2020 UN Universal Periodic Review of Honduras human rights situation

In November 2020, Honduras’ human rights record was examined by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for the third time. The review process involved the submission of NGO and other expert reports as well as the country report by the State party on the human rights situation in Honduras. 

An alliance of Honduran NGOs, the Coalition against Impunity, submitted a report to inform the Human Right’s Council member states of a wide range of human rights concerns, amongst which featured the role of extractive industries in abuses committed against local indigenous and campesino communities, including the human rights defenders imprisoned in relation to the ASP1 & ASP2 mining project. The NGO report states that: 

“33. The development model promoted by the Government has produced socio-environmental conflicts in extractive and energy projects. Indigenous and peasant communities that have taken resistance actions against extractive projects suffer political persecution, criminalization, and attacks on life and physical and psychological integrity. The State has taken measures to limit access to information in environmental impact studies, thus contributing to secrecy in extractive and energy projects100.

34. One of the most emblematic cases is that of Guapinol, a community that has carried out resistance actions since 2013 against mining projects in Tocoa. The project has been developed despite almost unanimous opposition from the communities. Actions of persecution, harassment, stigmatization, physical and psychological violence by national and local state authorities have been documented101. 12 defenders were taken to court on charges of usurpation, damages, robbery, unjust deprivation of liberty, illicit association and aggravated arson. This case was dismissed after a process plagued with irregularities102. Subsequently, 7 defenders103 voluntarily presented themselves to the courts, where the preventive detention measure was issued, with the clear intention of intimidating the many defenders who fight against the extractive model in the country104.

35. The case of Guapinol illustrates the absence of prior, free and informed consultation in extractive projects, despite the fact that Honduras has already ratified ILO Convention 169. The preliminary draft of the Prior Consultation Law has been drafted with a low participation of organizations representing indigenous peoples105, and its content is detrimental to indigenous peoples, diminishing the obligations of the State contained in the Convention”.

In March 2021, the UN Human Rights Council published the report of the working group on Honduras, which condenses the concerns and recommendations raised by members of the Council in the peer review process. The recommendations included:

“104.40 Establish accessible, transparent and effective consultation and complaint mechanisms for communities affected by mining and commercial projects (Malaysia); 

104.71 Bring to justice and effectively punish the perpetrators of assaults against and killings of human rights defenders, such as the recent killing of the environmental defender of Guapinol (France); 

104.78 Increase efforts to ensure the independence of the judicial system, strengthening the investigation of and prosecution for acts of corruption and human rights violations, and prevent the criminalization of human rights defenders and community and Indigenous activists to ensure they are able to operate in a safe environment (Canada); 

104.81 Ensure the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of the alleged human rights violations that occurred during the coup d’état in 2009 and the intellectual and financial authors of the killing of the human rights defender Berta Cáceres (Costa Rica); Address impunity for attacks against human rights defenders and journalists without delay (Japan); Adopt concrete measures to guarantee respect for and protection of the work of human rights defenders and journalists, as well as to ensure that the crimes committed against them are investigated and those responsible are punished effectively and impartially (Ecuador).”