[STATEMENT] Governments urged to face the facts and ensure protection of environmental human rights defenders
September 10, 2024
The Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders (APNED) calls for governments in Asia to take the annual report of Global Witness into consideration and ensure protection for environmental human rights defenders in the region. In the past years, the attacks on environmental defenders have gone largely unrecognized by governments and most are also perpetrated by State actors.
In their report released today, Global Witness recorded 25 defenders killed in Asia, 17 in the Philippines, five in India, and three in Indonesia in 2023. Between 2012 and 2023, 468 defenders were murdered in Asia. Throughout this period, the Philippines has ranked the most dangerous country in the region for environmental human rights defenders, with 298 reported killings over the past decade.
Out of 17 that were killed in the Philippines in the past year, eight were small-scale farmers, three were indigenous people, and three were youth-victims. One out of five murdered in India was a journalist. In Indonesia, of the three that were killed, two were indigenous people (one of them a small-scale farmer, and the other also a demonstrator).
In relation to specific industries, Global Witness recorded that two defenders from Asia were killed due to opposing mining operations, and one disappeared because of opposing fishing activities. For the two that were murdered from protesting against agribusiness companies, one was shot dead during a demonstration protest in Indonesia.
Asia has also witnessed a rise in cases of enforced disappearances as a tactic to silence dissent. This includes the Philippines’ Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, who were abducted while conducting research in fisherfolk communities affected by land reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
States, as duty-bearers, should look into the information presented and widely conduct investigations into the growing number of killings of land and environmental defenders. Furthermore, they should ensure accountability for these attacks, even if it comes from their ranks. To prevent these attacks from happening, further protection is required including laws that recognize and protect environmental defenders. With Southeast Asia having the highest number of killings in Asia, another opportunity is the ASEAN declaration on environmental rights, which should include strong provisions on recognizing and protecting environmental defenders.
Read the 2024 annual report of Global Witness, entitled “Missing voices: the violent erasure of land and environmental defenders”: