José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva speaking at a TEDx Amazon in 2010, just a few months before he and his wife were assassinated for their activism.
On May 24th, 2011, forest activist José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife, Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva, were gunned down in an ambush in the Brazilian state of Pará. A longtime activist, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva had made a name for himself for openly criticizing illegal logging in the state which is rife with deforestation. The killers even cut off the ears of the da Silvas, a common practice of assassins in Brazil to prove to their employers that they had committed the deed. Less than a year before he was murdered, da Silva warned in a TEDx Talk, “I could get a bullet in my head at any moment…because I denounce the loggers and charcoal producers.”
In many parts of the world, standing up for one’s forest, land, or environment has become incredibly dangerous. A new briefing by Global Witness finds that 711 activists, journalists, and community members were murdered defending or investigating land and forest rights issues between 2002 and 2011. Such killings are on the rise: last year 106 people were killed over defending land and forest rights, the highest number in the past ten years.
“This trend points to the increasingly fierce global battle for resources, and represents the sharpest of wake-up calls for delegates in Rio. Over one person a week is being murdered for defending rights to forests and land,” Billy Kyte, campaigner at Global Witness, said in a press release, referring to the United Nations Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development, which is meeting this week.
The briefing—which catalogues people killed while investigating or protesting activities such as mining, logging, agriculture, ranching, plantations, dams, urban development, and poaching—notes that “these trends are symptomatic of the increasingly fierce competition for resources, and the brutality and injustice that come with it.”
Brazil alone accounted for over half of the murders documented by Global Witness for a total of 365 people killed over the past ten years. Next in line are Peru, Colombia, and the Philippines. In these countries, as well as in Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Global Witness says that many of the killings include serious links to private sector involvement, both domestic and international. Most murders occurred in Latin America and Asia with far fewer reported in Africa, however Global Witness this may be to a lack of information.
“Because information on such killings is fragmented and scarce, the number of deaths is very likely to be higher than we have been able to identify,” the briefing reads. “This report also does not include the hundreds of thousands of victims of intimidation and violence linked to disputes over access to land and forest or killings from land and forest claims associated with oil and gas extraction.”
For example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a conflict between local villagers and logging company, SIFORCO, resulted in a number of villagers being beaten and raped by state security forces. The clash also resulted in the death of 70-year-old Frederic Moloma Tuka. Although SIFORCO asked the government to help mediate the conflict, it took no responsibility for the resulting violence.
According to the report, justice is rarely given to murder victims. Killers are rarely brought to trial and often acquitted when they are. In Brazil, fewer than 10 percent of such murders go to trial, and only 1 percent see convictions. The report also notes that out of 50 murder cases in the Philippines linked to land and environmental issues—usually protesting massive mining projects—none have gone to prosecution.
“Suspected perpetrators of these killings [in the Philippines] are police, military, and private security forces of private corporations,” reads the briefing.
The Global Witness briefing urges the international community to push for full and impartial investigations into such killings; ensure Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for local communities impacted by industrial projects; and make certain both state security forces and private security follow national laws and international codes of conduct.
“The international community must stop perpetuating this vicious contest for forests and land. It has never been more important to protect the environment and it has never been more deadly,” said Kyte.
Murders over forests and land continue. Just two months ago, on April 26th, renowned Cambodian forest activist, Chut Wutty, was killed while escorting two journalists to illegal logging sites. He was stopped by military police and after a clash was shot dead. The details of his death are still mysterious, as the military has provided various stories to explain how Wutty, as well as one of the soldiers, were killed. An investigation is ongoing.
Murders tied to land disputes in rural Brazil, cumulative total of 383 since 2000.
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