Land defenders facing ever-increasing violence

The NGO Global Witness recently released its 2019 report on the violence against land and environmental defenders - those who are at the frontlines of resisting the devastation and exploitation of people and territories. Their report evidences that 2019 was the year with the highest number yet of people murdered in one year since 2012, when the NGO began to publish data. 212 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2019, an average of more than four people a week. Over half of all reported killings occurred in two countries: Colombia and the Philippines. Read the full report in English here.