Maria do Socorro Costa da Silva leads a coalition of communities challenging politicians and companies to respect their land and environmental rights in Pará state, where violence against such advocacy is rife. (Photo courtesy of Global Witness)
A record number of people defending environmental and land rights, the majority of them Latin Americans, were murdered worldwide in 2017, the deadliest year on record, according to a recent report. “At What Cost,” a report released July 24 by Global Witness, a London-based nonprofit, says that 207 people from 22 countries were known to have been killed in connection with their efforts to protect their land or environmental rights last year. Of those, nearly 60% were Latin Americans, the report says. The study states that the number of killings is an underestimate since many such murders go unreported and the study’s methodology requires cases to be verified according to rigorous criteria, including the ability to identify victims and find credible online sources that... [Log in to read more]
