Call for solidarity with Philippine human rights defenders

Seven years ago, the dam owned by mining company Vale collapsed in Brumadinho, Brazil, killing 272 people and severely polluting the surrounding area. While the relatives of the victims commemorate them and fight for justice, the pollution continues.

TEGUCIGALPA/UTRECHT, January 12, 2026 – The murder of indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres, which took place almost 10 years ago in Honduras, appears to be the result of an organized criminal operation, in which funds from the Dutch Development Bank FMO were misappropriated to finance illegal activities. This is the conclusion of the investigation report published today by the independent commission set up by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Honduran state, and the relatives of Berta Cáceres.

For years, FMO was a major financier of the Agua Zarca project. Berta Cáceres, an indigenous leader, fought against this controversial dam and was murdered for that reason in March 2016.

Last Tuesday, I received a short text message with big news: the minister had just announced that the financing policy for the Mozambique LNG project was stopped. It was a decision that I – along with so many others – have fought for for years. Only now, more than a week later, it is slowly sinking in that we have really won. The years of perseverance, frustration, discussions and investigations have finally led to this result. It still feels a bit surreal.

THE HAGUE/CABO DELGADO, December 1, 2025 - Today, Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen announced that TotalEnergies is withdrawing from a $640 million Dutch export credit insurance policy for a controversial gas project in Mozambique. Although the Dutch government has been avoiding this decision for years, this move has finally ended part of the Dutch involvement in this disastrous project.

In October 2025 I travelled to Kiad, the Indigenous Ngäbe community that led the struggle against the FMO-financed Barro Blanco dam, for one last time. I went there to say my goodbyes, both personally and on behalf of Both ENDS, and to catch a first glimpse on how a community program financed by FMO and DEG – the result of a dialogue process that took several years – is giving a new impulse to the dam-affected communities. But how did  we get here?

A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs has released a memorandum in response to the recent TPAC report on the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). The organizations express serious concerns about the independence, quality, and credibility of the assessment carried out by the Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).

Both ENDS is present at COP30 to advocate for genuine access to climate finance for locally led, gender-just climate solutions and the mechanisms that facilitate this, including those for farmer-led restoration. Furthermore, the organisation participates to ensure the crucial connection between the climate negotiations and the trade and investment frameworks that shape them.

Learn more about the Both ENDS team at COP30 below, and find all the activities and side-events in which Both ENDS will participate.

Both ENDS is present at COP30 to advocate for genuine access to climate finance for locally led, gender-just climate solutions, and for the mechanisms that make these possible, including those supporting farmer-led restoration. The organisation also engages to highlight the crucial connection between climate negotiations and the trade and investment frameworks that shape them.

Below is an overview of the Both ENDS team at COP30 and a detailed look at the activities and side-events in which Both ENDS will participate.

The updated complaint mechanism of the development banks FMO, DEG, and Proparco marks an important step forward. Organizations that participated in the consultation acknowledge the efforts to improve the mechanism. At the same time, they emphasize that much still needs to be done to make the policy truly effective, transparent, and independent.