Honduran Women Human Rights Defenders Bring Urgent Calls for Justice to the UK
Kenia Oliva and Dunia Sánchez with Brendan O’Hara MP, who chaired the parliamentary roundtable in Portcullis House.
In late April, PBI UK welcomed Honduran women human rights defenders Kenia Oliva and Dunia Sánchez to London for a week of advocacy, dialogue and solidarity.
The visit formed part of a wider advocacy tour linked to the launch of the International Delegation of Lawyers’ report, “Our Determination Outweighs Our Fear”: Agrarian conflict and the criminalisation of Indigenous and campesino communities, following their fact-finding mission to Honduras in September 2025. Across several days, Kenia and Dunia shared powerful testimony on the risks faced by communities defending land, territory and natural resources in Honduras – and the urgent need for stronger international action to protect human rights defenders.
Kenia Oliva is a human rights lawyer and co-founder of the Bufete Justicia para los Pueblos (Justice for the People Law Firm), an organisation providing legal support to communities facing criminalisation and violence.
Dunia Sánchez is an Indigenous Lenca woman human rights defender and member of the Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras, COPINH (Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras), supporting Indigenous peoples’ struggles for land, autonomy and collective rights.
Throughout the visit, Kenia and Dunia spoke clearly about the structural drivers of violence and criminalisation in Honduras, including historic land inequality, weak land governance, attacks against Indigenous, Afro-descendent and campesino communities, and the use of the justice system to silence defenders.
During a parliamentary roundtable in Portcullis House, chaired by Brendan O’Hara MP and co-hosted with partners including the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group, CAFOD and Christian Aid, Kenia and Dunia briefed parliamentarians, civil society representatives and civil servants on the realities facing communities in Honduras. They called for the UK to prioritise human rights defenders, agrarian conflict and corporate accountability in its engagement with Honduras.
“I believe that the way to achieve true justice is to continue our international advocacy, to show the Honduran state that international organisations are monitoring all the violations of our rights and that there is a need for justice.”
Kenia Oliva and Dunia Sánchez speak with UK civil society allies about the risks facing communities defending land, territory and natural resources in Honduras, and practical ways to support their work.
The following day, PBI UK hosted a civil society roundtable, bringing together NGOs, campaigners and allies to hear directly from Kenia and Dunia and discuss practical ways to support their work. The conversation focused on how UK-based organisations can help amplify the findings of the recent report, maintain pressure on decision-makers, and respond with solidarity when defenders and their organisations face increased threats.
Kenia and Dunia also met with Baroness Chapman, the Minister of State for International Development, as well as officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where they raised concerns around criminalisation, violence against Indigenous and campesino communities, and the need for stronger diplomatic action to protect human rights defenders. Their messages were clear: international attention can make a difference, but it must be sustained, concrete and rooted in the demands of affected communities.
Their visit concluded with the launch of the Independent Delegation of International Lawyers to Honduras’ report at Doughty Street Chambers, during which they each spoke about the challenges they and others face to seek justice for cases of violations against Afro-descendent, Indigenous and campesino communities defending their land and territory. The event brought together members of the Delegation, lawyers, civil society representatives and allies to discuss the report’s findings, hear directly from Kenia and Dunia, and reflect on the urgent need for international action, corporate accountability and stronger protection for human rights defenders in Honduras.
Dunia and Kenia’s visit was a vital opportunity to ensure that the voices of Honduran defenders were heard directly by UK policymakers, civil society and allies. It also reaffirmed the importance of PBI’s model of protective accompaniment, advocacy and international solidarity – helping to create space for defenders to continue their work in contexts of risk.
As Kenia and Dunia reminded us throughout the week, communities in Honduras continue to defend land, water, territory and dignity despite immense pressure. Their determination is not abstract. It is lived daily, often at great personal cost.
PBI UK will continue to stand alongside human rights defenders in Honduras and work with partners to ensure their calls for justice, protection and accountability are heard.
“We need the international community, including the UK government, to call on the Honduran state to respect the work of human rights defenders and prevent their criminalisation, to repeal decree 93-2021, and to provide access to land for Indigenous peoples and campesino communities.”
Ways to support
You can help by reading and sharing the Delegation’s report, amplifying the voices of Honduran human rights defenders, and supporting PBI’s work to provide protective accompaniment and international advocacy for defenders at risk.
