Murky waters: criminalised environmental defenders visit the UK
Honduran and Guatemalan environmental defenders are set to join PBI in London to call for better protection and an end to criminalisation. PBI will be welcoming environmental rights defender Reynaldo Dominguez and community journalist Carlos Choc to the UK on November 17-18.
Honduras and Guatemala are two of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental rights defenders, who face violent repression and systematic criminalisation. Global Witness reports that over 117 defenders have been killed in the last decade in Honduras, and those who report environmental violations by businesses are often threatened or harassed. At least 80 environmental defenders have been killed in Guatemala over the same period. Criminalisation and censorship can further silence defenders and protect the perpetrators of violence against them.
The Emblematic Case of the Guapinol Environmental Defenders
Reynaldo is a prominent member of the Municipal Committee for the defence of Common and Public Good (CMDBCP), an organisation that works to defend the environment in the Bajo Aguan region of northern Honduras. In 2019, Reynaldo was one of 32 members of the CMDBCP prosecuted for peacefully opposing a mining project that contaminated local waterways. The criminalisation of the Guapinol defenders became a landmark case for HRDs who were persecuted for protesting extractive projects that contribute to local conflict and environmental degradation.
Since its inception, CMDBCP members have faced extreme risks. Police, the military and in some cases private security companies have carried out mass evictions in the Agúan Valley, often with the use of excessive force and are implicated in dozens of killings of community members for asserting their land and environmental rights. Six CMDBCP leaders have been killed in relation to the mine since 2013. In 2018, an encampment of peaceful protesters established by the CMDBCP was violently evicted by Honduran authorities.
While the change in government in Honduras brought hope to some, defender security is still not guaranteed in the country.
Community Journalist Persecuted for Investigating Corruption and Exposing Human Rights Violations
Carlos is a journalist for Prensa Comunitaria, a multidisciplinary news agency reporting on community mobilisation. His story illustrates the grave situation faced by environmental defenders in Guatemala.
In 2017, Carlos was threatened, criminalised and forced into hiding after reporting on and photographing local fishermen protesting the contamination of Lake Izabal by a ferronickel mine in Guatemala. In 2021 he again faced trumped-up charges after photographing the brutal repression of villagers protesting against a mine operated by the Guatemalan Nickel Company, which was ordered closed by the Constitutional Court due to irregularities in its licence.
While Carlos was eventually declared innocent after the court found no evidence substantiating the accusations against him, his case provides a stark illustration of the risks faced by journalists investigating corruption and human and environmental rights violations in Guatemala.
Through their visit to the UK, PBI hopes to bring attention to the injustices faced by Carlos, Reynaldo and other environmental defenders facing criminalisation and persecution due to their legitimate human rights work. PBI will also call on the UK government to take action to protect environmental rights defenders in Guatemala and Honduras by strengthening its policy on HRDs and adopting the Business, Human Rights and Environment Act, which would contribute to preventing the kinds of attacks and criminalisation faced by defenders like Carlos and Reynaldo. Follow along on our website, and our Twitter.
