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– DRC Leads Africa in Cases of Killings & Disappearances of Defenders
– Under-Reporting & Civic Space Shrinkage Hide True Scale of Threats
– Urgent Calls for Laws, Protection & Accountability to Safeguard Defenders
According to the “Roots of Resistance” report by Global Witness, at least 146 land and environmental defenders were killed or disappeared globally in 2024, bringing the total since 2012 to over 2,250. In Africa, 2024 saw nine reported killings: four in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), three in Liberia, and one each in Cameroon and Madagascar. The DRC is particularly impacted—evidencing patterns of ranger, community, and ecosystem defender targeting, particularly around protected areas like Upemba National Park, where defenders trying to halt poaching and extraction face kidnapping, death, and violence.
The report warns that the figures are almost certainly underestimates, given restricted press freedom, fear of reprisals, weak reporting mechanisms, and criminalisation of defenders. In Nigeria, for example, defenders in the Ekuri community in Cross River State are contending with threats, harassment, and arrests—especially those resisting logging and corporate encroachment on ancestral forests. The report urges governments to do more: strengthen legal protections, enforce judicial accountability, support civic space protections, and adopt industry due diligence so that those who exploit for profit are held responsible.