Over 300 human rights activists were killed worldwide last year

According to a report, more than 300 activists for human rights, environmental protection, freedom of expression, the LGBT community and indigenous lands in 31 states during 2019. Two-thirds of these killings have taken place in Latin America, where the lack of punishment by the justice system is high. Colombia, where violence against figures opposed to projects that harm the environment, was the deadliest state for activists. Last year alone, 103 activists were killed in the country. In second place were the Philippines with 43 activist killings, followed by Honduras, Brazil and Mexico. The year 2019 was characterized by several waves of social discontent that demanded political and economic change worldwide, from Iraq to Chile, from Lebanon to Hong Kong. In a report compiled by Front Line Defenders, 85 percent of the activists killed were previously threatened personally or as part of the groups they worked for. Concerning the gender structure of the victims, 87 percent of the activists were male and 13 percent female, writes The Guardian.