Friday, 15 August 2025
10:00 a.m. – Sit-in
11:00 a.m. – Press Conference
📍 Public Prosecutor’s Office, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Background: Structural Racism, Dispossession, and Repression

The Garífuna people have been historically marginalized, criminalized, and dispossessed by the Honduran State and corporate actors. For decades, their communities have defended their ancestral lands against the development  of tourism, agribusiness, and real estate megaprojects imposed without prior consultation, often under conditions of state or paramilitary violence.

Despite four binding judgments from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights —Punta Piedra (2015), Triunfo de la Cruz (2015), San Juan (2023), and the pending case on Cayos Cochinos (2024)— the Honduran State has failed to comply with orders to return lands, provide full reparation, and guarantee non-repetition.

Recent Cases

Trujillo (2024 – 2025)

In August 2025, five Garífuna leaders were unjustly charged with forced displacement and aggravated usurpation. The hearing, initially scheduled for 8 August, has been repeatedly postponed, prolonging a process that reflects a clear pattern of criminalization. The case stems from a complaint filed by third parties over a plot of land in Santa Fé, part of the Garífuna ancestral territory. These leaders are facing unfounded charges before an armed prosecution and within a judicial system marked by structural racism.

In November 2024, OFRANEH denounced Canadian businessman Randy Roy Jorgensen for the looting and illegal trafficking of more than 3,500 Garífuna archaeological pieces. Although the “House of Ancestral Knowledge” was placed under judicial control, authorities have yet to file specific charges for this serious act of cultural plunder.

Nueva Armenia (2024)

On 6 October 2024, during a legitimate action to recover ancestral lands, an armed attack left two defenders seriously wounded. Media reports link armed civilians from the company Palmas de Atlántida to masked police officers, exposing coordination between state forces and private actors to repress territorial defense.

For more background information on the threats faced by the Garífuna people, consult the IM-Defensoras information system (available in spanish).

Key Demands

During the press conference, OFRANEH and ESCR-Net will present the following priority demands to the Honduran State:

• Immediately comply with Inter-American Court rulings and return ancestral lands.
• End violence and criminalization against the Garífuna people and ensure justice for attacks, threats, and forced disappearances —including the case of four young men from Triunfo de la Cruz (2020).
• Investigate and prosecute the looting of over 3,500 cultural heritage pieces.
• Respect Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and suspend imposed projects lacking consultation.
• Ensure comprehensive protection for community leaders and respect the autonomy and self-determination of the Garífuna people.

The Garífuna People: Resistance, Life, and Vision

Through their organization OFRANEH, the Garífuna people have defended their territorial autonomy, cultural identity, and collective spirituality. They have developed community radio networks, bilingual intercultural education, ancestral medicine, food sovereignty, and economic alternatives to prevent forced migration. Their way of life is grounded in collective protection, matrifocal leadership, the active participation of sexual and gender diverse people, and a deep commitment to climate justice and the defense of all life.

Participating Organizations

This action will bring together eleven human rights organizations from Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, and Europe, including: the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net), the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras), the Council of Wuxhtaj Peoples (Guatemala), La Colectiva Feminista en Construcción (Puerto Rico), the National Cimarrón Movement (Colombia), Front Line Defenders (Ireland), the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Honduras, The Calan Institute for Transterritorial Justice (CATRA) (United States), and Entrepueblos (Spain).

Press Contact

For interviews with OFRANEH spokespersons, please contact:
📞 Francis Cálix, National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders – Honduras | +504 8998-0084

For interviews with ESCR-Net representatives, please contact:
📧 Basma Eid – beid@escr-net.org
📧 Evan King – eking@escr-net.org

Other spokespersons from the participating organizations listed above will also be available for interviews.