 A report released on July 29 has revealed that 2019 saw the highest number of killings of land rights and environmental activists around the world. The report was published by Global Witness, an NGO based in Washington DC and is titled Defending Tomorrow. It stated that over 212 land defenders were killed in 21 countries last year. Latin American countries reported 148 of these documented killings, accounting for nearly 7 out of 10 cases. Colombia alone reported 64 killings followed by Brazil, Mexico and Honduras. The Amazon region again accounted for 33 of these deaths. Latin America was followed by Asia with 55 murders with the Philippines accounting for 78% of them and Africa with 7 murders. In Europe, two deaths occurred in Romania. The report is identified that activists working against mining projects were the most likely to get killed, with 50 such deaths. This was followed by 34 activists who were killed while opposing agribusiness expansions and 24 who were killed while opposing logging. Honduras reported the highest per capita killings of land activists and also the highest spike in such killings, increasing from 4 in 2018 to 14 in 2019. By sector, assassination of activists opposed to logging saw the highest jump since 2018, nearly 85%. Nearly 2 out of every 5 activists killed in 2019 were indigenous people according to the report. The report also documented that between 2015 and 2019, indigenous activists have been disproportionately targeted. Killing of indigenous activists accounted for a third of such deaths in this 4 year period, even though their share of the global population is less than 5%. The report linked the murders to climate change and environmental damage around the world. It said, for years, lands and environmental defenders have been the first line of defense against the causes and impact of climate breakdown. It added that despite clearer evidence than ever of the crucial role they play and the dangers they increasingly face, far too many businesses and financials and governments failed to safeguard their vital and peaceful work. About 107 of these deaths, which is over half of the killings, happened in just two countries, namely Colombia and Philippines. The killing of land defenders in these countries according to the report has paralleled the rise in political murders as well. In the Philippines, for instance, half of the killings were by security forces or paramilitary groups, a bulk of which occurred in the fertile, agriculturally important islands of Minnano and Negros. In Colombia, 24 indigenous and afro-descendant land defenders were murdered in the Department of Cauca, alone by drug traffickers and paramilitaries. According to the report, over 1 in 10 defenders killed women. Women who act and speak out have faced gender-specific threats including sexual violence. If other members of the household are defenders, the women are often targeted. The report also mentions that criminalization and smear campaigns leave communities vulnerable to attack. Terms such as anti-development, criminals or terrorists have been constantly used to demonize land defenders.