right to land, territory and natural assets; labour rights; and the right to defend human rights. 

They have been key in supporting the Zapotec people in seeking justice in the Union Hidalgo case. 

GI-ESCR, with its focus on green transitions and expertise in gender just energy transitions have been actively supporting this case and providing assistance in the identification of the differentiated gender impacts and guiding the engagement with UN Special Rapporteurs. 

For further comments or information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at ProDESC and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at GI-ESCR. 

For more information on the case, please consider the following resources: 

  •  

Related Articles

Along With Partners, we Submitted Human Rights Recommendations to the UN Tax Convention Process

Along With Partners, we Submitted Human Rights Recommendations to the UN Tax Convention Process

Macarena Cano Muñoz
CESCR Review of Kenya 2026: When Evidence Aligns with Accountability

CESCR Review of Kenya 2026: When Evidence Aligns with Accountability

Martín Pintus
GI-ESCR at the People’s Dialogue Festival 2026

GI-ESCR at the People’s Dialogue Festival 2026

Macarena Cano Muñoz

SITEMAP

TAKE ACTION

NEWSLETTER

Don´t miss any updates!
SUBSCRIBE
Image

Social Media:

Log in

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.