10/11/2025
🌿 It’s Time to Speak Truth to Power for Eastern Congo’s Women and Children: A Letter to World Leaders at COP30 Brazil
The in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is not an abstract concept — it is a lived reality.
Every day, women and children in this region face the compounded weight of climate change and — a double crisis that deepens , , and .
🌍 The has forced millions to flee their homes, stripping families of land and livelihood.
🌧️ The climate crisis, through floods, soil erosion, and , further destroys what little remains — farms, , and .
And yet, amid the chaos, women are leading, children are dreaming, and communities are resisting. But their resilience cannot replace justice.
Their courage cannot replace international solidarity.
Through Solidarité Juridique, we have witnessed firsthand how climate inaction and insecurity feed each other. In camps for displaced people near , young girls walk miles in unsafe areas just to fetch water. Farmers, mostly widowed women, struggle to grow food on eroded hillsides while caring for orphaned children. These are not isolated stories — they are the human face of .
🔴 To Global Leaders at COP30:
Your negotiations must not ignore the intersection between peace and climate justice.
We urge you to:
- Integrate conflict-sensitive climate financing that reaches grassroots women and youth in fragile zones;
- Strengthen legal protection and humanitarian support for displaced women and children facing environmental risks;
- Support local environmental defenders and women-led justice movements working at the frontlines of both crises.
This is not just about reducing emissions — it’s about restoring dignity. It’s about ensuring that a generation of Congolese children can inherit not only a safer planet, but a peaceful one.
We believe in the power of collective action.
