We have seen this in the USA with water rights and protections with American Native Americans. Currently, the petroleum industry has free will to do as they please, including killing, poisoning and potentially poisoning with oil leaks, etc. of people.
July 13, 2017
By E. A. Crunden
Environmental work has never been more deadly. (click here)
There was a record number of environmental workers killed last year, according to a new report from Global Witness, an NGO watchdog working to tackle natural resource exploitation and human rights abuses. More than 200 environmental activists, many from indigenous tribes, were murdered in 2016, making it the deadliest year on record for people committed to tackling environmental issues. While emphasizing that the number was likely much higher, due to the difficulties presented in collecting data, the organization noted the staggering number’s implications.
“The fact that the upward curve of killings has continued…suggests that governments and business continue to prioritize short-term profit over human lives,” Global Witness campaigner Billy Kyte said.
Countries across Latin America remained by far the deadliest for activists protecting natural resources — some 60 percent of all killings reported took place in the region. Honduras, which has the highest per capita rate of activist killings over the past decade, also saw a high murder rate, with 14 activists killed. Neighboring Colombia recorded 37, an all-time high bringing the country second only to Brazil, where 49 deaths were reported. Brazil remains the most dangerous place for environmental activism, due in large part to clashes over the Amazon rainforest, where indigenous tribes are working to defend their land from developers and the government....
