In May 2015, Decree 134-2015 created the Law to protect human rights defenders, journalists and justice officials. In 2016 the regulatory code of the law was enacted. The 2015 law, modelled on similar experiences in the Latin American region, was passed in response to national and international pressure to address the wide range of threatsContinue reading “2015 Law to protect Human Rights defenders and journalists”
Subsoil Key Actors Category Archives
2018 Criminal complaints by CMDBCP against local authorities
On 8 June 2018, during the protest outside Tocoa’s Town Hall, the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the previous and present mayors of Tocoa for failing in their legal duties by unlawfully granting municipal permits to the mine resulting inContinue reading “2018 Criminal complaints by CMDBCP against local authorities”
2018-2019 Criminal complaints by CMDBCP against private company and State authorities
Since 2018 the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) have filed a series of criminal and administrative complaints against state institutions, such as Honduran National Institute of Geology and Mining (INGEOMIN), the Honduran Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines (MiAmbiente+) and Honduran Institute of Foresty Conservation (ICF), as wellContinue reading “2018-2019 Criminal complaints by CMDBCP against private company and State authorities”
2018-2022 Criminalisation and detention of CMDBCP environmental rights defenders
The criminalisation and unwarranted detention of human rights defenders in Honduras has been widely documented by national and international human rights organizations (IACHR, 2019: para. 306; Statement at the end of visit to Honduras by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, 2019). This includes the manipulation of the justice system to mountContinue reading “2018-2022 Criminalisation and detention of CMDBCP environmental rights defenders”
2020 Human Rights Ombudsperson issues public letter criticising criminal case against Guapinol defenders
Issued on 22 September 2020, the Honduran Human Rights Ombudsperson’s public letter directed at the judicial authorities made the case for the detained members of the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) as human rights activists engaged in legitimate protest activities. The letter also pointed to the failure of the judiciaryContinue reading “2020 Human Rights Ombudsperson issues public letter criticising criminal case against Guapinol defenders”
2019 IACHR issues report on the Situation of Human Rights in Honduras
IIn October 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a country report on Honduras. The report was based on a field visit to Honduras in 2018 to gather evidence on the human rights situation. The report documents a wide range of human rights violations and failures of public institutions to comply with internationalContinue reading “2019 IACHR issues report on the Situation of Human Rights in Honduras”
2019 National Protection System recognises the CMDBCP as a human rights organization
In August 2019, the National System for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders officially recognised in written correspondence DGSP234-2019 that the CMDBCP is an organization engaged in activities of the legtimate defence of human rights. As such, a key branch of the state human rights aparatus recognised the CMDBCP as human rights actors, enabling theContinue reading “2019 National Protection System recognises the CMDBCP as a human rights organization”
2019 Salvadoran NGOs submit report to UN Universal Periodic Review
In March 2019, the Central American Network for the Defence of Transborder Waters – El Salvador (Red Centroamericana por la Defensa de las Aguas Transfronterizas – El Salvador, RedCAT) and Franciscans International (FI) submitted a joint report as Civil Society Organization input to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. InContinue reading “2019 Salvadoran NGOs submit report to UN Universal Periodic Review”
2006- Popular Law Drafting and Legislative Activities on the Right to Water
In El Salvador, the right to water and legislative initiatives protecting that right are closely linked to the socio-environmental and political struggle around metallic mining. For instance, in 2006 (the same year that a popular draft law to ban metallic mining was first proposed), a General Water Law was drafted by a group of aboutContinue reading “2006- Popular Law Drafting and Legislative Activities on the Right to Water”
2017 El Salvador passes Legislative Ban on Metallic Mining
On 29 March 2017, the Legislative Assembly approved a law prohibiting metallic mining in El Salvador. The law enjoyed cross-party support, passing with 69 out of 84 votes, well over the qualifying majority (Reuters, 2017 and Montoya, 2021).The law prohibits all exploration, extraction and processing of metals, whether in open pits or underground, and officiallyContinue reading “2017 El Salvador passes Legislative Ban on Metallic Mining”
