By Helen Gloege ’23
Staff Writer
Content warning: This article discusses murder and mentions sexual violence.
On Sept. 13, human rights organization Global Witness reported that a record 227 climate activists were murdered in 2020. The “land and environmental defenders,” as they were referred to by Global Witness, included people who acted against the exploitation of natural resources and the environment. The toll for 2020 is fifteen deaths higher than the prior record reported by the same organization in 2019.
Global Witness is an international non-governmental organization that studies the link between the climate crisis and human rights abuses. The organization began collecting data on murders of activists in 2012 and has found that since 2015 — the year the Paris Agreement was signed — an average of “four defenders have been killed every week.”
The report states that their findings are an underestimate and the number is likely much higher. Data in the report relies on consistent and accurate reporting of killings; in some countries with higher levels of press suppression, it is unclear if the data the organization received presents a complete picture of the situation. According to Time, “most killings went unpunished.” Further, murder is not the only form of violence these activists face: Global Witness reports the range of threats includes “death threats, surveillance, sexual violence or criminalization.”
The Global Witness report identified a possible correlation between the increase in murders and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as detailing some of the challenges the pandemic has brought to activism work in general. The pandemic left many activists confined to their homes, making them easier targets for attacks. Additional restrictions were placed on activism during the pandemic, such as limitations on where protests could occur.
The victims of these killings were advocates for their communities and the greater world in the face of the climate crisis. One-third of the activists killed in 2020 were Indigenous people. The study reports that more than half of the murders occurred in Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines. In the affected countries, some are calling for government regulations to protect current and future “land and environmental defenders” from violence.