LIMA PERU (December 14, 2014)-– At the close of COP20, two days behind schedule, Carmen Capriles delivered the statement prepared by Marina Parvin, from the Indigenous Mundas community in Bangladesh and representing the Asian Pacific Forum for Women in Law and Development (APWLD), to bleary-eyed delegates around 3:00 AM in the closing moments of the extended negotiating session:

“I have travelled all the way from Bangladesh, leaving my home and family, hoping to see a commitment to an effective and equitable new agreement that is binding, ambitious and transformative; a commitment to uphold human rights, gender equality, and the rights of future generations.”

Parvin continued: “It pains me that when I go back, I will tell my people that wealthy governments just talked about which lands will be lost, communities displaced, cultures destroyed and which lives are less important.”