Spike in murder rate of human rights defenders

An Irish charity working to protect human rights defenders has recorded a dramatic rise in the murders of activists around the world.

Front Line Defenders has documented a more than doubling of killings in just four years and warns the figures — almost 900 in that period — are an under-representation of the true toll.

Among the six most dangerous countries are Mexico, Honduras. and Guatemala — all countries from which families have fled only to become stuck in US border detention camps at the centre of the current controversy over the mistreatment of migrant children.