Languages: Interpretation into English and Spanish will be provided
Background:
The predicament of human rights defenders in Honduras has received a great deal of international attention in 2016, following the murder of Berta Cáceres, an emblematic Lenca indigenous defender. This crime is just the tip of the iceberg; the high levels of violence directed against defenders in Honduras have made it one of the most dangerous countries in the world for human rights defence as declared in August 2016 by Mr. Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, and Mr. José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez, IACHR’s Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders.
Since 2001, 17 defenders have been murdered, although they were beneficiaries of IACHR precautionary measures - an average of one per year. Between May 2015 and December 2016 at least 16 killings of human rights defenders - almost one per month. These figures clearly demonstrate that the situation is becoming more acute.
Attacks against defenders tend to go unpunished, largely due to inefficiencies in the administration of justice as well as a number of other structural factors. Meanwhile, there have been a great many incidences of defenders being criminalised, and the judicial system has shown remarkable diligence in pursuing these cases. According to IACHR, since 2010 there have been 3,064 cases in Honduras where human rights defenders have been criminalised as a means of intimidation. Many of these cases were preceded by public stigmatization of those who defended and promoted human rights, when members of economic or political power where involved or potentially affected.
Objectives:
One year after the assassination of Berta Cáceres and in the current pre-electoral context the side event will provide an important ingress to engage in a dialogue about the current situation for human rights defenders in Honduras and on how national authorities and international community can collaborate to address the remaining challenges for their comprehensive protection and for an enabling environment for their work.
Format:
The event will include an interactive panel discussion with various interventions from each of the speakers followed by an interactive Q&A session with the audience.
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English