Location
Global Witness exposes the hidden links between demand for natural resources, corruption, armed conflict and environmental destruction
Mission
Many of the world’s worst environmental and human rights abuses are driven by the exploitation of natural resources and corruption in the global political and economic system. Global Witness is campaigning to end this. We carry out hard-hitting investigations, expose these abuses, and campaign for change. We are independent, not-for-profit, and work with partners around the world in our fight for justice.
Vision
We want a better world -- where corruption is challenged and accountability prevails, all can thrive within the planet’s boundaries, and governments act in the public interest.
For two decades we’ve been campaigning for full transparency in the mining, logging, oil and gas sectors, so that citizens who own those resources can benefit fairly from them, now and in future.
We believe that the only way to protect peoples’ rights to land, livelihoods and a fair share of their national wealth is to demand total transparency in the resources sector, sustainable and equitable resources management, and stopping the international financial system from propping up resource-related corruption.
Members:
Resources
Displaying 6 - 10 of 45Defenders Annual Report 2017
This report, and our campaign, is dedicated to all those individuals, communities and organisations that are bravely taking a stand to defend human rights, their land, and our environment.
207 of them were murdered last year for doing just that. On these pages we remember their names, and celebrate their activism.
And we reiterate our resolve to stand alongside those who continue the struggle for a better world and shine a light on these issues which are too often hidden from sight.
You are not alone. Justice will be done.
¿A Qué Precio?
El mundo es más peligroso que nunca para las personas defensoras de la tierra y del medio ambiente, y la agroindustria es el sector más vinculado a los asesinatos.
Nunca ha sido un momento más letal para defender la comunidad, el modo de vida o el medio ambiente.
Defenders of the Earth. Global killings of land and environmental defenders in 2016
Covers global panorama, where the situation has worsened, the context for killings, moving forward. At least 200 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2016, the highest on record, spread across 24 countries. Cites their names. With many killings unreported, and even less investigated, likely that the true number is actually far higher. This tide of violence driven by an intensifying fight for land and natural resources, as mining, logging, hydro-electric and agricultural companies trample on people and the environment in their pursuit of profit.
Defenders of the Earth
2016 saw a record 200 killings of people defending their land, forests and rivers against destructive industries.
It has never been deadlier to take a stand against companies that steal land and destroy the environment. Our new report Defenders of the Earth found that nearly four people were murdered every week in 2016 protecting their land and the natural world from industries like mining, logging and agribusiness.
Tainted Lands: Corruption in Large-Scale Land Deals
Section I provides an overview of large-scale land deals. It assesses the trend at a global level and examines structural obstacles faced by efforts to regulate such deals. Section II focuses on corruption as a major obstacle to improving the protection of local communities and indigenous peoples whose livelihood, identities, and traditional ways of life depend on the use of local lands and natural resources. This phenomenon is largely understudied because corruption, by its very nature, is hidden and therefore poorly documented.