On a certain day last November, Julia Chuñil called for her dog, her loyal pet, and ventured into the woods near her home to search for lost livestock. The cattle came back but Julia, who was 72 at the time, and Cholito never reappeared.
Over a hundred individuals participated with her family in a hunt that continued for multiple weeks in the rugged, rain-soaked and densely overgrown terrain of the nation of Chile’s ancient Valdivian forest. After a month, they even kept an eye on vultures for any disturbing clues. However, they found no trace of Chuñil.
Julia Chuñil is among 146 territorial and ecological defenders who were murdered or went missing around the world in the previous year, as reported by a report by the advocacy organization Global Witness. About a third of those, like Chuñil, were from Indigenous communities – a heavy burden for peoples who together make up only six percent of the global population.
Chuñil, 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 900-hectare section of the age-old Valdivian ecosystem 500 miles below the capital, which her community claimed as an ancestral territory.
For many years she campaigning to obtain property titles over the location for her community. However, the legal proprietor of the land, the heir of settlers, refused to surrender control. His intention was the area for timber extraction – Chile is a significant exporter of wood to the US – and he sought to remove the activist. Before she vanished, Julia informed allies: “If anything happens to me, it will be clear who did it.”
International Documentation on Attacks Against Defenders
Global Witness began recording cases of killings and disappearances of territorial and ecological protectors in the year 2012. Since then, it has gathered a total of two thousand two hundred fifty-three instances. For the past decade, the riskiest place has been Central and South America. In 2024 it represented eighty-two percent of cases, which involved 45 Indigenous people.
“Land conflict lies at the core of violence against activists, and Indigenous peoples are paying the highest price,” said an expert at Global Witness. “Populations with historical ties to territory often form the frontline of opposition when their lands are endangered from exploitation and invasion. But despite their critical function, they are often refused recognition and justice, and exposed to serious danger for protecting their rightful lands.”
Country-Specific Statistics and Unrecorded Cases
Julia’s was the sole case documented in her nation last year, although it matched a pattern of the targeting of Mapuche activists in the country. Colombia reported 48 cases, making it the most lethal nation in total for ecological activists, followed by the country of Guatemala with twenty cases, the deadliest nation by population. The country of Mexico had nineteen cases, placing it at third place overall.
Under-reporting continues to be a problem, particularly in Asia and the African region, which recorded sixteen and 9 cases respectively, Global Witness said. Overall, last year the fewest cases of killings and disappearances of environmental defenders were registered in ten years.
The lead researcher, who conducted the investigation for the organization, commented: “I would also like to be able to tell you that this suggests a reduction of hostilities and an improvement in the conditions for activists, but sadly that’s not the case. Human rights defenders face realities of violence that go far beyond homicide. Often, aggression is evolve, grow more complex, change its face.”
Ongoing Struggle for Justice
Julia’s relatives have persisted in seeking legal resolution but their activism has exposed them to threats and harassment, as well. In April, a pair of creatures from Chuñil’s home that they had planned to auction to finance legal costs were discovered dead, one murdered by gunfire and another by toxins. “This is primarily, a intentional effort to block us from pursuing this legal matter,” her son a family member told Global Witness.
Their analysis calls on governments to act to end the lack of punishment of the killers of land activists by tackling the absence of rights activists have over land and territory, reinforcing ineffective domestic judiciary frameworks, and guaranteeing endangered advocates are given sufficient government security.
“All we are asking for is a comprehensive, impartial investigation to be conducted,” the son said of his mother’s case. “Nearly twelve months have passed since she vanished and we’re remain unaware about what happened. We want those behind this to be identified and prosecuted.”
