GlobalVoices: ‘Why Are So Many Environmental Activists Being Murdered?’

On February 10, 2015, GlobalVoices published an article that highlighted the disturbing trend of violence toward environmental activists worldwide. In the past decade, the article notes, 1,000 environmentalists in 35 countries have been murdered for their activism. UN Independent Expert on human rights and the environment, John Knox, was quoted as saying, “Many of those murdered were ‘accidental’ human rights defenders . . . They got involved because it was their own land, their own forests, their own water they were defending.” Knox went on to say that the contest between often marginalized activists and powerful economic interests is unfair and one-sided. He emphasized that the activists are not fighting a losing battle,   but they need help and protection.