Human Rights Abuses Linked to Land Conversion
Land conversion activity converges with multiple human rights abuses across the world, especially given the high involvement of criminals in the production of key commodities linked to land conversion. Screening for information on human rights abuses in high-risk areas for land conversion can therefore be an indicator of other illicit activity, including the presence of organised criminal activity or corruption and bribery.
- Reports of murders of journalists and/or environmental defenders/activists or leaders of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Land conversion is thought to be the primary cause for the killing of environmental human rights defenders across the world (in 2023, this number equated to a rate of one murder every other day), who are frequently targeted by corrupt actors and criminal groups for defending theirs and others’ property, land, and resources. Their murders can be indicative of illicit activity.
- Suppression of protests: Reports of violent suppression of protests against land conversion linked activities like mining projects, especially peaceful protests, by local police or security groups, can be indicative of corruption and bribery orchestrated by officials benefitting from such projects, or by the companies running them.
- Indigenous land rights: Gaps in legislation as regards Indigenous land rights can facilitate land grabbing, which is often undertaken in tandem with violence.
- Social disruption: Media and NGO reports of increased social issues such as violence against women, alcohol abuse, and local violence rates, which can often correlate with environmental crime activity and the depletion of natural resources upon which local communities depend for their livelihoods.
- Sex trafficking: Sex trafficking is prevalent in illegal mining and logging camps, and reports of the activity to or within countries that are high risk for land conversion may indicate the presence of such illicit operations.
- Environmental damage (especially from mining activities): Mining activities – either illicit or converging with other financial crimes – are often associated with land conversion and can lead to environmental damage, including pollution of air, soil, and local waterways from the leakage of toxic chemicals like mercury or cyanide. This can severely impact the health of local populations as well as surrounding ecosystems, and reports of spills or local health impacts should be given due consideration.
- Labour rights violations: Land conversion converges strongly with human trafficking activity: some estimates indicate that as much as 40% of all deforestation worldwide is carried out by victims of modern slavery or forced labour. The presence of human trafficking indicators in high-risk regions for land conversion may therefore be a useful red flag for illicit activity, like illegal logging or mining, or agricultural production on illegally deforested land.
- Conflict: Armed groups and rebel factions that engage in human rights abuses often finance their activities through the illicit trade and/or taxation of natural resources such as timber and minerals. If such groups are known to operate (or where there is conflict) in regions that are rich in natural resources like timber or minerals, there is a risk that land conversion related activity may be financing human rights abuses.