Barbuda’s Resistance

Ongoing Legal Actions

Domestic & Regional Litigation

 

Numerous legal cases have been brought against private developers like PLH, as well as the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. In some cases, Barbudans have been denied access to justice and effect remedies, without even having the merit of their arguments considered. Other cases remain ongoing, including with appeals to be heard in the UK Privy Council in 2022.

 

UN Experts

 

Local and international advocates have supported the investigations of UN independent experts into this situation. In July 2021, a group of UN Special Rapporteurs issued a Joint Statement to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and related parties, expressing deep concern about PLH’s activities in Barbuda and requesting further information.

Learn More

 

The Ramsar Secretariat

 

In December 2020, the Barbuda Council and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) brought a complaint to the Ramsar Secretariat, regarding the destruction of Codrington Lagoon National Park (Ramsar Site 1488). The complaint aims to:

  • hold the State of Antigua and Barbuda and international investors to existing national and international law standards;

  • strengthen OECD-based corporations’ respect of human rights, climate change adaptation and mitigation goals;

  • facilitate the establishment of an independent and third party assessment of the environmental impact of the Barbuda Ocean; and

  • seek the addition of Codrington Lagoon to the Montreux Record, a register of wetland sites that guarantees further protection.

GLAN’s discussions with the Ramsar Secretariat are ongoing. Learn More