Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists in 2022. At least 60 environmental and land rights defenders were killed there, the British advocacy group said last Tuesday Global Witness.
Global Witness found that at least 177 environmental activists were killed around the world last year. Latin America accounts for 88% of fatal attacks. “In Colombia and elsewhere, indigenous peoples, African-American communities, small farmers and environmental activists have been brutally attacked,” said Laura Furones, senior campaign advisor. Global Witness for land and environmental defenders, during a virtual press conference.
Since taking office in August last year, Gustavo Petro, the president of the radical left, has pledged to intensify his efforts to curb this violence. The results will be frustrating for his government, which last October passed a law ratifying the Escazu agreement to protect the environment. The agreement, adopted in March 2018 in the Escazu region of Costa Rica, contains, among other things, provisions aimed at protecting environmentalists. The law has not yet been approved by the Colombian Constitutional Court.
