According to a study released on Tuesday by watchdog Global Witness, about 200 environmental and land defenders were killed worldwide in 2023, with Colombia ranking as the deadliest country for activists once more.
The paper also warns that “laws are increasingly being weaponized against defenders” and details a “crackdown on environmental activists across the UK, Europe, and the US.”
According to the annual report, 85 percent of the 196 recorded murders last year occurred in Latin America, making it the region most dangerous in the world for environmental and land defenders.
Just four nations made up the majority: Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, and Colombia.
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.
