On a certain day in November of last year, Julia Chuñil called for her dog, her loyal pet, and ventured into the forest near her residence to look for missing livestock. The cattle returned but Chuñil, who was 72 at the time, and Cholito never reappeared.
More than a hundred individuals joined her family in a hunt lasting weeks in the steep, rain-soaked and thickly vegetated landscape of Chile’s ancient Valdivian forest. After a month, they even kept an eye on scavenger birds for any grim clues. However, they found no trace of Chuñil.
Julia Chuñil is among 146 land and environmental defenders who were killed or disappeared around the world last year, as reported by a report by the campaign group Global Witness. Roughly one-third of those, like her, were from Indigenous communities – a heavy burden for peoples who together make up only 6% of the global inhabitants.
The activist, a prominent figure of the Mapuche Indigenous community in Chile, was living on contested land. Ten years ago she had moved on to Reserva Cora, a 2,200-acre portion of the age-old Valdivian forest 800 kilometers below the capital, which her community claimed as an ancestral territory.
She spent years advocating to secure property titles over the site for her community. But the legal proprietor of the land, the descendant of settlers, refused to relinquish control. His intention was the area for logging – Chile is a significant supplier of wood to the United States – and he wanted rid of the activist. Prior to her disappearance, Julia told supporters: “If anything happens to me, you already know who is responsible.”
International Documentation on Attacks Against Activists
The organization began recording incidents of killings and vanishing acts of land and environmental protectors in the year 2012. Since then, it has gathered a total of 2,253 cases. Over the last ten years, the most dangerous place has been Latin America. Last year it accounted for 82% of cases, which involved 45 Indigenous people.
“Land conflict lies at the core of aggression against activists, and Indigenous peoples are paying the highest price,” stated an expert at Global Witness. “Populations with historical ties to land often form the frontline of resistance when their territories are endangered from exploitation and encroachment. But despite their vital function, they are frequently denied recognition and justice, and subjected to serious risk for defending their legitimate territories.”
Nation-Specific Statistics and Unrecorded Cases
Julia’s was the sole case documented in her country during that period, even though it fitted a pattern of the singling out of Mapuche advocates in Chile. Colombia reported forty-eight instances, making it the deadliest country overall for environmental defenders, followed by Guatemala with twenty cases, the deadliest nation per capita. Mexico had nineteen cases, putting it in number three in the ranking.
Under-reporting continues to be a problem, particularly in the Asian continent and Africa, which registered 16 and nine cases respectively, the monitor said. In general, the previous year the fewest incidents of killings and disappearances of environmental defenders were registered for a decade.
Laura Furones, who conducted the investigation for the organization, commented: “It would be gratifying to report that this suggests a decrease in violence and an enhancement in the situation for activists, but sadly that’s not the case. Human rights defenders confront situations of brutality that extend well past homicide. What violence often does is evolve, become more sophisticated, alter its appearance.”
Ongoing Fight for Justice
Julia’s relatives have persisted in seeking justice 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 intended to sell to fund legal costs were found killed, one murdered by gunfire and one poisoned. “It is, above all, a intentional attempt to prevent us from fighting this legal matter,” her son Pablo San Martín informed Global Witness.
The group’s report urges authorities to take steps to halt the lack of punishment of the killers of environmental defenders by addressing the absence of legal entitlements defenders have over land and territory, strengthening weak domestic judiciary frameworks, and ensuring endangered advocates are given adequate government security.
“All we are asking for is a full, fair probe to take place,” San Martín said of his parent’s case. “Nearly twelve months have passed since she disappeared and we’re remain unaware about what happened. We want those behind this to be discovered and charged.”
