Daily Times

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 report also sounds the alarm on a “crackdown on environmental activists across the UK, Europe and the US”, warning “laws are increasingly being weaponised against defenders”.

The annual report 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.

The group documented 79 murders in Colombia alone — the highest figure recorded in any country since Global Witness began its annual review in 2012.

Most occurred in several of the country’s southwestern regions, and organised crime groups are suspected of carrying out at least half of the murders.

Colombia will host this year’s COP16 meeting to discuss the Convention on Biological Diversity, but “violence against human rights defenders and social leaders appears to be increasing”, Global Witness said.

The report also highlighted the toll in Honduras, which recorded 18 murders, the most per capita. Among them was a father killed alongside his 15-year-old child.

In Asia, the Philippines continued to be the most dangerous place for environmental and land protection, with 17 murders, and Global Witness highlighted a growing trend of abductions across the region.

This “has emerged as a critical issue, reflecting broader systemic efforts by power holders to suppress dissent and maintain control over land and resources”, it said.

Among those affected were Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, two young activists opposed to land reclamation projects in Manila Bay in the Philippines.