{"id":25824,"date":"2026-08-22T12:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/?p=25824"},"modified":"2026-08-22T12:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:32:14","slug":"human-rights-watch-calls-for-protection-of-environmental-defenders-facing-violence-and-repression-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/?p=25824","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Watch Calls for Protection of Environmental Defenders Facing Violence and Repression Worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"2884\" data-end=\"3299\"><strong data-start=\"2884\" data-end=\"2919\">New York, United States (HRNW):<\/strong> Human Rights Watch has issued a new global appeal for governments to strengthen protection for <strong data-start=\"3015\" data-end=\"3083\">environmental defenders, Indigenous activists and land defenders<\/strong>, warning that people advocating for environmental protection increasingly face harassment, criminalization, threats and violence. The appeal was published on <strong data-start=\"3242\" data-end=\"3260\">21 August 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3301\" data-end=\"3592\">Human Rights Watch said the shrinking space for environmental advocacy is becoming an urgent human-rights concern. Environmental defenders frequently work to protect forests, land, water resources and communities from environmental damage, but can face retaliation because of their activism.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3594\" data-end=\"3855\">The organization argues that governments have a responsibility to create an environment in which environmental and Indigenous-rights defenders can operate safely, express their views, organize peacefully and participate in decisions affecting their communities.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3857\" data-end=\"4073\">The campaign connects <strong data-start=\"3879\" data-end=\"3937\">environmental protection with fundamental human rights<\/strong>, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, participation in public affairs and the rights of Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4075\" data-end=\"4467\">Human Rights Watch has also highlighted the need for accountability when defenders are subjected to violence, intimidation or unjust prosecution. The organization says authorities should investigate attacks and ensure that environmental advocacy is not treated as a criminal activity simply because it challenges powerful economic or political interests.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4469\" data-end=\"4654\">The latest intervention comes amid growing international attention to climate change, land rights, biodiversity protection and the safety of people defending communities and ecosystems.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4656\" data-end=\"4834\">For NGOs and civil-society organizations, protection of environmental defenders has increasingly become part of the broader struggle for human rights and sustainable development.<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"v7rry8\" data-start=\"4836\" data-end=\"4858\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"4840\" data-end=\"4858\">Support Appeal<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"4860\" data-end=\"5251\"><strong data-start=\"4860\" data-end=\"5251\">Support the World&#8217;s No.1 dedicated Human Rights News Agency to enhance its mission of promoting justice, equality, environmental justice, Indigenous rights, peace, democracy, accountability and human dignity worldwide. Your support enables HRNW to continue giving international visibility to human-rights defenders and civil-society organizations working for a safer and more just world.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"5253\" data-end=\"5372\"><strong data-start=\"5253\" data-end=\"5270\">Support HRNW:<\/strong> <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/?page_id=1083\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"5271\" data-end=\"5372\">Support HRNW \u2013 World&#8217;s No.1 dedicated Human Rights News Agency<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"jn3j7p\" data-start=\"5374\" data-end=\"5392\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"5378\" data-end=\"5392\">Disclaimer<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"5394\" data-end=\"5726\"><em data-start=\"5394\" data-end=\"5726\">This HRNW report summarizes concerns and recommendations publicly expressed by Human Rights Watch. References to violence, repression, criminalization or threats reflect assessments reported by the cited organization and should not be interpreted as final judicial findings by HRNW. HRNW maintains complete editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_25824\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"25824\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York, United States (HRNW): Human Rights Watch has issued a new global appeal for governments to strengthen protection for environmental defenders, Indigenous activists and land defenders, warning that people advocating for environmental protection increasingly face harassment, criminalization, threats and violence. The appeal was published on 21 August 2026. Human Rights Watch said the shrinking&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_25824\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"25824\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ngos"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":3,"today_views":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25824"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25826,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25824\/revisions\/25826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}