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On a certain day in November of last year, the Indigenous leader Julia Chuñil called for her dog, her loyal pet, and they set off into the woods around her residence to search for missing livestock. The cattle returned but Julia, who was 72 at the time, and her dog did not.

More than a hundred individuals joined her family in a search lasting multiple weeks in the rugged, wet and thickly vegetated terrain of Chile’s pristine Valdivian woodland. After a month, they monitored vultures for any disturbing signs. But they discovered no evidence of Chuñil.

Julia Chuñil is one of 146 territorial and ecological defenders who were killed or went missing around the world last year, according to a report by the advocacy organization Global Witness. Roughly one-third of those, like her, were from native groups – a heavy toll for peoples who collectively make up only 6% of the world’s inhabitants.

The activist, a leader of the Mapuche Indigenous community in Chile, was living on disputed territory. Ten years ago she had moved on to a protected forest area, a 2,200-acre section of the ancient Valdivian forest 500 miles below the capital, which her people claimed as an ancestral territory.

She spent years campaigning to obtain land rights for the location for her tribe. But the legal proprietor of the land, the descendant of settlers, refused to relinquish ownership. His intention was the area for logging – Chile is a significant exporter of lumber to the United States – and he sought to remove Chuñil. Prior to her disappearance, Julia informed allies: “Should harm come to me, you already know who is responsible.”

International Reporting on Violence Against Activists

Global Witness began recording incidents of deaths and vanishing acts of land and environmental protectors in the year 2012. From that point, it has gathered a total of 2,253 instances. For the past decade, the most dangerous place has been Central and South America. Last year it accounted for 82% of reported incidents, which involved forty-five native individuals.

“Land conflict is at the heart of violence against defenders, and native communities are bearing the greatest cost,” stated an expert at the group. “Populations with ancestral connections to territory often form the frontline of resistance when their territories come under threat from resource extraction and invasion. But despite their vital role, they are often refused recognition and legal redress, and subjected to grave risk for defending their legitimate territories.”

Nation-Specific Data and Unrecorded Cases

Julia’s was the sole incident documented in her nation last year, although it matched a pattern of the targeting of Mapuche advocates in Chile. The nation of Colombia reported 48 instances, making it the most lethal nation overall for ecological activists, then came the country of Guatemala with 20 cases, the most dangerous nation by population. Mexico had 19 cases, putting it in number three overall.

Under-reporting remains an issue, especially in the Asian continent and Africa, which recorded 16 and nine cases respectively, Global Witness noted. In general, the previous year the lowest number of cases of killings and disappearances of environmental defenders were documented in ten years.

Laura Furones, who led the research for Global Witness, commented: “It would be gratifying to report that this implies a decrease in violence and an improvement in the situation for defenders, but sadly that’s not true. Human rights defenders confront situations of violence that extend well past homicide. Often, aggression is transform, become more sophisticated, alter its appearance.”

Ongoing Struggle for Justice

Julia’s relatives have continued to pursue legal resolution but their advocacy has made them a target of intimidation and harassment, as well. During April, two animals from Chuñil’s home that they had planned to auction to finance legal costs were found killed, one murdered by gunfire and one poisoned. “This is primarily, a intentional attempt to block us from fighting this case,” her child a family member told Global Witness.

The group’s report urges authorities to take steps to end the impunity of the perpetrators of land activists by addressing the absence of legal entitlements defenders have over land and territory, reinforcing ineffective domestic judiciary frameworks, and ensuring defenders at risk are given adequate state protection.

“All we are asking for is a full, fair investigation to take place,” San Martín said of his mother’s case. “Nearly twelve months have passed since she disappeared and we’re still in the dark about what happened. Our demand is those behind this to be discovered and prosecuted.”