Earth defenders

Let op: deze lezing van Studium Generale is in het Engels.

This summer, Global Witness reported the highest number of killings of environmental defenders in a single year. 212 people were murdered in 2019 for standing up against international industries mining for gold, oil or copper. Many of these victims are Indigenous people. The 2007 UN declaration on the right of Indigenous people was supposed to provide protection, but fails to create actual safety on the ground.

Maya anthropologist Dr Genner Llanes Ortiz (LEI) tells the story of the Indigenous defenders of Central and Latin America. Who are they and who threatens them? What can be done if the national legal system doesn’t safeguard your life?