In an alarming revelation brought forth by activist organization Global Witness, Colombia has registered the highest number of environmental defender killings in 2022, with 60 individuals having lost their lives to murder. The report, released on Tuesday, specifies that this figure is nearly twice as high as the previous year, bringing the total to 382 environmental defender deaths since 2012.
Not only are these acts of violence becoming more frequent, but the pursuit of justice remains a daunting challenge. According to an analysis by the Programa Somos Defensores, a Colombian civil society network, only about 5.2% of cases involving the killing of human rights defenders have been resolved by the courts, leaving a significant backlog of unresolved cases.
The Global Witness report also illustrates how law can be manipulated to quiet these environmental defenders. This became tragically evident when Teófilo Acuña, a Colombian advocate for small-scale peasants who was murdered in 2022, had previously faced gross injustice in the form of unjustified arrests and fabricated charges, one of which had eventually been dismissed.
Despite the grim outlook, the report acknowledges a glimmer of hope with the election of left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro in 2022. Petro, a stark contrast to the previous administration of former President Ivan Duque who had failed to comply with a court mandate to protect Los Nevados National Park, promises social transformation and improved protection for defenders.
The urgency to address these issues is palpable. In 2022, Amnesty International sounded the alarm over the deaths of 20 human rights defenders and four journalists in Colombia. Further, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) expressed concerns regarding the environmental effects of Colombia’s protracted conflict with guerilla groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The ongoing conflict has led to several environmental issues including deforestation and illicit mineral extraction, an issue that still persists despite a peace agreement negotiated in 2016.