EarthRights International (ERI) is very excited to share our Power of Law, Power of People Training Materials with the Bertha Network. At ERI, we strongly believe that real change is possible when lawyers, advocates and campaigners come together to speak truth to power. Thanks to the generosity of the Bertha Foundation, we have turned our experiences and the lessons we’ve learned from our cases and our campaigns into training materials that can be used in building the capacity of lawyers, advocates and campaigners globally to combine litigation with campaigns in order to advance “earth rights” and guard against human rights and environmental abuse.

The Power of Law, Power of People Training Materials are based on a series of four distinct lawsuits and associated campaigns involving ERI and our partners in Peru, Nigeria, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma). In two of the cases, Doe v. Unocal and Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell), ERI also co-counseled with fellow Bertha partner the Center for Constitutional Rights. Each case is presented through a combination of three teaching tools: a short (10-20 minutes) video, a case study, and lesson plan with participatory exercises. There is also a brief Impact Litigation Overview that includes case selection criteria as well as ERI’s top 10 ingredients for successful impact litigation.

Case Study: Koh Kong Sugar (Cambodia)

 Case Study: Wiwa v. Shell (Nigeria)

Case Study: Doe v Unocal (Myanmar)

Case Study: Maynas Carijano v. Occidental Petroleum (Peru)

As a new lawyer, I am so excited to see ERI take some of what they’ve learned and share it with the next generation of lawyers, advocates and campaigners working to defend human rights and the environment in the face of disproportionate corporate and government power. I think we all can learn from these materials, and especially from the brave individuals with the courage, the heart, and most importantly, the truth, behind each of these cases and campaigns.

Michelle Harrison
Bertha Fellow at the EarthRights International

Follow ERI on Twitter @EarthRightsIntl

Article Tags: business and human rights / Cambodia / environmental protection / Myanmar / Nigeria / Peru