They Spoke Truth to Power and Were Murdered in Cold Blood: Analysis on the Situation of Environmental Human Rights Defenders and Concrete Recommendations to Better Protect Them

Author(s): 
Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders

This report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders reveals the unprecedented risks faced by environmental human rights defenders. It is the first major UN report that examines the root causes of attacks perpetrated against environmental defenders and presents concrete recommendations to a range of actors including business and investors to reverse the trend.

The report warns that although the situation is particularly dramatic in Latin America and Asia where many international investors, companies and local governments ignore the legitimate concerns of the population, these attacks and threats happen all over the world. According to the study, a number of environmental conflicts could be avoided by prior consultation and active participation of local communities and environmental activists.

Read the entire report here.