Special rapporteur expressed he was extremely worried and appalled by growing number of attacks and murders of environmental defenders and continuous resistance of States to act. The rapporteur called on states and business enterprises to adopt zero-tolerance approach to killing and violence against defenders. The rapporteur also pointed out that the range of actors that stand to gain from hindering the work of defenders exacerbated the  risks  they were facing, and stated that businesses  had  been  involved  in  restricting legitimate  activities  of environmental defenders and in attacks on them, carried out by private security firms on behalf of companies. The report stressed that business  must  respect  the rights of the defenders to express dissent and oppose their activities and ensure their subsidiaries and private security firms and contractors acting on their behalf refrain from harming defenders and restricting their rights.