Leaders in the Americas Must Protect Defenders of the Environment
United States Department of StateSep 22, 2022
According to a report by the international advocacy group Global Witness, more environmentalists were killed in Latin America than in any other region of the world last year.
The group reported that 200 environmentalists were killed globally in 2021, three-quarters of whom were from Latin America. While this is less than the reported 227 deaths in 2020, countries including Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil saw an increase and accounted for over half of the total killings.
These alarming numbers highlight a growing global issue that not only disproportionately affects minorities and tramples human rights but also risks ecological collapse. Activists — who play a crucial role as the first line of defense for the environment — are being brutally killed, and as the climate crisis intensifies, so will the attacks. It's up to governments to protect them and hold those responsible accountable for their crimes.
While governments certainly need to take prompt action, they first need to start by looking within: By turning a blind eye — as too often happens — governments aren't just witnesses to these horrific murders but rather are fully complicit. This goes beyond homicide in some cases, edging dangerously close to the territory of assassination and state-sanctioned violence.