Attacks against human rights defenders continue globally
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (the BHRRC) published Defending rights and realising just economies: Human rights defenders and business (2015-2024) (May 2025). The report provides an overview of attacks on human rights defenders between January 2015 to December 2024, including where they are occurring, perpetrators, how businesses are connected, and recommendations to companies on how to manage and address risks to human rights defenders.
Human Level’s Take:
- 2024 was another challenging year for human rights defenders (HRDs), with 660 attacks recorded — pushing the total to over 6,400 since 2015.
- Most incidents occurred in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific (71%). Even in the UK, attacks rose sharply from 7 in 2022 to 34 in 2024, coinciding with new protest restrictions under the Public Order Act.
- HRDs continue to face judicial harassment (including SLAPPs), threats, violence, and killings. Those most affected include Indigenous Peoples, youth leaders, women defenders, journalists, and civil society organisations — especially those challenging harmful business activities and climate inaction.
- Land and environmental defenders remain at greatest risk, accounting for three-quarters of all attacks over the past decade. Sectors linked to the highest number of incidents include mining, fossil fuels, agribusiness, renewable energy, and logging.
- While state actors are often the perpetrators, businesses also contribute — through collusion with authorities, enabling surveillance, or undermining collective rights. Poor consultation and divisive practices have further escalated tensions in affected communities.
What can companies do? Businesses are urged to:
- Adopt public commitments that recognise HRDs, address their specific risks, prohibit reprisals, and ensure meaningful engagement in due diligence.
- Develop clear implementation plans, aligned with UN and civil society guidance.
- Conduct and report on gender-sensitive human rights and environmental due diligence, ensuring access to remedy.
- Respect Indigenous rights, including FPIC and self-determination.
- Commit to remedying adverse impacts they cause or contribute to, and work with suppliers to do the same.
- Publicly recognise HRDs as essential allies in meeting business responsibilities under the UNGPs.
- Refrain from lobbying or political actions that undermine civic freedoms or accountability.
Some key takeaways:
- Attacks against human rights defenders continue globally, and are multifaceted: Between January 2015 and December 2024, the BHRRC recorded over 6,400 attacks across 147 countries against human rights defenders (HRDs) raising concerns about business-related harms. In 2024 alone, 660 attacks were documented - likely to be a conservative figure due to underreporting. Victims include Indigenous Peoples, youth leaders, women defenders, journalists, communities, and civil society organisations. While attacks took place globally, the majority occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific, accounting for 71% of all incidents. In Latin America, most were concentrated in Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, and Guatemala; in Asia, the Philippines, India, Cambodia, and Indonesia saw the highest numbers. The UK also saw a rise in attacks, from 7 in 2022 to 34 in 2024, coinciding with the implementation of the UK Government’s Public Order Act which expanded police powers over protests and raised concerns about restrictions on civil liberties. The attacks against HRDs take various forms, with the most common being judicial harassment (3,311 cases), killings (1,088), threats and intimidation (835), and non-lethal physical violence (629). Judicial harassment often includes Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), arbitrary detention, and criminal prosecution, with over 530 SLAPP cases - civil and criminal - recorded since 2015, primarily in Latin America, the United States, Thailand, and Cambodia. Common charges include defamation, incitement, computer crimes, and conspiracy, often carrying severe penalties. Indigenous defenders are particularly vulnerable, comprising 31% of those killed, mostly in Latin America and the Philippines. There were also 116 recorded abductions and disappearances, primarily in Mexico and the Philippines. Additionally, government crackdowns on people engaging in direct action to stop fossil fuel projects and advocate for a just transition have intensified. These crackdowns include the criminalisation of non-violent protest action, passing critical infrastructure laws to protect fossil fuel projects, surveillance, stigmatising people as “terrorists” or “anti-development”, fast-tracking projects without meaningful community consultation, and restricting freedom of expression and access to information.
- Businesses are connected to these attacks: Many attacks involve collusion between the state, businesses and other non-state actors. In cases where states are direct perpetrators, companies can be connected to attacks through, for example, calling police or state security forces to disperse peaceful protests, providing governments with services enabling unlawful surveillance, and obstructing unionisation. Companies have also divided communities and engaged in inadequate consultation processes to gain control over land and resources. The highest number of attacks occurred when people raised concerns about social and environmental impacts associated with large business projects, and the state and operating companies have cracked down on people protesting. In addition, the highest number of attacks occurred in relation to business projects by companies headquartered in the United States, UK and Canada. Furthermore, attacks on HRDs occur in relation to almost every business sector in every region of the world. The sectors connected with the highest number of attacks have been mining (1,681), agribusiness (1,154), fossil fuels (792), renewable energy (454) and logging (359). These sectors are intimately connected to the climate crisis, with the fossil fuels and the agribusiness sectors being top polluting industries, and mining, agribusiness, fossil fuels and logging being leading drivers of deforestation. In addition, attacks on land and environmental defenders accounted for three quarters of all attacks in the past decade.
- Recommendations for companies: To address the human rights-related risks associated with attacks against HRDs, the BHRRC recommends that companies: 1) adopt and implement public policy commitments, which recognise the valuable role of HRDs, reference specific risks to HRDs, ensure effective engagement and consultation with HRDs at all stages of the due diligence process, and commit to zero-tolerance for reprisals throughout the company’s operations, supply chains and business relationships; 2) accompany policy commitments with implementation guidance and plans, in line with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights’ guidance, and civil society advice on appropriate indicators to monitor progress; 3) engage in and report on the results of human rights and environmental due diligence that integrates a gender perspective throughout and ensures effective access to remedy for those harmed by business activity, in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the UN Working Group’s guidance on ensuring respect for HRDs, and the UN Working Group’s gender guidance; 4) recognise Indigenous defenders are disproportionately at risk and create and implement public commitments to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, grounded in their rights to self-determination (lands, territories and resources), and right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); 5) publicly commit to remedy adverse impacts on HRDs it has caused or contributed to and to work with suppliers to remedy adverse impacts directly linked to its operations, products and services; 6) publicly recognise HRDs have a right to defend human rights and are essential allies in assisting businesses to adhere to their responsibilities under the UNGPs; and 7) refrain from any lobbying, political spending and other direct or indirect forms of political engagement to support limits on civic freedoms, or to weaken laws to hold companies accountable for human rights abuses and environmental destruction.
