Global Witness has just launched its report "Standing firm - The Land and Environmental Defenders on the frontlines of the climate crisis". Main findings include:

• At least 177 land and environmental defenders around the world were killed last year, taking the total number of defenders killed between 2012 and 2022 to 1,910;
• Almost nine in 10 recorded killings in 2022 were in Latin America, with more than a third of all fatal attacks taking place in Colombia – more than any other country;
• One in five murders of defenders worldwide took place in the Amazon Rainforest, with violence, torture and threats a shared reality for communities across the region;
• As well as lethal attacks, defenders are also being increasingly subject to criminalisation as a strategy for silencing those who speak out, with laws being weaponised against them;
• 10 killings were linked to agribusiness, while mining was connected with eight cases, followed by logging, with four;
• Female defenders were subjected to 11% of the total number of lethal attacks. 36% of the defenders murdered were Indigenous peoples and 7% were Afro-descendants.