Philippines remains Asia’s deadliest country for land rights activists but has been overtaken by Colombia in global rankings
- Nearly half of the killings recorded since President Rodrigo Duterte took power in 2016 have been linked to the armed forces or paramilitary groups
- The impact of climate change has dialled up the pressure on defenders as they seek to protect indigenous land rights from mining and logging
A total of 43 defenders were killed in the archipelago – the vast majority on the fertile and resource-rich islands of Mindanao and Negros – compared with 30 in 2018, Global Witness said in a report.
Indigenous leaders, farmers and state employees charged with protecting the environment were among the victims.
More than half the deaths were related to agribusiness, Global Witness said. Sixteen killings were linked to mining – the highest in the world.
Nearly half of those killed lived on Mindanao, where the army has long maintained a heavy presence in the fight against communist and Muslim insurgents. The island was under martial law until the end of last year.
Large numbers of defenders were also killed on Negros, a sugar-producing island in the central Philippines that is also heavily militarised and where activists have long campaigned for land reform to reduce inequality and poverty.
“Defenders living in Mindanao and Negros made up almost 90 per cent of land and environmental activists killed in the country in 2019,” the report said.