We’ve hit a horrendous milestone.
More than 2,000 land and environmental defenders have now been murdered since we began documenting killings in 2012.
196 of these killings occurred just last year. The total since 2012 now stands at a staggering 2,106.
We can see trends within these murders. For example, last year 85% of cases took place in Latin America. Nearly half – 49% – were Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendants. 12% were women.
| Murder remains a common strategy for silencing defenders – and is the most brutal.
But there are other forms of persecution Defenders face threats of violence and intimidation at the hands of governments, businesses and others simply for standing up for their environment and communities. They are being forcibly disappeared, abducted, criminalised, and marginalised. Erasure is a form of attack too. These issues affect defenders in virtually every region of the world. Yet defenders remain steadfast in their struggle. Their voices will not be silenced.
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