Protecting Environmental Defenders: Human Rights Watch Urges End to Repression
- The findings highlight how Indigenous peoples, small farmers, and climate activists encounter severe state repression and attacks from criminal networks engaged in illegal deforestation, mining, and land-grabbing.
- In Brazil, criminal networks driving illegal deforestation and mining frequently threaten and kill land defenders who stand in their way, according to Human Rights Watch documentation.
- Governments have also targeted civil society organizations by branding environmental advocacy groups as criminal syndicates or terrorist entities.
The findings highlight how Indigenous peoples, small farmers, and climate activists encounter severe state repression and attacks from criminal networks engaged in illegal deforestation, mining, and land-grabbing.
Regional Threats and Criminalization of Peaceful Protest
In Brazil, criminal networks driving illegal deforestation and mining frequently threaten and kill land defenders who stand in their way, according to Human Rights Watch documentation. Indonesia presents similar hazards; researchers documented police beating defenders who peacefully protested mining operations. Furthermore, Indonesian authorities prosecuted and wrongly punished hundreds of Indigenous activists and demonstrators opposing environmental damage, with some facing accusations of spreading communism.
Governments globally increasingly rely on broad legislation and draconian laws to curb climate activism. The United Kingdom and Australia passed strict measures in recent years targeting peaceful demonstrations, while Vietnam and Turkey utilize sweeping legal frameworks to penalize climate campaigners. Activists fighting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project in Uganda face police raids, revoked NGO licenses, and arbitrary arrests for voicing environmental risks.
Civil Society Crackdowns and International Legal Frameworks
Governments have also targeted civil society organizations by branding environmental advocacy groups as criminal syndicates or terrorist entities. German authorities designated the climate activist group Letzte Generation as a criminal organization in 2024, triggering extensive police raids, surveillance operations, and the seizure of the group’s official website.
To combat these rising threats, human rights advocates urge nations to ratify regional treaties designed to safeguard activists. Latin America and the Caribbean operate under the Escazú Agreement, which legally obligates participating states to prevent, investigate, and punish acts of violence against environmental defenders. In Europe, the Aarhus Convention provides an institutional mechanism through a dedicated Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders to address and mitigate abuses.