Campaign for the Berta Caceres Human Rights Act !

 

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Heavily armed troops driving through Tegucigalpa November 2013
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Berta Caceres

Since the 2009 coup, solidarity and human rights organizations in the US and in Honduras have worked to get the United States government to stop funding human rights violations and violence in Honduras. On June 14, 2016 US Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia introduced HR5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights Act named after the Honduran indigenous environmentalists and resistance leader assassinated on March 2, 2016. This Act (cosponsored by Representatives Conyers, Kaptur, Ellison, Serrano, and Schakowsky) would cut off US funding and support for the repressive Honduran military and national police and end US support for funding of mega-projects like the Agua Zarca dam against the wishes of the local population.

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Unarmed Hondurans face down troops the day after the coup in June 2009

Sponsoring congress members published a strong opinion piece in The Guardian Newspaper entitled “American Funding of Honduran Security Forces: Blood on Our Hands”.

As of July 14th there are 27 members of Congress signed on to the bill. This summer the Honduran Solidarity Network is supporting a campaign to House of Representative members to support this bill. July 14th was a national call-in day for the bill but it is important that calls and emails and visits to local congressional offices continue during the recess.  For updates and more info: HSN members SOAWatch and Witness for Peace are closely following the campaign. 

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