A new report released by the Global Witness (GW) on Thursday, September 11, 2024 has revealed that no fewer than 196 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2023 for trying to protect their homes, community or the planet.
In the report, Global Witness in collaboration with its global partners affirmed that the new figures bring the total number of defender casualties to 2,106 for 11 years from 2012 to 2023.
Overall, Colombia emerged the deadliest country in the world, with a total of 79 deaths in 2023 compared to 60 in 2022 and 33 in 2021.
“This is the most defenders killed in one country in a single year Global Witness has ever recorded. With 461 killings from 2012 to 2023, Colombia has the highest number of reported environmental defender killings globally on record,” the report stated.
Other deadly countries in Latin America include Brazil, with 25 killings last year and Mexico and Honduras with 18 victims each.
Central America also emerged as one of the most dangerous places in the world for defenders. With 18 defenders killed in Honduras, the country had the highest number of killings per capita in 2023. A total of 10 defenders were also killed in Nicaragua last year, while four were killed in Guatemala, and four in Panama.
Worldwide, Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendents continue to be disproportionately targeted, accounting for 49 percent of total murders.
Responding to the development, Lead Author and Senior Advisor to the Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign at Global Witness, Laura Furones, said: “As the climate crisis accelerates, those who use their voice to courageously defend our planet are met with violence, intimidation, and murder. Our data shows that the number of killings remains alarmingly high, a situation that is simply unacceptable.
“Governments cannot stand idly by; they must take decisive action to protect defenders and to address the underlying drivers of violence against them. Activists and their communities are essential in efforts to prevent and remedy harms caused by climate damaging industries. We cannot afford to, nor should we tolerate, losing any more lives.”
While establishing a direct relationship between the murder of a defender and specific corporate interests remains difficult, Global Witness identified mining as the biggest industry driver by far, with 25 defenders killed after opposing mining operations in 2023. Other industries include fishing (5), logging (5), agribusiness (4), roads and infrastructure (4) and hydropower (2).
In total, 23 of the 25 mining-related killings globally last year happened in Latin America. But more than 40 percent of all mining-related killings between 2012 and 2023 occurred in Asia- home to significant natural reserves of key critical minerals vital for clean energy technologies.
As well as highlighting the number of killings worldwide, the report unearths wider trends in non-lethal attacks and their harmful impacts on communities globally. It highlights cases of enforced disappearances and abductions, pointed tactics used particularly in the Philippines and Mexico, as well as the wider use of criminalisation as a tactic to silence activists worldwide.
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The report also explores the crackdown on environmental activists across the UK, Europe and the US, where laws are increasingly being weaponized against defenders and harsh sentences are more frequently imposed on those who have played a role in climate protests. The findings form part of a concerning trend of criminalisation cases emerging globally.
A Filipino activist, Jonila Castro, who was abducted by the Philippines military in 2023 and currently facing criminalisation, featured in the report, said: “Even after our release from abduction, threats continued.
“We are facing difficulties in returning to our homes and communities. We are still experiencing surveillance, red-tagging, and intimidation. Attacks to silence environmental defenders challenge our advocacy for environmental protection and people’s rights.
“Environmental devastation and human rights violations are interconnected, both sustained by governments and the extractive systems they defend. Our experience highlights the urgent need for stronger protection and recognition of community activists and environmental defenders in the global fight for climate justice.”
Despite the escalating climate crisis – and governments pledging to achieve the Paris Agreement target of 1.5C-land and environmental defenders are being increasingly subject to a wide range of attacks to stop their efforts to protect the planet. No fewer than 1,500 defenders have been killed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement on December 12, 2015.
Goldman Environmental Prize Winner 2024, Nonhle Mbuthuma, who wrote the foreword of the report said: “Across every corner of the globe, those who dare to expose the devastating impact of extractive industries-deforestation, pollution, and land grabbing-are met with violence and intimidation. This is especially true for Indigenous Peoples, who are essential in the fight against climate change, yet are disproportionately targeted year after year.
“Yet the brutality of these attacks reveals something profound: the power that ordinary people wield when they unite for justice. Leaders have a duty to listen and ensure that land and environmental defenders can speak out everywhere without fear of reprisals. This responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of every wealthy and resource-rich nation worldwide.”
