Civil society organisations in America and Europe condemn the murder of Berta Cáceres, Lenca indigenous leader and human rights defender

Berta Cáceres spent her life defending the territorial and cultural rights of indigenous peoples,Garífuna peoples and peasants. She was recognised nationally and internationally as a human rightsdefender, particularly of the rights of women and indigenous peoples. In 2015 her work wasinternationally recognised when she received the Environmental Goldman Prize, the highestdistinction for activists who work on the defence of territory, natural resources and Mother Earth.Berta, with her comprehensive vision of humanity that characterises indigenous cosmovisions, alwaysstood in solidarity with the causes of other peoples.

In recent years, Berta was the victim of harassment, persecution, intimidation, stigmatisation andcriminalisation both by state and non-state actors, due to her activities the defending human rights ofindigenous communities oppose to the installation of hydroelectric and mining operations in theirterritories without their free, prior and informed consent. She struggled, particularly for the recovery ofthe lands of the Lenca people in Rio Blanco, Intibucá, in light of the construction of the Agua Zarcahydroelectric dam by the national company Energy Developments S.A. of C.V. (DesarrollosEnergéticos S.A. de C.V. – DESA). This project receives both, national (from FICOHSA company)and international funds, including from the Netherlands, Finland and Germany. Since 2009, she was beneficiary of precautionary measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (MC 196/09), but these measures were not properly implemented.

Faced with this terrible crime:

1) We stand in solidarity with Berta’s family, with the Lenca people and members of COPINH and allsocial organisations in Honduras who are in mourning today.

2) We condemn the murder of Berta and we urge the Honduran authorities to invest all the necessaryresources to independently investigate, prosecute, and punish those materially and intellectuallyresponsible, to ensure the protection of witnesses, and to take appropriate measures, includingpublicly dignifying the memory of Berta.

3) We call on Honduran institutions to fulfil their duty to ensure the protection of all people who defendhuman rights in their country and the proper implementation of the Law on the Protection of HumanRights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators and Justice Operators, currently in force inHonduras, so that incidents like this do not happen again.

4) We urge the international community to condemn this murder and take all necessary measures toensure that the Honduran State fulfils its human rights obligations. And we call on them to adoptadequate measures to ensure that bilateral or multilateral financial support for Honduras contributesto the full respect for and realization of human rights

“In our world views we are beings of earth and water and corn, we Lenca people are the ancestralcustodians of the rivers, which are also kept safe by the spirits of the young girls, who teach us thatgiving our lives in different ways to defending the rivers, is to give our lives for the good of humanityand this planet”. Berta Cáceres, speech upon receiving the Goldman prize in 2015.

For the list of the 70+ signatory organisations, please see the PDF attached.