Honduras

  • Honduras: Adoption of Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights

    Statement at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

    Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights -- Outcome Adoption for Honduras

    Thank you, Mr President.

    The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, CIVICUS and RedLad welcome the government of Honduras’ engagement with the UPR process. However, our joint UPR submission documents that since its previous review Honduras has not implemented 19 of the 30 recommendations it received relating to space for civil society, and has only partially implemented eight.

    As detailed in our submission, Honduran legislation restricts workers’ freedom of association. Additionally, the enjoyment of this freedom by activists working on politically sensitive issues is limited in practice, often as a result of the intervention of non-state actors. There was positive change in the legal framework for civil society, but the work of CSOs continued to be undermined by extra-legal factors. Action by indigenous people’s rights, environmental and land rights defenders, as well as students and LGBTQI+ HRDs, is also hampered through criminalisation, criminal prosecution, harassment and surveillance. Although Honduras established a protection mechanism for HRDs and journalists, it failed to ensure its effectiveness. Persistently high levels of violence make Honduras one of the most dangerous countries in the world for HRDs and journalists.

    As also documented in our submission, the 2019 Criminal Code maintained the crimes of slander and insult, which continued to be used against journalists, and the right to access information enshrined by law continued to be restricted by the so-called Law of Official Secrets.

    The exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly remained subjected to de facto and legal barriers. Peaceful demonstrations, particularly by student, indigenous, peasant and environmental movements, were often arbitrarily dissolved with excessive force, typically leading to people being arrested or injured, and occasionally resulting in fatalities. A legal vacuum persists regarding the accountability of the security forces for abuses committed against peaceful protesters.

    We welcome recommendations made to Honduras in this cycle to address these concerns and we call on the Government of Honduras to take proactive measures to implement these recommendations to create and maintain, in law and in practice, an enabling environment for civil society. We further call on the States who made such recommendations to ensure follow-up on their implementation.

    We thank you.

     Civic space in Honduras is rated as Repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor
  • Honduras: After two years in pre-trial detention, release arbitrarily detained Guapinol human rights defenders
    • Today marks exactly two years since Guapinol human rights defenders were jailed
    • Human rights defenders featured in CIVICUS’s Stand As My Witness Campaign
    • United Nations declared their detention is arbitrary and calls for their release
    • Detention unlawfully extended for further six months in August
    • Honduras one of the most dangerous places for environmental rights defenders

    For two years, eight members of the Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Assets (CMDBCP) have been held in pre-trial detention in Honduras for defending protected water sources and natural resources of communities in danger of mining related contamination. The Guapinol human rights defenders have been advocating against the Guapinol mining project in Tocoa, in the department of Colón in Honduras. They were initially detained on 1 September 2019, and are being kept arbitrarily in pre-trial detention without any legal basis.

    The eight defenders are Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz, José Abelino Cedillo Cantarero, José Daniel Márquez Márquez, Kelvin Alejandro Romero Martínez, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbin Nahuan Hernández, Arnol Javier Alemán and Jeremías Martínez. They were initially arrested on 26 August 2019, while protesting against the mining activities of the Honduras company Inversiones Los Pinares (ILP), which threatens the safety and livelihood of thousands of people in communities in the department of Colón. ILP was granted mining concessions by the state of Honduras in 2014 and its ongoing mining projects have contaminated water sources. Projects are being implemented without adequate consultations with communities affected.

    “There is absolutely no basis for Honduras to detain the eight human rights defenders and to continue to keep them in pre-trial detention. Despite numerous calls from the international community, including from United Nations bodies for their release, the Honduran authorities continue to disregard the rule of law and have held them for two years now,” said David Kode, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead, CIVICUS.

    The CMDBCP was set up primarily to raise awareness about the impact of the Guapinol project mining activities and to advocate against the actions of mining communities on behalf of the people affected. More than 32 members of CMDBCP have been subjected to judicial persecution and arbitrary detention, 6 have been killed and many more face threats and intimidation. These restrictions are symptomatic of the violence and human rights violations which target environmental and land rights activists, which makes Honduras one of the most dangerous countries for activists working on climate justice and environmental rights in the world.

    On 9 February 2021, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions established that the deprivation of the liberty of the Guapinol human rights defenders is arbitrary and called on Honduras to release them immediately.

    “The continuous detention of the Guapinol human rights defenders violates Honduras’ regional and international human rights violations and exposes the defenders to severe health risks in the context of a global pandemic,” David continued.

    The Guapinol human rights defenders are part of the CIVICUS #StandAsMyWitness campaign - a global campaign that advocates for the rights of human rights defenders and calls for their release.

    CIVICUS calls on the Honduras government to respect the rule of law and immediately release the Guapinol human rights defenders and hold those responsible for human rights violations accountable.

    For more information on civic space violations, visit the Honduras country page on the CIVICUS Monitor
  • Honduras: Comienza el juicio a los defensores de Guapinol mientras el Estado sigue ignorando las peticiones de liberación
    • El juicio de los defensores de los derechos humanos de Guapinol comienza hoy, 1 de diciembre, tras dos años de detención ilegal.
    • Forman parte de la campaña Stand As My Witness (Conviértete en mi testigo) de CIVICUS.
    • La Organización de Naciones Unidas ha declarado que su detención es arbitraria y exige su liberación.
    • Honduras ha sido nombrada recientemente por primera vez miembro del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU.
    • Honduras es uno de los lugares más peligrosos para las personas que defienden los derechos medioambientales.

    Tras más de dos años en prisión preventiva, ocho miembros del Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos (CMDBCP) van a ser juzgados este 1 de diciembre de 2021 en Honduras por defender las fuentes de agua protegidas y los recursos naturales de las comunidades en peligro de contaminación relacionada con la minería. Los defensores de los derechos humanos de Guapinol han estado luchando contra el proyecto minero de Guapinol en Tocoa, en el departamento de Colón, Honduras. Fueron detenidos el 1 de septiembre de 2019 y se les mantiene arbitrariamente en prisión preventiva sin ninguna base legal.

    Los ocho defensores son Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz, José Abelino Cedillo Cantarero, José Daniel Márquez Márquez, Kelvin Alejandro Romero Martínez, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbin Nahuan Hernández, Arnol Javier Alemán y Jeremías Martínez. Fueron detenidos inicialmente el 26 de agosto de 2019, mientras protestaban contra las actividades mineras de la empresa hondureña Inversiones Los Pinares (ILP), que amenazan la seguridad y el sustento de miles de personas en comunidades del departamento de Colón. El Estado de Honduras otorgó a ILP concesiones mineras en 2014 y sus proyectos mineros en curso han contaminado las fuentes de agua. Los proyectos se están llevando a cabo sin consultar adecuadamente a las comunidades afectadas.

    " Las autoridades hondureñas siguen adelante con el juicio, a pesar de que grupos de la sociedad civil de Honduras y miembros de la comunidad internacional han expresado en repetidas ocasiones su preocupación por la prolongada detención y la persecución judicial de los ocho defensores de los derechos humanos. El proceso judicial ha sido irregular hasta ahora, y los defensores de los derechos humanos deben ser puestos en libertad inmediatamente", ha declarado David Kode, director de Trabajo de Incidencia y Campañas de CIVICUS.

    El CMDBCP se creó principalmente para concienciar sobre el impacto de las actividades mineras del proyecto Guapinol y para defender las acciones de las comunidades mineras en nombre de las personas afectadas. Más de 32 miembros del CMDBCP han sido objeto de persecución judicial y detención arbitraria, 6 han sido asesinados y muchos más se enfrentan a amenazas e intimidaciones. Estas restricciones son sintomáticas de la violencia y las violaciones de los derechos humanos que tienen como objetivo a las y los activistas medioambientales y del derecho a la tierra, lo que convierte a Honduras en uno de los países más peligrosos del mundo para quienes trabajan por la justicia climática y los derechos medioambientales.

    El 9 de febrero de 2021, el Grupo de Trabajo de las Naciones Unidas sobre Detenciones Arbitrarias estableció que la privación de libertad de los defensores de los derechos humanos de Guapinol es arbitraria y pidió a Honduras que los liberara inmediatamente. En octubre de 2021, Honduras fue nombrada por primera vez miembro del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU.

    " Honduras sigue ignorando las conclusiones del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Detenciones Arbitrarias de la ONU y transmite un mensaje contradictorio sobre sus compromisos en materia de derechos humanos como miembro del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU", continuó David.

    Los defensores de los derechos humanos de Guapinol forman parte de la campaña #StandAsMyWitness (Conviértete en mi testigo) de CIVICUS, una campaña mundial que reivindica los derechos de las personas que defienden los derechos humanos y lucha por su liberación.

    CIVICUS hace un llamamiento al nuevo gobierno de Honduras para que respete el Estado de derecho, libere inmediatamente a los defensores de Guapinol y haga rendir cuentas a los responsables de las violaciones de derechos humanos.

    Para obtener más información sobre las vulneraciones del espacio cívico, consulta la página del país de Honduras en el CIVICUS Monitor.
  • Honduras: Int. Law Experts file an amicus curiae brief requesting the cessation of criminal proceedings against the defenders of the Guapinol River

    On November 17, 2021, eleven international human rights organizations[1] filed an amicus curiae brief before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Honduras, arguing against the unjust, extensive pretrial detention of the human rights activists known as the Guapinol Environmental Defenders. The Defenders have spent over two years in pretrial detention for events related to a peaceful protest to protect water sources in the Carlos Escaleras National Park. The brief argues that the extensive detention prior to their trial has violated the Defenders’ fundamental constitutional and international human rights. Honduran courts repeatedly reject attempts to release the Defenders, most recently from the Sentencing Court in Trujillo on October 27, 2021. The case is set to be heard before the Sentencing Court in La Ceiba starting on December 1, 2021.
  • Honduras: Presentación al Comité de Derechos Humanos de la ONU sobre el deterioro del espacio cívico

    Un nuevo informe presentado por CIVICUS y el Bufete Justicia para los Pueblos (BJP) al Comité de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas expone serias preocupaciones sobre la situación del espacio cívico en Honduras. En dicho informe se destacan los desafíos existentes a pesar del marco jurídico destinado a proteger las libertades cívicas fundamentales. El informe se enmarca en la tercera revisión periódica de las obligaciones de Honduras bajo el Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos (PIDCP) en la 141ª sesión del Comité.

    Honduras Country BriefPrincipales preocupaciones

    El informe expone serias preocupaciones sobre la violencia y el acoso que enfrentan periodistas, personas defensoras de derechos humanos (PDDH) y organizaciones de la sociedad civil (OSC). A pesar de los mecanismos nacionales de protección, estos grupos siguen estando en un riesgo significativo.

    La Ley de Protección para las y los Defensores de Derechos Humanos, Periodistas, Comunicadores Sociales y Operadores de Justicia, aprobada en 2015, junto con el Sistema Nacional de Protección establecido en 2016, fueron diseñados para proteger a este grupo de personas. Sin embargo, este sistema presenta deficiencias críticas, incluyendo una inadecuada financiación, así como carencias en la dotación de personal y en la coordinación. 

    En 2023, al menos 13 PDDH fueron asesinadas y la mayoría de estos ataques letales estuvieron relacionados con conflictos sobre tierras y medio ambiente. En particular, personas defensoras como Óscar Oquelí Domínguez y Juana María Martínez fueron asesinadas en medio de una violencia y amenazas persistentes. La criminalización de PDDH, particularmente a través del delito de “usurpación” ha intensificado los desalojos y acciones legales contra quienes defienden los derechos de la tierra y el territorio. Además, los ataques a la comunidad Garífuna y a personas integrantes de OFRANEH ilustran la violencia sistémica e impunidad que enfrentan las PDDH. 

    Aunque la Constitución hondureña garantiza la libertad de expresión, las y los periodistas operan en un entorno hostil con una impunidad generalizada en los casos de violaciones a los derechos humanos. Incidentes recientes, incluidos los asesinatos de periodistas y trabajadores de medios, amenazas y campañas de difamación, subrayan los graves desafíos a la libertad de prensa.

    La situación se ve agravada por el estado de excepción en curso declarado por la Presidenta Xiomara Castro en noviembre de 2022, el cual ha sido renovado de manera persistente. Inicialmente dirigido a abordar la violencia de las pandillas, este estado de excepción ha conducido a la suspensión de derechos fundamentales, como las libertades de asociación y de reunión, y permite arrestos y allanamientos sin orden judicial. En este contexto, las autoridades han fallado en la protección de estas libertades, como lo evidencian los casos reportados de intimidación y vigilancia dirigida a los defensores de derechos humanos durante las protestas.

    Además, el estado de excepción ha sido utilizado como una herramienta de represión, especialmente contra las comunidades rurales y PDDH. Por ejemplo, en el informe se detalla cómo la policía y el ejército han usado los poderes excepcionales para acosar a la comunidad campesina y pesquera de Tulito en Choluteca. Estas acciones han llevado a un estado de angustia perpetua y criminalización de PDDH, quienes enfrentan acusación por el delito como “usurpación”.

    Recomendaciones

    El informe concluye con varias recomendaciones para que el Comité de Derechos Humanos exhorte al Estado hondureño a tomar medidas, que incluyan:

    • Prevención y rendición de cuentas:El Estado debe tomar medidas efectivas para prevenir la violencia contra periodistas y PDDH, así como asegurar que tales actos sean investigados y que los perpetradores rindan cuentas.
    • Fortalecimiento de los mecanismos de protección: Debe reforzarse el Sistema Nacional de Protección para proteger eficazmente a periodistas y PDDH.
    • Levantamiento del estado de excepción: El Estado debe levantar el estado de excepción y restablecer las garantías constitucionales, asegurándose de que las medidas que se tomen para la seguridad pública no vulneren las libertades cívicas.

    El espacio cívico en Honduras está calificado como Represivo by the CIVICUS Monitor.

    Sobre el CIVICUS Monitor

    Más de veinte organizaciones colaboran en el CIVICUS Monitor con el fin de proporcionar una base empírica para la acción encaminada a mejorar el espacio cívico en todos los continentes. Las libertades cívicas en 198 países y territorios se clasifican como ‘cerrado,’ ‘represivo,’ ‘obstruido,’ ‘estrecho ’ o ‘abierto ,’ basándose en una metodología que combina varias fuentes de datos sobre las libertades de asociación, reunión pacífica y expresión.

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  • Honduras: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space

    A new research brief submitted by CIVICUS and Bufete Justicia para los Pueblos (BJP) to the UN Human Rights Committee outlines serious concerns about the civic space situation in Honduras. It highlights ongoing challenges despite legal frameworks intended to protect fundamental civic freedoms. The submission is part of the third periodic review of Honduras’ obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) at the Committee’s 141st session. 

    Honduras Country BriefKey Concerns

    The submission raises serious concerns about the violence and harassment faced by journalists, human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society organisations (CSOs). Despite national protection mechanisms, these groups remain at significant risks. 

    The 2015 Law on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators, and Justice Operators, along with the National Protection System established in 2016, is designed to protect these professions. However, the National Protection System suffers from critical deficiencies, including inadequate funding, staffing and coordination.

    In 2023, at least 13 HRDs were killed, with most of these deadly attacks linked to land and environmental conflicts. Notably, HRDs such as Óscar Oquelí Domínguez and Juana María Martínez were murdered amidst ongoing violence and threats. The criminalisation of HRDs, particularly through charges of ‘usurpation,’ has intensified evictions and legal actions against those defending land rights. Additionally, attacks on the Garífuna community and OFRANEH members illustrate the systemic violence and impunity faced by HRDs.

    Although the Honduran Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, journalists operate in a hostile environment with widespread impunity for human rights violations. Recent incidents, including the killings of journalists and media workers, threats and smear campaigns, underscore severe challenges to press freedom.

    The situation is further exacerbated by the ongoing state of emergency declared by President Xiomara Castro in November 2022, which has been persistently renewed. Initially aimed at addressing gang violence, this state of emergency has led to the suspension of fundamental rights, such as freedoms of association and assembly, and allows for arrests and raids without warrants. In this context, authorities have failed to uphold these freedoms, as evidenced by reported cases of intimidation and surveillance targeting HRDs during protests.

    Additionally, the state of emergency has been used as a tool for repression, particularly against rural communities and HRDs. For example, the submission details how the police and military have used the emergency powers to harass the peasant farming and fishing community of Tulito in Choluteca. These actions have led to a state of perpetual distress and criminalisation of HRDs, with many facing charges such as ‘usurpation.’

    Recommendations

    The brief concludes with several recommendations for the Honduran government:

    • Prevention and Accountability: The government should take effective measures to prevent violence against journalists and HRDs and ensure that such acts are thoroughly investigated, with perpetrators held accountable.
    • Strengthening Protection Mechanisms: The National Protection System should be strengthened to better safeguard journalists and HRDs.
    • Lifting of Emergency Measures: The government should lift the state of emergency and restore constitutional guarantees, ensuring that any measures taken for public security do not infringe on human rights.

    The submission underscores the urgent need for Honduras to address these human rights challenges to comply with its international obligations under the ICCPR.

    Civic space in Honduras is rated Repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor.

    About the CIVICUS Monitor

    Over twenty organisations collaborate on the CIVICUS Monitor to provide an evidence base for action to improve civic space on all continents. Civic freedoms in 198 countries and territories are categorised as either ‘closed,’ ‘repressed ,’ ‘obstructed ,’ ‘narrowed ’ or ‘open ,’ based on a methodology that combines several data sources on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

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  • Honduras: Trial of Guapinol defenders begins as state continues to ignore calls for their release
    • The trial of the Guapinol human rights defenders begins on 1 December, after 2 years of unlawful detention.
    • Human rights defenders featured in CIVICUS's #StandAsMy Witness Campaign.
    • United Nations declared their detention is arbitrary and called for their release.
    • Honduras was recently elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the first time.
    • Honduras is one of the most dangerous places for environmental rights defenders.
  • Open Government Partnership undermined by threats to civil society
    • Fundamental civic freedoms seriously undermined in over a third of OGP countries – Colombia, Honduras, Liberia and Mexico fare worst
    • Worrying picture revealed by the CIVICUS Monitor, a new online research tool that rates civic space around the world and documents systemic violations of rights

    Johannesburg, 2 December 2016 –People’s rights to protest, organise and speak out are currently being significantly violated in 25 of the 68 active Open Government Partnership (OGP) countries, according to the CIVICUS Monitor, an online tool to track and compare civic freedoms on a global scale.

    The new tool launched in October by the global civil society alliance CIVICUS rates countries based on how well they uphold civic space, made up of three fundamental rights that enable people to act collectively and make change: freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of expression.

    The OGP brings together governments and civil society with the shared aim of making governments more transparent, accountable and responsive to their citizens. OGP countries make multiple commitments relating to civil society and public participation, which include consulting with civil society and enabling citizens to input on policy.

    Of the 68 active OGP countries, the CIVICUS Monitor finds that civic space in four - Colombia, Honduras, Liberia and Mexico -  is repressed, which means that those who criticise power holders risk surveillance, harassment, intimidation, imprisonment, injury and death. Civic space is also rated as repressed in Azerbaijan and Turkey, both recently declared ‘inactive’ by the OGP’s steering committee.

    In the past six months, the CIVICUS Monitor has documented a wide variety of attacks on civil society in these four countries, ranging from the assassinations of five social leaders in just one week in Colombia, to the police’s use of tear gas and water cannons to disperse student protests in Honduras, and from the four-hour detention and questioning of a newspaper editor in Liberia to the murder of a community radio journalist in Mexico.

    A further 21 OGP countries are rated obstructed, meaning that space for activism is heavily contested through a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental freedoms.

    Other commitments on civic participation and civic space that OGP countries make include releasing and improving the provision of information relating to civic participation; bringing in or including citizens in oversight mechanisms to monitor government performance; and improving legal and institutional mechanisms to strengthen civil society capabilities to promote an enabling environment for participation. 

    “The existence of significant restrictions on civil society in more than a third of OGP countries is deeply troubling and calls into question their commitment to the principle of empowering citizens upon which the OGP was founded,” said Cathal Gilbert, lead researcher on the CIVICUS Monitor. “OGP countries should be harnessing the potential of public participation in governance, rather than silencing government critics and harassing human rights defenders.”  

    Of the remaining OGP countries, civic space in 31 is rated as narrowed. A total of 12 countries are rated as open, which means that the state safeguards space for civil society and encourages platforms for dialogue. Positively, no OGP countries fall into the CIVICUS Monitor’s closed category.

    “Notably, OGP countries as a group fare better than the rest of the globe on civic space,” said Gilbert. “However, much more needs to be done collectively to ensure that commitments on public participation made by OGP countries in their national development plans are carried through.”

    As heads of state and government, members of parliament, academia, business and civil society representatives meet at the OGP Summit in Paris, France from 7-9 December, CIVICUS urges delegates to focus discussions on best practices to improve civic space conditions in OGP countries.

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    For more information, please contact CIVICUS’ media team on .

    Notes to editor

    During the OGP Summit, lead researcher Cathal Gilbert will present these findings from the CIVICUS Monitor during a session from 11:15 - 12:35 on Thursday 8th December in Room 1, Palais d’Iena, Paris. For more information see here: https://en.ogpsummit.org/osem/conference/ogp-summit/program/proposal/459. CIVICUS Secretary-General Danny Sriskandarajah will take part in a high-level panel on civic space at the OGP Summit on Friday 9th December.

    The CIVICUS Monitor is available at https://monitor.civicus.org. Ratings are based on a combination of inputs from local civil society activists, regional civil society experts and research partners, existing assessments by national and international civil society organisations, user-generated input and media-monitoring. Local views are prioritised. The CIVICUS Monitor is regularly updated during the week and users are invited to contribute. More information on the methodology is available here.

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    Annex I – CIVICUS Monitor ratings, December 2016 (Active OGP countries highlighted in bold)

    All (134) Countries:

    Closed (16 countries): Bahrain, Burundi, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, UAE and Vietnam

    Repressed (33 countries): Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cambodia, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, China, Colombia, Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, Gambia, Honduras, Iraq, Liberia, Mexico, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe

    Obstructed (29 countries): Armenia, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Moldova, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia, Ukraine

    Narrowed (40 countries): Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, France, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Montenegro, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA

    Open (16 countries): Andorra, Belgium, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden

    CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world.

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  • Organizaciones Expertas en Derecho Internacional solicitan a la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Honduras el cese del proceso penal contra los defensores del Río Guapinol

    El 17 de noviembre de 2021, once organizaciones nacionales e internacionales de derechos humanos[1]presentaron un escrito de amicus curiae ante la Sala de lo Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Honduras, rechazando la injusta y extensa detención preventiva de los activistas de derechos humanos conocidos como los defensores del Medio Ambiente del Río Guapinol. Los Defensores han pasado más de dos años en prisión preventiva por hechos relacionados con una protesta pacífica para proteger las fuentes de agua del Parque Nacional Carlos Escaleras. El escrito argumenta que la extensa detención preventiva ha violado los derechos humanos constitucionales e internacionales de los defensores. Pese a ello, los tribunales hondureños han rechazado repetidamente los intentos de liberar a los defensores, como ocurrió recientemente mediante una decisión del Tribunal de Sentencia de Trujillo del 27 de octubre de 2021. El juicio del caso está programado ser conocido por el Tribunal de Sentencia de La Ceiba a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2021.
  • Pese al acoso, el movimiento estudiantil hondureño se niega a retroceder

    English

    CIVICUS conversa con Héctor Ulloa, estudiante de doble licenciatura en Derecho y Economía, vicepresidente de la Asociación de Estudiantes de Derecho de la Universidad Nacional de Honduras y fundador del Movimiento Progresista Universitario (PRO).
  • Statement to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights: Countries on the civic space watchlist

    37th Session of the Human Rights Council
    Oral statement at Interactive Dialogue with UN High Commissioner on Human Rights

    CIVICUS commends the High Commissioner for his report, and for his commitment to standing alongside victims of the world's most egregious human rights violations by continuously bringing attention of their plight to this Council.

    Mr President, CIVICUS shares the High Commissioner's grave concern over growing restrictions on civic space in Cambodia, Cameroon, Poland, Tanzania and Honduras. We note that these five countries have been placed on the CIVICUS Monitor's Watch List, which draws attention to countries where there are serious and ongoing threats to civic space.

    In Cameroon, reports of renewed violence against protesters have emerged as the authorities have shut down internet access in Anglophone regions of the country. The government has also taken sharp measures to control and limit freedom of expression by suspending journalists’ activities and radio and television stations’ operations.

    In the run-up to Cambodia’s 2018 general elections, the government has attempted to silence the opposition and suppress civic space, shutting down independent media and arresting activists. Repression of dissenting voices makes it highly unlikely that elections will take place in a transparent and democratic manner.

    Poland’s current trajectory has caused grave concern as the government seeks to restrict civil and political freedoms and control the judiciary and civil society organisations. Worringly, a new body closely related to the office of the president has been created to control the flow of funding to civil society organisations, which could result in only pro-government groups being funded.

    Peaceful protests following Honduras´ recent elections, which were criticised by the opposition and international observers, were met by security forces using excessive force. Several protesters were killed and many others injured and arbitrarily detained.

    Tanzania has remained on the Monitor Watch List and CIVICUS echoes the High Commissioner’s concern over the authorities’ unrelenting attacks on the media, civil society and the LGBTI community in particular.

    Mr President, restrictions on civic space are often a bellwether for further violations of human rights and allow states to act with impunity. CIVICUS asks the High Commissioner how his office intends to support local civil society fighting for human rights on the ground to respond to this global crackdown.
  • The deterioration of civic space in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras

    37th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
    Statement during the High Commissioner's country briefings

    CIVICUS is extremely concerned about the spate of attacks against HRDs journalists and peaceful protestors that has taken place across Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras. 

    We remain gravely alarmed by the striking inattention given to the disturbing increase of killings of HRDs since the signing of the Peace Agreement by the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group. Local partners report that 106 defenders were killed and 310 attacks on media workers and journalists took place during 2017. In addition, arbitrary detentions, attacks and judicial harassment are also on the rise.

    Moreover, CIVICUS is concerned about the situation in Honduras.  Honduras has been placed   on the CIVICUS Monitor Watch List because of the violence surrounding the November 2017 contested presidential elections. Protests were met with excessive police force and more than 20 protesters were killed, with many others injured or detained. Additionally, reports show increasing attacks against HRDs who denounce the repression of protests.  There has also been an increase in violations of the right to freedom of expression, including smear campaigns, threats, harassment and physical attacks against media workers and activists expressing dissent on the media.

    Finally, Mr President, CIVICUS is extremely concerned by the continuing violence against local communities involved in land rights struggles in Guatemala. These violations are perpetrated by state security forces or by private security working under the orders of private corporations. The authorities have not taken any action to protect these communities. During one such event in late November 2017, a Maya community that had been evicted from their land and were camping on the side of a road was attacked by security guards that opened fire, killing one community member and injuring another.

    In all three cases, CIVICUS calls on the authorities to stop the use of violence against activists, media workers and peaceful demonstrators, to conduct investigations on threats and attacks, and ensure perpetrators of unlawful killings are brought to justice without further delays.
  • Upcoming UN review critical moment for Honduras to address civic freedom gaps

    CIVICUS, the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy (REDLAD) and the Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (ASONOG) call on UN member states to urge the Government of Honduras to protect civic freedoms as its human rights record is examined by the UN on 5 November 2020 as part of the 36th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

    At the county’s second UPR five years ago, UN member states made 30 recommendations that directly related to civic space. Honduras subsequently committed to taking concrete measures to guarantee the freedom of expression and the media, to ensure laws, policies and mechanisms that recognise and protect the work of civil society and to create and maintain a safe and enabling environment, in which human rights defenders can operate free from hindrance and insecurity. In a joint submission to this UPR cycle, our organisations assessed the implementation of these recommendations and compliance with international human rights law and standards over the last five years. Although some positive change occurred and a protection mechanism for HRDs and journalists was established, the mechanism remained ineffective, and not enough progress has been made to investigate and punish those responsible for attacks and crimes against HRDs.

    The situation of indigenous, environmental and land rights HRDs remain critical, as evidenced by the brutal murder of Berta Cáceres in March 2016 and the several that others that followed; Honduras has remained one of the deadliest countries in the world for environmental activism. In addition to physical violence, HRDs have continued to face arrests on fabricated charges, travel bans and other restrictions of their freedom of movement, defamation lawsuits, smear campaigns, threats and acts of sabotage, illegal searches and illegal surveillance.

    Freedom of expression remains restricted by legislation, including through the use of defamation statutes, and by threats and violence against journalists – particularly those who denounce corruption and the impacts of extractive megaprojects.

    Although there have been some positive legal changes with regards to freedom of association, organisations and activists working on politically sensitive issues remain limited in practice due to stigmatisation, criminalisation and harassment. Workers continued to face severe obstacles when trying to exercise union freedom and collective bargaining rights.

    Current legislation imposes time and place restrictions on demonstrations, criminalises common protest tactics and authorises the police to prohibit demonstrations obstructing free circulation and to dissolve any assembly incurring in a variety of broadly defined crimes against public order. Peaceful demonstrations, particularly by students, indigenous, peasant and environmental movements, are frequently dissolved with excessive force, typically leading to people being arrested or injured, and occasionally resulting in fatalities.

    In light of these concerns, UN member states must use the UPR of Honduras to call on the government to protect HRDs and civil society activists and to undertake the necessary legal and policy reforms to guarantee civic freedoms. The UPR will be an opportunity to hold Honduras accountable for the persistently high levels of violence make Honduras one of the most dangerous countries in the world for HRDs and journalists.

    The examination of Honduras will take place during the 36th Session of the UPR. The UPR is a process, in operation since 2008, that examines the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States every four and a half years. The review is an interactive dialogue between the State delegation and members of the Council and addresses a broad range of human rights topics. Following the review, a report and recommendations are prepared, which is discussed and adopted at the following session of the Human Rights Council.

    Civic space in Honduras is rated as repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor

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