In 2024 alone, nearly 150 environmental defenders were killed or went missing worldwide, a phenomenon particularly marked in Latin America and notably in Colombia, according to a report by the NGO Global Witness published Tuesday.

"Global Witness documented 146 killings and long-term disappearances of land and environmental defenders in 2024," the NGO states in this report. This corresponds to "approximately three people (...) killed or disappeared every week throughout 2024," it emphasizes.

This figure is down compared to 2023 (196 cases) but "this does not indicate that the situation of defenders is improving", points out the NGO, while the number of cases is underestimated in several countries.

According to Global Witness, more than four out of five documented cases occurred in Latin America.

Colombia remains the deadliest country for environmental activists, with 48 murders recorded last year, compared to 79 in 2023. The country accounts for a third of the world's victims.

"Many indigenous peoples, peasant communities, and Afro-descendants living in Colombia fear denouncing the environmental damage inflicted by extractive industries, particularly defenders operating near armed groups and in conflict zones," the NGO notes.

Colombia, plagued by several armed groups practicing illegal mining and cocaine trafficking, is followed by Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil and the Philippines.

Since 2012, when Global Witness began its census, the number of environmental defenders killed or missing has reached 2,253 people.