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How can countries better protect environmental defenders while addressing their communities' needs?

Environment
Global
Started September 16, 2026

[Global Witness] New Global Witness figures bring the total killed and disappeared since 2012 to 2,375 Just two South American countries - Colombia and Brazil - accounted for 52% of the 2025 killings In Asia, defenders are facing a rising tide of criminalisation and intimidation Globally, more than three quarters of those killed were small-scale farmers, Indigenous Peoples or Afro-descendant peoples. Indigenous Peoples accounted for 44 of the killings documented in 2025. Land disputes triggered more than half of the

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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Whether or not extraction occurs, host governments must establish land registries and dispute-resolution mechanisms that protect both smallholders and investors.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Rural communities need economic alternatives to extractive industries before they can credibly protect land defenders.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Communities should have a say in environmental policies that affect their land and their defenders' safety.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Governments must prioritize the protection of environmental defenders to prevent further killings and disappearances.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Criminalising environmental protest as sedition or terrorism is a legitimate tool to maintain public order.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Police and military training programs must include specific protections for peaceful environmental advocacy.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Indigenous Peoples should have veto power over mining and logging projects on their ancestral territories.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Some environmental defenders engage in illegal activities that undermine their cause and justify state repression.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Countries that fail to investigate killings of environmental defenders should face trade sanctions.
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CLAIM Posted by admin • Sep 16, 2026
Local communities harmed by environmental regulations deserve compensation equal to the cost of lost livelihoods.
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