The killing of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira in the Amazon is devastating for their families and friends. It is also the embodiment of a wider assault on environmental defenders and those who work with them, and of the dangers faced by journalists. The relentless targeting of those who seek to protect an ever more fragile world is increasing as the climate crisis grows more intense. In 2020, more than four defenders a week died globally. A disproportionate number are Indigenous people or, like Mr Pereira, those who work closely with and for them. Mr Phillips, though passionate about the environment, was not an activist but a reporter – one of many who have died in Latin America because of their work.
The discovery of their bodies, and the police announcement that one of the suspects arrested in connection with their disappearance has said that he killed them, brings an end to the families’ anguish of not knowing their whereabouts. “Now we can bring them home and say goodbye with love. Today, we also begin our quest for justice,” Mr Phillips’ widow, Alessandra Sampaio, wrote in a statement.
Brazilian authorities were slow to mount a proper search for the journalist and the Indigenous advocate, and to launch a criminal investigation; it was Indigenous people who led the way. It is reassuring that a suspect is now in custody and has, reportedly, confessed. But it is essential that the investigation continues, that the facts are fully established and that those responsible are held accountable. The government should send a clear message about this case’s importance.
Yet the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has, while saying that something “wicked” happened, also callously cast blame on the two men. In contrast, Brazilians have shown immense sympathy to them and their families, understanding that their work benefited Indigenous people, Brazilians as a whole and the wider world. It was just not in the interests of a state that has been captured by extractivist interests and disdains the rule of law, creating a culture of impunity for those exploiting the Amazon rainforest and making its protectors far more vulnerable.
Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries for land and environmental defenders, with 20 having died in 2020, according to the watchdog Global Witness, which warns that killings are rising across the global south. Colombia saw 65 murders that year; Mexico another 30; and there were 29 in the Philippines where, as in Brazil, an authoritarian president has dismissed human rights and environmental concerns and embraced corporate interests. The power of corporations has not only driven the environmental crisis but also the violence against those seeking to tackle it. As Global Witness notes, it is rare that anyone is arrested or prosecuted for killing defenders – and when they are, it is usually those who pull the trigger, not those who might be implicated, directly or indirectly.
Businesses and governments too must be held accountable for such violence. Ensuring justice for Mr Phillips and Mr Pereira is necessary not only to honour their lives and work but also to protect the lives of others and to defend the environment that they cherished.
