from Pax Christi International
On International Women’s Day, Pax Christi International celebrates the life and witness of Honduran indigenous leader and human rights defender Berta Cáceres, who was murdered on March 2. Ms. Cáceres worked tirelessly for the rights of indigenous peoples to land and natural resources and received multiple death threats for her courageous efforts.
We call for an immediate, independent investigation into the assassination of Ms. Cáceres and for urgent attention to human rights violations in Honduras, where a climate of impunity allows all forms of violence, including femicide and the targeting of activists, journalists and human rights defenders, to go unchecked. In this context we also urge the Honduran government to ensure the protection of the human rights of its citizens as required by the Honduran Constitution and international human rights instruments signed by Honduras.
Five years ago, following two Pax Christi International visits to Honduras, we urged the Catholic community worldwide and all people of good will to sustain and strengthen international solidarity with the Honduran people, accompanying those whose basic human rights were being violated; advocating for truth, justice and democratic participation; and addressing the many ways in which international greed for minerals and markets, wealth, power and control provide fertile ground for the suffering, particularly of indigenous of people and the earth, in Honduras…