Mexico, Colombia and Brazil lead the list of countries with the most environmental activists killed in 2021

Of the 200 homicides against environmental defenders that were registered in 2021 in the world, 54 occurred in Mexico and 33 in Colombia, which makes them the most dangerous places for environmental activists in the region, according to the most recent report by the NGO Global Witness.

The text titled A decade of resistanceis a “call” of Global Witness “so that real protection is provided to those who are on the front line” of what they classify as “an ecological and humanitarian catastrophe”.

The investigation also urges national and supranational governments to “commit to denouncing and investigating these murders and, ultimately, to bring the culprits to justice.”

The text indicates that in the last decade 1,731 leaders have been assassinated in the world.

“Most of these crimes occur in places distant from power and are committed against those who in many ways have the least power,” the report states.

The situation in Latin America

More than three-quarters of the murders occurred in Latin America, according to Global Witness. In Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela, 78% of attacks occurred in the Amazon.

“These deadly attacks continue to occur in the context of a broader range of threats against defenders that are being targeted by governments, businesses and other non-state actors, with violence, intimidation, smear campaigns and criminalization. This is happening in all regions of the world and in almost all sectors”, adds the text.

Mexico is the country with the highest number of recorded murders, with defenders killed every month, with a total of 54 murders in 2021, compared to 30 murders recorded the previous year. More than 40% of those killed were indigenous and more than a third of the total were enforced disappearances, including at least eight members of the Yaqui community.

While in Brazil there was an increase in lethal attacks from 20 to 26. In Colombia there was a drop in murders in 2021, from 65 to 33.

Colombia remains one of the few countries with the highest number of murders in the world since 2012.

Although indigenous people represent only 5% of the world’s population, more than 40% of fatal attacks were against this segment of the population.

Global Witness indicated that reality probably outweighs data, as many cases go unreported, particularly in rural areas and in certain countries.

After Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, the Philippines ranked fourth with 19 homicides, but represented a decrease, compared to 30 reported in 2020.

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