Dear Community,

As we navigate this critical moment in the U.S. and across the world, we are reminded that the struggles for democracy, climate justice, and human rights are deeply interconnected. The systemic injustices we face today are not new— they have been building for generations. Now, we find ourselves at a crossroads where resistance and courage are more vital than ever. As governments and corporations continue to prioritize profit over people and the planet, our communities are coming together to stand firm in defense of our collective future and in solidarity to build the world we have been envisioning and know is possible.

As we close out Women’s History Month and reflect on the recent United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 69th session, it is crystal clear: there is no democracy without women’s leadership, and there is no climate justice without women’s leadership. Across the world, women are rising—refusing to wait while nature is exploited and our communities bear the brunt of interconnecting crises. In this decisive time, we can draw strength from one another, protect the most vulnerable, uplift the voices of those leading the way, and take bold action to transform the systems that have long upheld injustice. This moment is part of a long struggle, and we are not giving up on our beautiful planet and communities.

Earlier this month, WECAN was on the ground in New York at the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). This year’s CSW marked the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, one of the most progressive blueprints for advancing women’s rights across the globe. CSW69 was a critical juncture to reflect on the past three decades of the movement for gender equality, the progress made, and the challenges it faces today. Ahead of International Women’s Day, the UN released a report showing that 1 in 4 countries are reporting backlash on women’s rights. Despite significant progress on gender equality, women in all their diversity face unprecedented threats, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asserting that women’s rights are “under siege” by patriarchal governments and institutions. During this critical time, WECAN traveled to CSW69 to participate in events, strategize, and connect with women leaders on the frontlines of climate justice, women's rights, and upholding democratic governance.

On March 13, Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director, presented at the CSW event “Building Game-Changing Partnerships,” to bring attention to the vital intersections of climate justice, democracy, and women’s leadership. During the event (pictured below left), Osprey and co-presenters Jacqueline Patterson, Executive Director of the Chisholm Legacy Project, and Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., discussed plans for action both within and outside the United Nations frameworks and what is needed to meet the urgency of interlocking crises globally. 

On March 14 and 15, the WECAN team participated in side events and strategy sessions to prepare for COP30 climate talks, where among other discussions, governments will negotiate the terms of a Gender Action Plan. The Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) hosted a session at CSW where collective priorities for feminist action at COP30 were discussed, including integrating care, ensuring women’s leadership, and mobilizing resources for gender-responsive climate action.

WECAN will continue participating in regional and international workstreams ahead of COP30 and the concurrent Peoples’ Summit ("Cúpula dos Povos"), a grassroots forum organized by Brazilian groups to push for climate justice as defined by feminist movements, Indigenous Peoples, youth, and communities across the globe. 

Women leaders in all their diversity at CSW69 called for more visibility, momentum, and passion for protecting women's rights and climate justice amidst the geopolitical challenges we face. Now more than ever, we must come together and shape an ambitious and transformative future!

Please join us from June 23-28 for the WECAN Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond! This event is a free, public forum taking place virtually in June 2025 - all are welcome!

​The Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice will bring together grassroots and frontline women leaders, global advocates, thought leaders, and policy-makers to showcase a diverse array of visions, projects, policy frameworks, campaigns, and movement strategies with which we can accelerate a bold and transformative path to a healthy and just world. This collective work is paramount as we face a growing polycrisis. While global challenges are ever-increasing, so are our power, hearts, and leadership when we gather together.

The virtual Assembly serves as a convening to support collective calls to action in the lead-up to COP30 and beyond, and is designed to generate ongoing networks of action regionally and by campaign focus for the years to come. We will tie these networks into existing women's and feminist formations as our collective movement for women’s climate leadership grows.

RSVP down below and check out our website for further information, including confirmed speakers and the Assembly agenda. The Assembly will feature over 125 speakers from over 50 countries on 25 breakthrough panels.

Please share with your networks far and wide.

Please join us on Earth Day for a vital event, where Indigenous women leaders from across the globe will come together to highlight the urgent challenges impacting their communities and our planet and offer inspiring paths forward. Speakers will share firsthand experiences of the impacts of colonization, deforestation, extraction, and climate disruption while showcasing powerful climate solutions and strategies that uphold Indigenous rights and sovereignty and bring health and justice to their communities and the world.

​This event is part of the 24th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and will emphasize the critical need to recognize and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), which is essential to protecting lands, cultures, climate, and ways of life. During this event, WECAN will relese a policy brief to governments on the critical importance of FPIC as a solution to interconnected crises. Register at the link below!

Protecting Land, Rights, & Future: Indigenous Women on the Frontlines of Climate Action & Earth Defense

Tuesday, April 22

5:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time

777 United Nations Plaza, NYC

Coinciding with Earth Day, we will also honor Indigenous women land defenders who are on the frontlines of protecting ecosystems from destruction, often at significant personal risk. Indigenous leadership and knowledge systems are essential to protecting our Earth while cultivating long-standing egalitarian governance frameworks for current and future generations!

Confirmed Speakers, with more to be announced, include:

• Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA
• Cindy Kobei (Ogiek), Co-Founder and Chair Person, Tirap Youth Trust, Kenya
• Galina Angarova (Buryat), Executive Director, SIRGE Coalition, Turtle Island/USA
• Dr. Crystal A Cavalier, Ed.D, MPA (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation), Co-Founder, 7 Directions of Service, Turtle Island,/USA 
• Puyr Tembé (Tembé), First Secretary of State for Indigenous Peoples of Pará in the Brazilian Amazon, and Co-founder of Ancestral Indigenous Women Warriors (ANMIGA), Brazil 
• Aimee Roberson (Choctaw, Chickasaw), Executive Director, Cultural Survival, Turtle Island/USA
• Betty Lyons (Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan), Executive Director, American Indian Law Alliance, Turtle Island

Civil society organizations Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) and BankTrack hosted a two-day workshop from March 19-20 for the Equator Principles Limited. Annually, since 2021, WECAN has co-organized and facilitated high-level workshops for EP Limited Financial Institutions in an ongoing series of engagement sessions.

EP Limited is a consortium of 128 of the largest banks in 38 countries that have adopted the Equator Principles (EP), a risk management framework intended for “financial institutions to identify, assess and manage environmental and social risks when financing Projects.” In anticipation of COP30 and other international conferences this year, the workshops invited financial institutions to align their goals with the climate targets in the Paris Climate Accord and call for implementing and utilizing international standards for Indigenous and human rights. 

In the first of two workshop sessions, policy researchers and financial experts discussed different modalities of climate solutions and analyzed the problems of net zero approaches. In the second workshop session, affected community leaders shared on-the-ground impacts of financing projects in their communities and territories, and how financial institutions must improve monitoring, consultation, due diligence, and grievance mechanisms. 

The workshops offered critical insights regarding the impacts of EPFI-financed projects and emerging projects with human rights risks while examining the climate and health impacts on communities from extractive industries, particularly as it concerns their financing of fossil fuel expansion and deforestation. The workshops provided financial institutions an opportunity to learn about different approaches to the Just Transition, examine opportunities and challenges to climate solutions and climate finance, and improve engagements with impacted communities as part of due diligence processes. 

The work remains to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Great Lakes region and ensure one-fifth of the world's surface freshwater remains protected! The Line 5 pipeline, which is currently operating past its anticipated lifespan, transports 22 million gallons of crude oil each day through northern Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and under the Straits of Mackinac. Currently, Enbridge, the owner of Line 5, is seeking permits for the Line 5 tunnel project, which seeks to expand and replace the current Line 5 pipeline.

The Army Corps of Engineers announced a list of projects to be fast-tracked for federal approval, and the Line 5 tunnel project has been included, meaning it will bypass standard procedures by the Corps, including a full Environmental Assessment and public input. As part of the federal review process, Tribes typically serve as cooperating agencies, providing expertise on potential risks to land and water, which is vital considering the pipeline expansion project threatens Indigenous sovereignty, rights, and cultural practices.

However, six Great Lakes Tribes withdrew from the process on March 21, criticizing the Corps for using their participation to lend credibility to a flawed environmental review. The Tribes emphasized they will no longer contribute to a process they see as a mere "check-the-box" exercise.

WECAN is continuing our efforts to stop Line 5, and we are honored to engage in multiple coalitions and facilitate and organize with the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance. Stay tuned for updates in future newsletters on this and other pipeline projects.

TAKE ACTION: SUPPORT THE STOP LINE 5 CAMPAIGN, BREAK A WORLD RECORD

The Stop Line 5 coalition is setting out to break the world record for the largest origami fish display to show our collective commitment to protecting our water and the Great Lakes. 

We all need clean water, but as we know, the Line 5 pipeline is threatening the Great Lakes and the drinking water of 40 million people. This pipeline puts waterways, lands, Indigenous communities, and their lifeways in jeopardy. We can bring awareness to these issues by showcasing our shared commitment to the protection of our waters and precious ecosystems for generations to come.

Visit fishforfuture.org to learn more about the campaign and how you can create your own origami fish as part of your personal pledge to protect the water and stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities! 

Please consider supporting WECAN as we continue to uplift the leadership and solutions of women worldwide fighting for climate justice and the defense of the planet for current and future generations.