Philippines still deadliest country in Asia for environmental defenders in 2023 – watchdog

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines remains the most dangerous country in Asia for land and environmental defenders, accounting for 68% of the recorded killings and enforced disappearances in the region in 2023, the watchdog Global Witness found.

Of the 25 defenders in Asia whose lives were taken away in 2023, 17 of them came from the Philippines, where 10 were killed and seven have disappeared. India recorded five such cases, while Indonesia had three. 

In 2023, a total of 196 defenders were killed or forcibly disappeared worldwide, with Colombia, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico and Philippines ranking as the top five most dangerous countries.

“The Marcos Jr. administration has failed to stem the tide of violence against those protecting our environment and natural resources,” Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kaliaksan PNE) advocacy officer Jonila Castro said in a statement.

“In fact, repression and militarization have worsened under this regime. Environmental defenders are being red-tagged, harassed, and murdered with impunity,” she added.

Data shows that the targeted killings and enforced disappearances of green activists in the Philippines have risen by 54.5%, up from 11 cases in 2022. 

Global Witness has been documenting lethal threats against land and environmental defenders since 2012, and throughout this period, violence toward these individuals has been most concentrated in the Philippines.

From 2012 to 2023, 64% of the 468 recorded deaths and enforced disappearances in Asia occurred in the country. 

Who were they? Majority of the 17 Filipinos listed were small-scale farmers, seven of which were tagged as “murdered” and two as “disappeared.” 

In a constant battle against land grabbing, indigenous peoples are also common victims of murder and enforced disappearances. One of them was killed and two could no longer be found. 

Globally, the report found that nearly half of the total number of defenders killed and forcibly disappeared in 2023 were indigenous peoples and Afrodescendents.  

Children and relatives of targeted defenders are equally at risk, constituting three of the 17 killed in 2023.

While Global Witness could not identify the