Our Mission

EarthRights International (ERI) is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment, which we define as "earth rights." We specialize in fact-finding, legal actions against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, training grassroots and community leaders, and advocacy campaigns. Through these strategies, EarthRights International seeks to end earth rights abuses, to provide real solutions for real people, and to promote and protect human rights and the environment in the communities where we work.

Our Work

We document human rights and environmental abuses in countries where few other organizations can safely operate. We expose and publicize earth rights abuses through campaigns, reports and articles.

We organize the human rights and environmental activist communities around earth rights issues. We are at the forefront of the movement to hold corporations accountable for fair human rights, labor, and environmental practices no matter where they do business.

We litigate in U.S. courts on behalf of people around the world whose earth rights have been violated by governments and transnational corporations. For earth rights abuses against villagers in Burma, we brought the landmark lawsuit, Doe v. Unocal Corp.

We teach people about their earth rights and remedies, especially people living under repressive regimes. We train villagers and refugee women to testify at the United Nations and other international agencies. We run the EarthRights Schools for activists in Southeast Asia.

We advocate with those who have been harmed, and fight for better earth rights protections at every level, from the local to the international.