On 30 June 2016 EMCO Mining (which changed its name to Inversiones Los Pinares (ILP) in 2017 and became part of the EMCO Group) approached locals of Ceibita to build an access road through their community to the processing plant and mining site. The company promised jobs and investment in Ceibita in return for agreeingContinue reading “2016 Ceibita community consent for mining project”
Subsoil Region Archives
2015 Law to protect Human Rights defenders and journalists
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”
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 Eviction of protest encampment
On 31 July 2018, after repeated failures of local and national authorities to address their concerns regarding the ASP mining concessions, the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) and supporters established a protest encampment on the access road to the mine. The protest encampment in defence of water and life lastedContinue reading “2018 Eviction of protest encampment”
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”
2018-2022 Legal challenges to criminalization of environmental defenders
Facing criminalization for protesting against the ASP1 and ASP2 mining project, the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP), partner organizations and defence lawyers have mobilized to challenge their baseless judicial persecution (See Legal Action entitled “2018-2022 Criminalization and detention of CMDBCP environmental rights defenders”). This involved the voluntary presentations ofContinue reading “2018-2022 Legal challenges to criminalization of environmental defenders”
2019 Request for IACHR precautionary measures on behalf of Guapinol human rights activists
Lawyers representing the environmental activists of Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) in detention or threatened with arrest requested the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to issue precautionary measures obliging the Honduran government to protect the Guapinol defenders at risk and respect their right to promote the protection of humanContinue reading “2019 Request for IACHR precautionary measures on behalf of Guapinol human rights activists”
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”
