A UN expert group warned of an alarming global trend of enforced disappearances targeting people defending land, natural resources, and the environment, calling it a “clear and present danger” to frontline environmental protectors, according to a press-release by the UN Working Group on enforced disappearances.
In a report presented to the Human Rights Council reveals these are not isolated incidents but part of a growing pattern fueled by impunity. Environmental defenders face disappearances in contexts marked by violence, repression, systematic marginalization, and climate emergencies. The experts called their new report “a wake-up call” about threats facing environmental protection advocates worldwide.
Environmental defenders often get branded by states or media as “anti-development,” “terrorists,” or “eco-terrorists” for doing legitimate human rights work. These tactics protect state and corporate interests while discrediting defenders’ efforts, justifying surveillance, and linking them to terrorism investigations. Such strategies dramatically increase the risk of enforced disappearance for people working to protect natural resources and fight climate change.
The report found worrying evidence of collusion between states, business enterprises, and criminal groups in these disappearances, often aimed at protecting profits from extractive industries, agribusiness, energy projects, and development schemes. This coordination makes environmental defenders particularly vulnerable when their work threatens powerful economic interests or challenges harmful development projects.
The Working Group called on businesses and financial institutions to respect human rights, conduct proper due diligence, and ensure their operations don’t contribute to enforced disappearances.
“These defenders are ultimately safeguarding all ways of life on this planet, and we must protect them from enforced disappearance,” the experts said.
The report includes recommendations for states, businesses, and international organizations to prevent these crimes, ensure accountability, and provide comprehensive reparations to victims and affected communities.
