The Climate Fight for Human Rights

Malene Alleyene, Human Rights Lawyer and Founder of Freedom Imaginaries, enlightens us about human rights law as a tool for transformation. Through a social imaginary lens, she advocates that the protection and preservation of communities are connected to opportunities for marginalized people to create their own concept of harmonious living. In this episode, we explore a “rights based and earth centered approach” linked to the eradication of systems that are colonially rooted. We also discuss considerations for the creation of equitable systems to reduce disproportionate impacts of climate change. We learn through Malene, to consider and contribute to the needs of Caribbean people that are not often reflected in the  “mainstream human rights field”. It’s a conversation that reinforces the notion that climate justice is about confronting structural issues and forms of oppression.  A stimulating episode, we learn about pathways and tools to seek justice, how communities can be empowered to claim rights through advocacy. We also discuss the creation of safe spaces, justice networks and the leveraging of legal skills as some of the ways we can harness human rights to advocate for systemic change or as Malene puts it “a shared vision for living together”.