This report presents a snapshot of Friends of the Earth International’s efforts over a two-year period to respond to and disseminate testimonies and information about attacks on environmental defenders, contextualising these attacks within current global economic and political trends.

Although it is an incomplete picture of the risks that environmental defenders face, it is an alarming picture that calls for urgent action to stop the sources of violence – institutional violence against communities and nature, and violence against the defenders of human rights and the rights of nature.

Friends of the Earth International therefore calls on States to guarantee the full enjoyment of environmental and human rights, including the right to defend rights. States must promote and agree upon legally-binding regulations to ensure that transnational corporations respect the rights of nature, of people, and of rights defenders. It is crucial that multilateral institutions maintain their independence from corporate interests and fulfil their mission of protecting those vulnerable to rights violations.