Berta Cáceres, indigenous leader and Honduran environmental activist was murdered in her home in the early hours of the morning on the 3rd of March, 2016.
She was shot and left for dead. The killers fled unidentified, and little effort has been made by the police or government of Honduras to investigate. Berta's family and colleagues say they believe she was murdered because of her work on behalf of indigenous and environmental rights - all the evidence points to an assassination.
Cáceres was a member of the Lenca indigenous people and cofounded the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). She also led a campaign against the construction of the Agua Zarca Dam on the Gualcarque River. The Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro, the world’s largest dam builder, pulled out of the construction in 2013, publicly citing “ongoing community resistance and outrage.” Since then, multiple COPINH members have been killed. Cáceres herself had received multiple death threats, but the Honduran government did nothing to protect her.
The government-approved dam would have cut off the supply of water, food and medicine for hundreds of Lenca people, violating their right to sustainably manage and live off their land. The projectt had been pushed through without consulting the indigenous Lenca people - a violation of international treaties governing indigenous peoples.
Between 2010 and 2014, 101 campaigners have been killed in Honduras, a higher death toll relative to population than anywhere else. I find it strange how any activist who challenges a government project ends up dead. You can draw your own conclusions, but a clear message must be sent to the Honduran government and to the Honduran people. This can not, and must not be tolerated.
The UN High Commission on Human Rights needs to step in with an independent investigation into the murder of Berta Cáceres - sending a clear message that the world will stand idly by as activists are swept aside to beat a blood-stained path to the destruction of the Honduran environment and ignoring the plight of the indigenous people.
Berta Cáceres has lost her voice - she an no longer fight the fight that needs to be fought. The indigenous people have lost their champion and with it, their hopes of fair access to water and food - basic human rights. You can be a new champion for change.
This is our cry for justice for Berta. Please sign and share this petition with friends and family.
Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad:
I strongly urge the High Commission on Human Rights to launch a conmprehensive, independent investigation of the murder of Honduran activist Berta Cáceres and the killings of other advocates. Specifically, the world needs to know if the government of Honduras or other authorities are complicit in these murders.
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Sincerely,
[Your name]
