Development and Peace: Campaign to Defend Water and Land in  Honduras

Development and Peace – Caritas Canada’s new “United for the Earth” campaign focuses on protecting the defenders of environmental and human rights in Honduras. People are invited to sign a letter addressed to the Honduran ambassador to Canada by February 25, 2024.

The letter-signing campaign aims to encourage the Honduran government to protect those fighting to preserve their water and land, particularly in the face of mining exploitation. The letter also calls for an investigation into killings that have gone unpunished. Other demands include compensation for the victims, revocation of the mining permit and restoration of the Carlos Escalera National Park.

“Communities are displaced, rights violated, access and the right to water denied to give priority to extraction, the plundering of resources.” – Leonel George, member of the Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, Colón

Honduras is one of the five most dangerous countries in the world for people working to protect the environment, water and land. These activists are often threatened, criminalized, imprisoned and even murdered! Development and Peace – Caritas Canada chose this theme for its campaign at the request of its partner in Honduras, ERIC-Radio Progreso.

Presentation at Maison Jésus-Marie

Details of the campaign and how to get involved will be presented at a meeting at Maison Jésus-Marie (MJM) by Julie Tétreault, SNJM volunteer. The meeting will take place on Friday, November 3, at 2:30 p.m.

In the meantime, you can watch the campaign launch webinar. The signature campaign is coupled with a fundraising campaign that enables the international solidarity organization to support some 80 projects in Canada and abroad (42 countries).

For an overview of the specific situation in Honduras, consult the thematic fact sheet.