A group of over 50 international organizations has written to the President of Honduras to express their shock over the recent killing of Berta Cáceres [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/berta-caceres-human-rights-defender-assassinated-today-in-honduras/], to demand an international investigation and the immediate protection of Gustavo Castro Soto, a Mexican activist, who witnessed her assassination. Here is the letter and signatories in full:
“Dear President Juan Orlando Hernández,
We, a group of 50+ international organisations, write to express our shock and concern over the recent killing of Berta Cáceres, environmental activist and head of the indigenous rights group COPINH.
As you will know, Mrs Cáceres was shot dead by gunmen in the late hours of 2 March 2016. Over the years she had received multiple death threats and attempted kidnappings because of her work defending indigenous Lenca land against the Agua Zarca dam project in Río Blanco [1]. These threats had escalated in recent weeks since construction of the dam had restarted.
We demand an independent international investigation into the circumstances around Mrs Cáceres’ death, and guaranteed protection for her family and colleagues. Mrs Cáceres was granted emergency protection measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights because of her acute vulnerability, but she claimed the Honduran state did not fully implement them.
We also demand urgent action <http://movimientom4.org/2016/03/accion-urgente-solicitamos-la-proteccion-de-gustavo-castro-testigo-del-asesinato-de-berta-caceres/> to protect Gustavo Castro Soto, a Mexican activist who witnessed her assassination, and to ensure his safe passage back to Mexico.
Mrs Cáceres’ case is the most high-profile killing within a growing trend in the murder, violence and intimidation of people defending their indigenous land rights in Honduras. Honduras is the world’s most dangerous country per capita to be an environmental or land defender, with at least 109 people killed between 2010 and 2015.
Mrs Cáceres’ case has not escaped international attention. In a statement issued <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/senator-patrick-leahy-decries-the-assassination-in-honduras-of-berta-caceres-300230540.html> in response to her death U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy called on you to find and punish those responsible for “this despicable crime.” Last year, US Senator Barbara Boxer wrote a letter <https://www.legistorm.com/stormfeed/view_rss/642332/member/11.html> to US Secretary of State John Kerry urging for better protection of environmental defenders in Honduras. This was in direct response to Mrs Cáceres winning the 2015 Goldman Environment Prize – a prestigious award recognizing grassroots environmental activists from around the world. News of her death has generated substantial international media attention.
The 50+ international organisations listed below call on the Honduran state to ensure indigenous peoples’ right to their land is respected and that they are able to carry out their legitimate work without fear for their safety.
Yours faithfully,
Goldman Environmental Prize
Front Line Defenders
Global Witness
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Bank Information Center
Amazon Watch
AIDA (Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente)
Oakland Institute (USA)
Environmental Investigation Agency US (EIA US)
Greenpeace International
Greenpeace USA
Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand:
Greenpeace in Central & Eastern Europe
Greenpeace International
Greenpeace Greece
Greenpeace in Central & Eastern Europe
EarthRights International
Global Green Grants Fund
International Service for Human Rights
War on Want
Friends of the Earth International
Friends of the Earth US
Peace Brigades International
EcoWaste Coalition
Right Livelihood Award Foundation
Jenifer Altman Foundation
Earthjustice
Rainforest Action Network
International Rivers
CESTA/Friends of the Earth El Salvador and Goldman Prize winner
National Toxics Network Inc.
Secrétaire Général Alternatives Durables pour le Développement
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Lynn Henning, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, 2010 Goldman winner
The Story of Stuff Project
Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand
Red de Acción en Plaguicidas y Alternativas en México (RAPAM)
CEO – ESTAMOS
South Durban Community Environmental Alliance
Jan Chetana
People and Water Slovakia
Fern
BaliFokus Foundation
Armenian Women For Health And Healthy Environment (AWHHE)
Greenpeace Switzerland
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition Huntington (OVEC)
Rettet den Regenwald (Rainforest Rescue)
Salva la Selva
Jorge Varela Marque, Goldman Prize Winner 1999
Coalition against Land Grabbing – Philippines:
Central America Women’s Network
Common Frontiers Canada
Urgewald
GreenWood
Loire Vivante
Eco-Accord Centre
April 19, 2016 at 19:20
[…] but several well-known ones are among the recipients such as the recently killed Berta Carceres [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta-cac…]. This year’s winners […]
May 19, 2016 at 14:20
[…] UN Special Rapporteur is visiting Honduras as from 23 May. One should hope that the NGOs pressure [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta-cac…] as well as the short video messages by Peter Gabriel and Susan Sarandon published on 12 May by […]
June 13, 2016 at 18:20
[…] woman and environmental human rights defender in Honduras who was assassinated earlier this year [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta-ca…]. Her organization COPINH (Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras) […]
June 16, 2016 at 11:16
[…] Just days before the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) met in New York, the murder of Honduran activist, Berta Caceras, made evident the high risks involved in protecting land and environment rights while confronting corporations.[https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta-cac… […]
February 24, 2017 at 00:39
[…] Like the audience of a horror movie, the people around Berta could see that terrible danger was coming her way – but they were powerless to stop it. Honduras has the highest number of killings per capita of environmental and land activists in the world. The vast majority of these killings go unsolved and unpunished. One story that really stands out in this deadly context is that of Berta Cáceres. Berta was the leader and co-founder of an organisation that was campaigning against the construction of a hydroelectric project on the ancestral lands of indigenous communities in Honduras. In the early hours of 2 March 2016, she was murdered in her own home. Berta knew that she was putting her life in danger, but she was willing to take the risk to stand up for indigenous communities. Like the audience of a horror movie, the people around Berta could see that terrible danger was coming her way – but they were powerless to stop it. Despite the stark warning that her death served, environmental activists in Honduras say that stopping their work is not an option – no-one else will defend their communities and rights. They continue Berta’s work every day, reminding us that we should never take freedom for granted. It is essential that Berta’s assassination is solved, to show that there is a price to pay for attacking and killing environmental activists. Berta’s story ended in tragedy, but we will not stop fighting until we are sure that other activists will not meet the same fate. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta…] […]
October 2, 2017 at 11:29
[…] Earlier posts on Honduras, which is one of the most dangerous in the world for human rights defenders, include: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta… […]