BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — At least 146 land and environmental defenders were killed or disappeared worldwide in 2024, according to a report released Wednesday by WatchDog Group Global Witness.
The London-based organization said the area is once again ranked as the most dangerous for people who protect their homes, communities and natural resources, recording a total of 120 cases. Colombia is the deadliest country, followed by 48 killings (one third of cases worldwide), followed by 20 Guatemala and 18 Mexico.
Guatemala’s killings jumped five times from four in 2023, making it the country with the highest defender death rate in the world. Brazil registered 12 killings, while Honduras, Chile and Mexico each recorded one loss disappearance.
“There are many factors that contribute to the high levels of sustained violence in Latin American countries, particularly Colombia,” Laura Frons, the report’s lead researcher, told The Associated Press. “These countries have vast lands rich in natural resources and are under pressure on food and feed production. Disputes over the extraction of such resources and the use of such land often lead to violence against defenders who try to support their rights.”
Since 2012, global witnesses have recorded over 2,250 killings and loss of disappearances of land and environmental defenders around the world. In Latin America, almost three-quarters of it occurred. This includes nearly 1,000 cases since 2018 when the region adopted the Escazu agreement. This is a treaty designed to protect environmental defenders. The agreement requires governments to ensure access to environmental information, ensure general participation in environmental decision-making, and take timely steps to prevent and punish attacks on those who protect the environment.
“The Escaz Agreement provides important tools for Latin America and the Caribbean,” Frons said. “However, some countries have not yet ratified it, while others have proven that they are slow to properly implement it and supply resources. Stopping violence against defenders won’t happen overnight, but the government must step up its efforts towards full implementation.”
Indigenous people’s resistance
The report noted that Indigenous people have a disproportionate share of violence. They accounted for about a third of lethal attacks around the world last year, despite making up only about 6% of the world’s population. 94% of all attacks on Indigenous defenders recorded in the report occurred in Latin America.
In the Kauca region of southwestern Colombia, we are working to ensure that indigenous youth do not become victims of the next generation. Through community “semileros” or nursery, children and teenagers train environmental care, cultural traditions, and territorial defense. Prepare to play a leadership role in protecting lands under pressure from armed groups and extractive industries.
“We are advocates because our lives and territory are under threat,” said Yeing Aníval Secué, a 17-year-old Indigenous youth leader from Tribio, Kauca, who spoke to the Associated Press in July.
These initiatives show how communities organize at the grassroots to resist violence despite Colombia being the deadliest country for defenders.
Smaller farmers were also targeted, accounting for 35% of the area’s casualties. Most killings were linked to land conflicts, with many related to industries such as mining, logging and agribusiness. The organized criminal group was suspected of behind at least 42 cases, followed by civilian security forces and hired hitmen.
One of Colombia’s worst hits
The Amazon ministry in Putumayo, southern Colombia, shows the many risks that advocates face. The strategic location that bridges the Andes and the Amazon makes the area rich in forests, rivers and cultural knowledge. But it also lies at the intersection of armed conflict, extraction projects and illegal economies. Armed groups have long used the Putumayo River as a trafficking route to Brazil and Ecuador. There, weak controls made cocaine, minerals and laundered money easier.
Environmental advocates who asked to remain anonymous in fear of retaliation told the Associated Press that this created one of the most hostile climates in the country.
“To defend your rights here means living under a lasting threat,” the source said. “We are facing pressure from illegal mining, oil projects, deforestation and coca cultivation that are linked to armed groups.
Andrew Miller of non-profit Amazon Watch said that cross-border criminal networks involved in drug, money and timber trafficking have become a major force behind threats and often fatal attacks to environmental defenders.
“The security situation for defenders across Amazon is becoming increasingly unstable,” Miller said.
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