Almost 250 human rights defenders were killed in Latin America in 2020 alone, while many others had to face attempts by government officials to hamper their activity, a number of sources have indicated.
The latest report by Amnesty International showed that 247 human rights defenders were killed in Latin America in 2020. This accounts for almost 75% of the total number of human rights activists killed globally – 331. The highest number of deaths of human rights defenders in Latin America and globally was recorded in Colombia, were 177 were killed last year. Next came Honduras with 20 human rights activists killed, Mexico with 19, Brazil with 16, and Guatemala with 15.
Commenting on the matter, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted that within the last two years human rights defenders from Bolivia, Chile, El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina had been under increasing pressure from local governments and other power actors, which had been trying to undermine their human right efforts.
In Bolivia, Chile, El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala, and Mexico authorities tried to remove from office the head of the independent human rights institution, while in Ecuador and Uruguay they had to deal with public statements undermining their efforts. In turn, Argentina was not able to appoint an ombudsman who would upheld human rights. In Peru some politicians, including Pedro Castillo who is a presidential candidate, argue that the office of the Peruvian ombudsman should be removed, the commissioner specified.
“Governments and others in positions of power including members of parliament and vigilante groups were at the root of the problem in a dozen of countries. I urge governments across the region to abide by their responsibilities, and respect and protect the independence of the national human rights institutions,” said Bachelet.
The report by Amnesty International found that in the majority of cases (69% of deaths), those killed had defended indigenous peoples’ rights to their land or had dealt with environmental issues, or had tried to provide relief to their communities facing challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost one-third of those killed were indigenous human rights defenders globally.
In 2019 the number of human rights defenders killed globally stood at 304, with Latin America recording the highest number as well – 208.
