Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) reports and condemns the attempted murder of María Santos Domínguez, Coordinator of the Indigenous Advisory Organization of Río Blanco and o
On Thursday, September 12, 2013 the Honduran government granted more than 1.6 million acres of coastal lands to the Indigenous Miskito people, who occupy the northeastern corner of Honduras known as La Moskitia, which runs along the border with Nicaragua and the Caribbean coast, The Miskito consist of about 21,800 people in more than 100 villages and sparsely populated towns.
The Honduras National Electric Energy Company (ENEE) has suspended payments to small farmers in the department of Olancho for lands acquired from them by the Honduran government to allow for construction of the Patuca III hydroelectric project along the Patuca River.
On May 11th, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency helicopters opened fire on a boat traveling the Patuca River near Ahuas, Honduras, claiming to be targeting drug traffickers in the region. Four Miskitu people were killed and four more seriously injured. It was later revealed that the helicopter was part of a joint Honduran-American anti-drug raid.
The Indigenous Peoples Confederation of Honduras (CONPAH) released a statement calling on the government of Honduras to withdraw a REDD proposal submitted to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. The Indigenous Confederation called on donors to suspend all activities relating to REDD in Honduras. The statement declares that the Honduran government submitted a proposal for a REDD project without consulting the Indigenous peoples whose land would be used for forestation programs.
A recent article in the Honduran press declared that the Patuca III project in Olancho, Honduras, is now 20 percent through its first phase of construction.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.