Killings of human rights defenders rise, LatAm fares worst - report
Killings of human rights defenders rise, LatAm fares worst - report
Source: Reuters - Wed, 6 Jan 2016 20:52 GMT
Author: Anastasia Moloney
BOGOTA, Jan 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Latin America is the deadliest region for human rights activists with scores killed defending land rights, the environment and the rights of LGBTI and indigenous people, a campaign group said on Wednesday.
In the first 11 months of 2015, 156 human rights defenders globally were killed or died in detention, up nearly 15 percent from the previous year, with more than half of the killings taking place in Latin America, and Colombia alone accounted for 54 murders, according to a report by Front Line Defenders.
"Defending human rights in Latin America remained extremely dangerous and the criminalisation of the defence of human rights and peaceful protest movements persisted. The most worrying issue remained extreme violence," the report by the Dublin-based campaign group said.
. . .
Human rights defenders face increasingly restrictive and brutal environments in every region of the globe," said Mary Lawlor, head of Front Line Defenders, at the launch of the group's annual report in Dublin.
"Extreme violence is being used more frequently and in more countries, while fabricated prosecutions and unfair trials have become the norm in many parts of the world," she said.
Alongside state agents, companies and paramilitary groups were behind many cases of attacks and intimidation against human rights activists, according to the report.
More:
http://www.trust.org/item/20160106205433-4tuhi/?source=fiOtherNews2
