Roots of resistance: Documenting the global struggles of defenders protecting land and environmental rights

In 2024, Global Witness documented 146 land and environmental defenders murdered or disappeared globally, with 82% of cases occurring in Latin America. The report identifies mining as the deadliest industry and highlights the disproportionate targeting of Indigenous Peoples and small-scale farmers. It examines specific crises in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Guatemala, and Palestine, while critiquing the failures of state protection mechanisms and the rise of criminalization. The document calls for the ratification of the Escazú Agreement, the implementation of mandatory corporate due diligence, and the formal recognition of defenders' roles in climate solutions ahead of COP30.

• In 2024, 146 land and environmental defenders were murdered or disappeared globally, averaging approximately three people per week. This follows a total of 2,253 documented cases since 2012.
• Latin America remains the most dangerous region, accounting for 82% of all documented cases in 2024. Colombia is specifically identified as one of the deadliest countries, where one-third of all global lethal attacks occurred in 2024.
• Indigenous Peoples and small-scale farmers are the most targeted groups; in 2024, 45 defenders from each category were killed or disappeared.
• Mining is the most lethal industry for defenders, linked to at least 29 cases in 2024, followed by logging (eight cases) and agribusiness (four cases).
• Organized crime is a primary driver of violence, linked to nearly one-third of all killings and disappearances in 2024.
• Guatemala saw a five-fold increase in murders in 2024, rising from four cases in 2023 to 20, resulting in the highest number of killings per capita globally for that year.
• State protection mechanisms, such as Colombia's National Protection Unit (NPU), are often flawed, with high rejection rates for requests and a failure to account for the collective nature of defender work.
• Criminalization is identified as the most common tactic to silence defenders, with laws regarding terrorism, sedition, and defamation being weaponized by states.
• In the occupied Palestinian territories, the report notes that land grabbing and the destruction of environment—such as the uprooting of over a million olive trees since 2023—are used as tools of erasure and territorial control.
• The Escazú Agreement is a critical regional treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean designed to protect defenders, but implementation remains insufficient, with nearly 1,000 defenders killed or disappeared since its 2018 adoption.

APA

Global Witness (2022). Roots of resistance: Documenting the global struggles of defenders protecting land and environmental rights. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/roots-of-resistance/

Chicago

Global Witness. Roots of resistance: Documenting the global struggles of defenders protecting land and environmental rights. 2022. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/roots-of-resistance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Roots of resistance: Documenting the global struggles of defenders protecting land and environmental rights |date=29 September 2022 |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/roots-of-resistance/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitness2022roots, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Roots of resistance: Documenting the global struggles of defenders protecting land and environmental rights}}, institution = {Global Witness}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/roots-of-resistance/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }