On 30 April and 1 May 2019, Rosalina Dominguez, her four sons and two members of the community of Río Blanco, Intibucá, in Honduras were threatened. The community members are afraid that this might be the beginning of a new wave of attacks against them after previous threats for protesting the Agua Zarca Dam together with the Civic Council of Popular Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). We urge the Minister of Human Rights to immediately guarantee the safety of Rosalina Domínguez, her family, members of Río Blanco and COPINH and to investigate any attacks against them.
The Lenca Indigenous communities of Rio Blanco, Santa Barbara, western Honduras, have been demonstrating against a hydro-electric power project on the land they have been living on for centuries, alleging lack of free, prior and informed consultation. The communities belong to the Civic Council of the Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras (Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras – COPINH)
COPINH has been fighting for over 20 years for better standards of living of its community in Río Blanco, north-western Honduras. Since 2011, COPINH members have been campaigning for their right to free, prior and informed consent in relation to a proposal for a hydroelectric plant that might force them out of their ancestral lands. Its members have been targeted with threats and harassment for years in connection with their work.
Berta Cáceres, leader and co-founder of COPINH, was shot dead on 3 March in her home in the town of La Esperanza, in the province of Intibucá, west Honduras. On 7 March 2016 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a new precautionary measure of protection in favour of all COPINH members and Berta Caceres' family on the grounds of the risks posed by their work defending human rights, environment and natural resources and their increased vulnerability situation after Berta Caceres' killing.
Take action - please send appeals before 13 June 2019
