Colombia is a land with a long history of violence and environmental destruction. Environmental leaders have been systematically murdered in the country for decades. According to reporting by Global Witness and Diálogo Chino, between 2009 and 2022, Colombia was the country with the second highest number of environmental defenders killed in the world: at least 357.
These numbers are unlikely to decrease while the current dynamics of violence and environmental destruction continue, despite official statements that action will be taken to change them.
The killing of environmental defenders in Colombia is a direct consequence of the persistence of a long-lasting and wider conflict the country has been experiencing for decades – a conflict that was not fully resolved with the signing of the peace accords with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People’s Army) in 2016, and which means the Colombian state is unable to be present in large parts of the country.
