At least 126 human rights defenders were murdered in the Americas in 2023, according to a statement published Tuesday by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR). The IACHR stated that this high violence rate was directed toward land and environment defenders, leaders of indigenous communities and leaders of communities of African descent.
In the final four months of 2023, the IACHR documented the murders of 54 human rights defenders. The majority of those murders occurred in Colombia, where the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 34 killings. In November, Amnesty International urged the Colombian government to guarantee the protection of human rights defenders, claiming the country has inadequately responded to such concerns in recent years. Colombia also recorded the world’s highest number of environmental defender murders in 2022, with 60 individuals killed that year.
The OHCHR also documented 10 murders in Brazil during the final four months of 2023, and the country has a history of violence against human rights and environmental defenders. Last year, a study in Brazil reported over 1,171 cases of violence against human rights defenders in the country from 2019 to 2022. The data also showed that indigenous defenders were the victims of most of the violence.
The IACHR reported three murders in Guatemala during the time period, including the murder of indigenous leader Noé Gómez Barrera. His assassination sparked international outrage in November, with 119 groups demanding Guatemalan authorities investigate the incident and hold those involved accountable. Various international organizations have criticized the lack of accountability in Guatemala within the past year. According to a report by Transparency International in January, the country has continuously granted impunity to elite individuals for their corrupt practices while targeting individuals who express concern over such corruption. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk also expressed concern last March over the human rights situation in Guatemala, claiming the rule of law is at risk as the country continues to have poor government accountability.
The IACHR further reported four murders in Mexico, two murders in Honduras and one murder in Peru during the time period. The group additionally documented the continued detention of human rights defenders in Venezuela. One of the detained individuals is human rights activist Rocío San Miguel, who was accused of conspiring to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro. The International Criminal Court is currently investigating possible crimes against humanity by the Venezuelan government.
According to the IACHR, the best way to protect human rights defenders is to combat impunity. The group has called on the governments of these countries to investigate these incidents in a “thorough, serious, and impartial manner.” According to Transparency International, however, the lack of an independent judiciary is one of the main barriers to fighting impunity in the region. The organization stated the lack of independence “undermines the rule of law and promotes impunity for the powerful and criminals to the detriment of the people and the common good.”
The IACHR also recommended the governments incorporate an “intersectional gender and racial/ethnic approach” in dealing with these crimes as well as implement reparation measures for the victims’ families. The group stated, “[h]uman rights defenders are a cornerstone in the process of ensuring and consolidating stable and lasting democracies,” and that their protection “depends first and foremost on the firm resolve of the States to take effective measures to ensure an environment conducive to the defense of human rights.”
