"2015 sees unprecedented killings of environmental activists," 20 Jun 2016

…Global Witness…’s new report, On Dangerous Ground, documents 185 known deaths worldwide last year – by far the highest annual death toll on record…“As demand for products like minerals, timber and palm oil continues, governments, companies and criminal gangs are seizing land in defiance of the people who live on it,” said Global Witness campaign leader Billy Kyte. “Communities that take a stand are increasingly finding themselves in the firing line of companies’ private security, state forces and…contract killers...” On Dangerous Ground sheds light on the particular vulnerability of indigenous people, whose weak land rights and geographic isolation make them frequent targets of land and resource grabbing…Global Witness is calling on governments in affected countries to:

• Increase protection for land and environmental activists…
• Investigate crimes, including their corporate and political masterminds…and bring perpetrators to justice
• Support activists’ right to say no to projects…and ensure that companies are proactively seeking their consent
• Resolve the underlying causes of violence against defenders…