Philippines among countries with most land, environmental defenders killed in 2021 —NGO

Of the 200 killings of land and environmental defenders documented last year, 19 occurred in the Philippines, an annual review by watchdog Global Witness showed on Thursday.

The report, which says the Philippines has "consistently ranked as the worst place in Asia for Land and Environmental Defenders," listed the Filipino victims as:

• Abner Esto
• Ana Marie Lemita-Evangelista
• Angel Rivas
• Antonio "Cano" Arellano
• Ariel Evangelista
• Edward Esto
• Emanuel Asuncion
• John Heredia
• Joseph Canlas
• Juan Macababbad
• Julie Catamin
• Lenie Rivas
• Mark Lee Bacasno
• Melvin Dasigao
• Puroy Dela Cruz
• Randy Dela Cruz
• Romeo Loyola Torres
• Steve Abua
• Willy Rodriguez

The number is fewer than the 30 Filipino land and environmental defenders killed in 2020, the report said, also noting that the 200 killed worldwide is down from a record 227 in 2020.

These killings came "in the context of a wider range of threats against defenders who are being targeted by government, business and other non-state actors with violence, intimidation, smear campaigns and criminalization," the London-based group said.

The report also said that 270 land activists were killed in the Philippines between 2012 and 2021.

"Over 40% (114) of the defenders murdered were Indigenous peoples campaigning to protect their land and the environment—with nearly 80% of attacks against Indigenous defenders taking place on the island of Mindanao," the report said.

"Global Witness has been able to link over 80% of killings over the past decade in the Philippines to protests by defenders against company operations. Our analysis indicates that a third of the killings are linked to the mining industry, closely followed by the agribusiness sector."

The report also said that impunity in the Philippines is "rife."

"[I]t is suspected that state forces are behind the majority of killings in the few cases where the identity of the perpetrators is documented. Key state institutions, including the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, are weak, and the military and police commit human rights violations with little accountability," it said.

Highest toll in Latin America

More than three-quarters of the murders of environmental activists in 2021 took place in Latin America, said Global Witness, which has issued such reports since 2012.

It maintains a database of the killings based on reviews of "reliable sources of publicly available online information," the report says.

Mexico had the highest recorded number of killings, 54, in 2021. That figure was up from 30 the previous year, and more than 40 percent of the victims were indigenous people, the review said.

Global Witness reported that the heaviest Latin American tolls also occurred in Colombia, with 33 killings, Brazil where there were 26 and Nicaragua, which had 15.

While in most cases the killings could not be connected to a specific industry, the report identified 27 tied to mining and extractive industries.

Global Witness called for "urgent actions" to hold companies and governments accountable for actions against land and environmental defenders, "who are often standing on the front line of the climate crisis."

Among the measures, it said governments should require companies to carry out due diligence on human rights and environmental risks, and must ensure an enforceable legal environment that protects land defenders. — AFP