Killings, violence, intimidation and aggressive lawsuits are used to silence individuals and communities who speak out about corporate human rights and environmental abuses at a rate of nearly two attacks every day, landmark research shows.

More than 6,400 reported attacks were recorded against Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) raising concerns about harm in almost every business sector and region of the globe over the past decade. Those speaking out about abuses in the mining, agribusiness and fossil fuel sectors – which are all driving the climate crisis - suffered the highest number of attacks and accounted for over half of the ten-year total, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre found.

Analysis also revealed how legal systems are being weaponised to mute dissent, with states criminalising critics, while some companies misuse courts to silence and intimidate those speaking out. Judicial harassment, including Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), accounted for over 50% of all attacks recorded by the Resource Centre between 2015 and 2024.

These disturbing findings are contained in the most comprehensive global analysis to date of both lethal and non-lethal attacks against defenders raising concerns about corporate harm – and seeking to create a more equitable and sustainable world. The data also underscores the urgent need for stronger state protection of civic freedoms and HRDs, as well as business respect for human rights.

The report offers business leaders a crucial opportunity to identify and eliminate human rights and environmental risks in their operations and supply chains and to help build more sustainable, rights respecting models for future growth.

Full findings can be explored here.

Key findings from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s ten-year analysis

• Climate, land, and environmental defenders are the most targeted, making up 89% of attacks in 2024.
• Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia and the Pacific have consistently been the most dangerous regions for HRDs raising concerns about corporate harm, accounting for close to three in four total attacks recorded.
• The most dangerous countries for HRDs raising concerns about corporate harm over the past decade are Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, the Philippines and India.
• Mining, agribusiness and fossil fuels were the sectors connected with the highest number of attacks – with more than 3,600 attacks.
• Indigenous Peoples faced 21% of all attacks despite comprising just 6% of the global population. They are almost twice as likely to be killed as non-Indigenous HRDs.
• Nearly 600 attacks targeted journalists, mostly covering environmental destruction, land rights and/or corruption.
• Judicial harassment – including SLAPPs, arbitrary detention and criminal charges - is the most common type of attack (3,310). Police, local and state authorities and armed forces are among the most common perpetrators, often acting in collusion with business interests.
• Companies headquartered in the USA, UK and Canada were most frequently associated with attacks.
• Only 51/284 companies assessed have company-wide public policies committing to zero-tolerance for attacks on HRDs.

Christen Dobson, Co-Head of Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders Programme, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, said: “Human rights defenders are on the frontlines of justice - challenging abuse, protecting our planet, and envisioning a better future for us all. Yet they continue to face relentless and often deadly retaliation simply for their defence of human rights. This analysis must be a wake-up call: defending rights is not a crime, it is essential to a just, sustainable world. Corporate voluntary pledges are important, but insufficient. We need binding laws that mandate corporate respect for human rights, protect defenders, and hold perpetrators to account accompanied by robust implementation. Failing to engage with defenders and affected communities is also bad for business - it can lead to conflict, delays, litigation, and damage to brand and investor trust. All of this threatens global progress to address the climate and biodiversity crisis.”

Why Action Matters
Companies that proactively respect the rights of HRDs are not only fulfilling their human rights responsibilities—they are reducing operational risks, avoiding costly legal battles, protecting their social license to operate, and contributing to a more sustainable future.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is calling on

Governments to:

• Pass and implement legislation recognising the right to defend rights and commit to zero-tolerance for attacks.
• Pass and implement mandatory corporate human rights due diligence legislation.
• Protect Indigenous Peoples rights, including the right to say no to business projects.
• Stop criminalising defenders and protect freedoms of expression, assembly, and association.

Corporate leaders to:

• Publicly commit to zero-tolerance for attacks against HRDs across all operations, supply chains and business relationships.
• Integrate respect for HRDs and Indigenous rights into due diligence processes.
• Meaningfully engage with HRDs, Indigenous Peoples and local communities from the earliest stages of project planning.
• Remedy adverse human rights impacts caused directly or indirectly by the company, its suppliers, operations, products or services.

Investors to:

• Adopt a policy committing to zero-tolerance for attacks on HRDs and communicate this expectation to portfolio companies.
• Conduct rigorous human rights due diligence.
• Use leverage with portfolio companies to mitigate harms and provide access to remedy.
• Avoid investing in companies with histories of rights violations and attacks on HRDs.

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Notes to editors

For more information or to arrange an interview or briefing, please contact:
Anil Dawar: [email protected] | +44 7766 317 434 or
Priyanka Mogul: [email protected] (Working days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday).

About the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
The Resource Centre is an independent NGO that tracks the human rights impacts of over 10,000 companies worldwide

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/