On the 8th and 9th June 2016, the second Periodic Review of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Honduras (CESCR) will take place in Geneva.In the previous review in May 2001, 26 recommendations were made to Honduras. However none of these recommendations made explicit reference to the situation regarding the defence of economic, social and cultural rights.
The Department of Petén makes up a third of the Republic of Guatemala. More than 60% of the department are protected areas. Although we do not accompany in this department, every six months PBI Guatemala undertakes a visit as a way of following up on the human rights situation. PBI Guatemala holds meetings with different social actors, to advocate around various problematic issues:
-Protected Areas; evictions, agrarian conflicts illegal detentions, restricted freedom of movement
-Militarization
-Women rights
From the beginning, the Peaceful Resistance of the Puya has been confronted with threats and aggressions, such as the attempted murder against one of its members, Yolanda Oquelí in June 2012. Several of its members have been subject to defamation and legally unfounded accusations, related to their involvement with the Resistance.
Cunén Community Council (CCC) is a community organization for the defence of the land, natural resources and human rights. CCC was formed in 2009 and consists of 22 members from 8 micro-regions, all from the department of Quiché in Guatemala.
The K'iche Peoples Council (CPK) was formed in 2008 and focuses on "the defense of life, Mother Nature, Land and Territory". In this context, it defends and promotes the collective rights of indigenous peoples, the right to life, rights to water, land and, in general, the economic, social, cultural and environmental rights (ESCR).
Ch’orti Campesino Central “Nuevo Día” (CCCND) work in Chiquimula department providing support and legal representation to local communities campaigning on issues related to land, environmental, and cultural rights. As a result of their work Nuevo Día members have been subject to death threats, harassment, and criminalisation.
The Honduran Centre for the Protection of Community Development (El Centro Hondureño para la Promoción de Desarrollo Comunitario)
The Honduran Centre for the Protection of Community Development was founded in 1991. Its primary focus is the right to food linked to the defence of economic, social and cultural rights. They provide legal and technical assistance to indigenous and small- scale farmer organisations that are defending their territory against extractive industries and hydroelectric schemes.
Well, my work on human rights began more or less at the side of Father Uvi. I was his vicar from 1994, and I was trained to become a promoter of human rights during the process that Barca [the “Bartolome Carrasco Briseño” Regional Centre for Human Rights"] started in the southern highlands in response to the dire social situation there…
In April 2016 Padre Alberto Franco and Jani Silva, Colombian human rights defenders, visited London as part of a Europe wide speaker tour organised by PBI.
Father Alberto Franco is the executive secretary of the human rights NGO Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP). The work of the CIJP focuses on the field accompaniment Afro-Colombian, indigenous and peasant farmer communities.
Invisible Mandelas
The world woke up to the perils of defending human rights in Honduras last month with the tragic news of the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres. According to a recent study by Global Witness, Honduras is the most dangerous country in the world to be an environmental defender, with 111 murders reported between 2010 and 2015.
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