Almost 200 people killed worldwide last year trying to defend the environment - report

Melissa Chemam with RFI

10 September 2024 at 8:10 am·1-min read

Nearly 200 environmental and land defenders around the world were murdered in 2023, with Colombia once again the deadliest place for activists, watchdog Global Witness said in a report Tuesday.

"The figure is really chilling," Laura Furones, senior adviser to Global Witness' land and environmental defenders campaign, said in a statement, adding that the report's findings were conservative and figures are likely to be incomplete.

Latin America

The annual report from the UK advocacy group found Latin America remains the most dangerous part of the world for environmental and land defenders, accounting for 85 percent of the 196 murders documented last year.

The majority were concentrated in just four countries: Colombia, Brazil, Honduras and Mexico.

Colombia had the worst record in 2023, with a total of 79 killed, according to the report.

The findings on Colombia are a sharp contrast to promises by the government of President Gustavo Petro, who took office in 2022 and who has pledged to end the country's 60-year conflict and pursue environmental justice for communities.

The country is also the host nation for this year's United Nations COP16 biodiversity conference.

Peace negotiations with various armed groups - some of which are linked to the killings of environmentalists - have also stalled.

Colombia was the most dangerous country for environmentalists in 2022, with at least 60 reported killings, according to last year’s Global Witness report.

"[This year's] figure is very embarrassing for us in the country," said Astrid Torres, coordinator for Somos Defensores, a Colombian human rights group.

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