Nearly 2,000 environmental activists have been killed over 10-year period: NGO

By Aleyna Cil

ANKARA (AA) – A total of 1,910 environmental activists have been killed between 2012 and 2022, with Latin America holding the highest percentage globally, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) announced Wednesday.

Global Witness released a report that revealed statistics on murdered environmental activists ahead of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), which will be held in the United Arab Emirates in November.

The report showed that Colombia was found to be the deadliest country in the world for environmental activists, with 60 deaths in total last year. Latin America accounted for 88% of the deaths.

Other deadly countries last year within the region included Brazil, with 34 killings, Mexico with 31 and Honduras with 14, it said.

The study also highlighted that 177 environmental activists around the world were killed last year.

“The research also found yet again that Indigenous communities around the world face a disproportionate level of lethal attacks, as victims of more than a third (34%) of global killings last year whilst making up only around 5% of the world’s population,” Global Research said on its website.

Although indigenous societies have an essential function in combating the climate crisis, these societies are “under siege” in countries such as Brazil, Peru and Venezuela, said Laura Furones, a senior advisor to the NGO’s Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign.

The report also showed that the US, UK and European Union-based companies support gold mining and logging activities that threaten domestic communities in the Amazon rainforest.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul