82% of all documented cases of environmental or land defenders being killed or disappeared in 2024 were in Latin America, according to a new study. 

Non-profit Global Witness compiled a list of 146 killings or disappearances last year involving people defending their land or the environment. Of these, 117 were in Latin America.

“This is not an exception. This is true every year,” Laura Furones, the report’s lead author, told Latin America Reports. Since her organisation started recording cases in 2012, Latin America has seen the highest proportion of environmental killings each year.

“It really illustrates the violence in Latin America and how dangerous it is for anyone who’s trying to protect lands or their environment in [these] countries,” Furones added.  

For the third year in a row, Colombia recorded the most instances of violence against land defenders, registering 48 cases. It was followed by Guatemala, with 20 cases, and Mexico, with 19. 

Other countries on the Global Witness list include Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, and Venezuela. Chile and Honduras also have reported cases of ‘disappearances’, where an individual has been missing for longer than six months. 

Though the causes vary, the killings are often linked to land disputes and opposition to extractive industries like mining, logging, and agribusiness. The report highlighted how Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities are a common target, accounting for around a third of the victims.

“Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants are often, quite literally, at the front lines of that fight to protect lands and resources,” Furones said. “They’re often in remote areas. So the presence of the state is very weak, if at all,” she added. 

24 nation states across Latin America and the Caribbean have signed the Escazú Agreement, an international treaty which guarantees the protection of environmental defenders. However, since its adoption in March 2018, almost 1,000 defenders in the region have been murdered. All of the Latin American countries with documented killings and disappearances in 2024 are signatories. 

“[G]overnments are failing to hold those responsible for defender attacks to account – spurring the cycle of killings with little consequence,” said Global Witness Project Lead, Rachel Cox, in a press release.

Although the total of 146 killings and disappearances is down from 196 last year, the report notes that many attacks go unreported. This remains a particular issue in parts of Asia and Africa, which do not have the same level of civil society organisations monitoring the situation as in Latin America.

Featured image:
Image: The Amazon Rainforest
Author: U.S. Forest Service (source)
Source: Rawpixel
Licence: Creative Commons Licenses