At least 146 land and environmental defenders were killed or disappeared globally last year, according to a new report by the British NGO Global Witness. Some 82% of these cases were in Latin America, where the situation continues to be particularly concerning.
Although the overall figure is lower than the 196 recorded in 2023, it does not necessarily mean violence has decreased, Laura Furones, lead author of the report, tells Dialogue Earth: “There may be fewer murders, but criminalisation and other types of non-lethal attacks are on the rise. The lower figure should not be cause for celebration.”
Global Witness began compiling these reports in 2012. Twelve years on, it has recorded the murder or disappearance of 2,253 environmental defenders in total. The true figure could be even higher, adds Furones: many cases go unreported because they occur in conflict zones or places with restrictions or inefficient monitoring.
The 2024 report places Colombia as the country with the most killings for the third consecutive year, with 48. That is down from 79 in 2023 but, according to the report, disputes over land use, drug trafficking and illegal mining are keeping the level of violence high across the country. Astrid Torres, coordinator of Colombian organisation Somos Defensores (PSD), spoke at the report’s press launch. She questioned why the violence against these defenders continues in a country with state programmes designed to protect them: “Lethal violence can only be stopped with preventive – not reactive – protection mechanisms.”
National stories
The number of documented killings increased sharply in Guatemala, from four in 2023 to 20 in 2024 – the highest number per capita in the world. Since 2012, 106 murders and disappearances have been recorded in Guatemala by Global Witness. The NGO cites corruption, unequal distribution of land rights, organised crime and extractive industries as factors driving this violence.
Neydi Juracan, director of the Campesino Committee of the Highlands of Guatemala (CCDA), also spoke at the report’s press launch. She has observed an increase in murders and persecution of defenders in the country: “It is linked to a development model based on extractivism that strips us of our territories. We are engaged in peaceful resistance, but they persecute us.”
The 2023 elections in Guatemala, marked by attempts to block Bernardo Arévalo’s victory and suspend his party, left behind a scenario of institutional turbulence that carried into 2024. In July last year, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that democracy in the country remained “at risk” amid polarization and the weakening of institutions. Throughout the year, Indigenous organisations also denounced violent evictions and the state’s failure to resolve land conflicts.
Among the victims was lawyer José Domingo, who defended farmers and Indigenous peoples in a land titling process — a recurring issue in Guatemala, where rural communities struggle to secure legal ownership of their lands and are frequently subjected to evictions.
In Mexico, last year was the second most dangerous of the past decade for environmental defenders, with 18 murders and one disappearance recorded. Nine murders occurred in the Chiapas region as a result of territorial disputes between criminal groups fighting for control of natural resources. A family of seven was murdered in Chiapas for refusing to support one of these groups, according to authorities.
Global Witness recorded 12 killings taking place in Brazil during 2024, down from 25 in 2023. Half of the 2024 cases were small-scale farmers. Meanwhile, non-lethal attacks continue throughout the country.
It also recorded six cases in Honduras, down from the 18 recorded the year before. The 2024 cases include the assassination of the environmentalist Juan López, who coordinated the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) in Tocoa, northern Honduras.
The Escazú Agreement
According to the report, nearly 1,000 environmental defenders have been killed or disappeared in Latin America since the adoption of the Escazú Agreement. This treaty seeks to improve access to information related to environmental matters, address impunity for crimes committed against defenders, and strengthen public participation in land development consultations. The agreement entered into force in 2021 and has so far been ratified by 18 countries.
Colombia joined Escazú in late 2024 and is currently in the process of creating an intersectoral commission to implement the agreement. However, Guatemala, Brazil, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Haiti have yet to ratify the agreement, despite all signing it years ago.
Global Witness says the Escazú Agreement, like its European counterpart the Aarhus Convention and instruments including the UN declaration on human rights defenders, remains insufficient. According to the report, states lack the political will to implement these initiatives effectively, and the value and existence of these agreements is largely unknown to communities.
“Escazú is a binding instrument that can have a lot of power on paper to change realities in Latin America,” Furones tells Dialogue Earth. “We support and celebrate it, but time is passing and there are countries that have not ratified it, and those that have done so are not making much progress. Even the best law remains ineffective without implementation.”
The report argues that addressing these challenges requires Escazú signatory countries to commit financial support, with resources allocated for the agreement within national budgets, and the creation and implementation of national plans to protect defenders.
Next steps
Global Witness is also calling on states to guarantee the rights of rural and Indigenous communities through land reforms that promote fairer ownership. In addition, the NGO says states must implement robust legislation that holds companies accountable for human rights abuses and environmental damage throughout their value chains.
It is challenging states to commit to upholding international standards for the recognition and protection of defenders, and to repeal or revise any laws that allow for their criminalisation. Meanwhile, it says companies should also apply a strict zero-tolerance policy towards attacks on defenders.
Jani Silva, a prominent social leader and central figure of Colombia’s campesino (peasant farmer) movement, shared her thoughts with Global Witness to mark the publication of this year’s report. Silva, who contributed to the creation of the Perla Amazónica campesino reserve zone (one of the first such protected reserves in Colombia) expressed her indignation at the continuing violence in Latin America, calling for an urgent response.
“The vast majority of defenders aren’t defenders by choice, myself included. We are defenders because our homes, our lands, our communities and our lives are threatened. Much more needs to be done to ensure that communities have rights and that those who defend them are protected.”
