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Honduras: Need to implement the right to food and agrarian reform in the community of Guadalupe Carney
Honduras: Need to implement the right to food and agrarian reform in the community of Guadalupe Carney
The 550 peasant families belonging to the peasant movement “Aguán”, that live in the community “Guadalupe Carney” in the town of Trujillo, department of Colón, are still waiting for the transfer and land title of 5724 hectares to their peasant movement. Currently, 9 plots of this area are still occupied by other people and 17 more plots do not have yet regularized, despite the decree by the Honduran Congress of 2001 ordering the regularization and total transfer of this land to the peasant movement. As a result, 3 out of the 45 cooperatives, in which this movement is organized, are completely deprived from access to this land. 12 cooperatives face uncertainty about the land tenancy due to the lack of titles.
Background:
In May 2000, the peasant movement of Aguán recovered 5724 hectares of land near the town of Trujillo in the northern coast of Honduras. In the previous decades, this area was used as a Military Training Regional Centre (CREM). In 1990, when the military centre was abandoned, the Honduran Government bought the lands and transferred them to the Agrarian National Institute (INA), for Agrarian Reform purposes. However, the town of Trujillo illegally sold most of the land to politicians, farmers, military men and local landowners, even though the land did not belong to the town.
When the peasant movement of Aguán recovered part of the land in 2000, the Congress of the Honduran Republic, searching a solution to the conflict, issued a decree in 2001 stating that the people who illegally bought the land would receive 30 million Lempiras, as a mean of compensation for investments. Afterwards, the peasant movement would get the legal land tenancy. After this intervention of the state authorities, the quick clearance and the issue of land titles were expected. But in 2003, an inter-institutional commission made a new calculation and stated that 76 million Lempiras were necessary to regularize the land.
Then, the land transfer process came to a standstill. In spite of the decree by the Honduran Congress in 2001 ordering the regularization and total transfer of this land to the peasant movement to guarantee the access of the peasants to land and food, most of the 3000 people belonging to the peasant movement still face uncertainty about the land tenancy or do not have access to the land at all: 9 plots are still occupied by other people. Other 17 plots have not been regularized yet. As a result, 3 out of 45 cooperatives are totally deprived of access to land. 12 cooperatives are uncertain about the land tenancy due to the lack of property titles, and in permanent conflict with the landowners that illegally occupied this plots.
Emergency Network Mandate:
Honduras is a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It has therefore the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the rights enshrined in that covenant, particularly the right to food.
Call to action:
In this situation, it is very important to draw the attention of the Honduran Government in order to fulfil the right to food of the peasant families. Please, send a letter to the Honduran President expressing your worries about this case and ask him to adopt the necessary measures to fulfil the right to food of the peasant movement. Please, send one copy of your letter to the President of the Congress, and another one to the lawyer of the peasant movement.
URGENT ACTION 0716AHND
Original Letter:
Excelentísimo Señor Presidente,
con profunda preocupación he recibido la información de que las 550 familias campesinas del Movimiento Campesino del Aguán, que viven en la comunidad Guadalupe Carney en el municipio de Trujillo, departamento de Colón, todavía esperan el traspaso y la titulación de 5724 hectáreas a favor del grupo campesino a pesar de que un decreto del Congreso de Honduras ya en al año 2001 había ordenado el saneamiento y la entrega completa de este terreno al movimiento campesino. Según los testimonios que me han llegado hasta la fecha 9 parcelas en esta área todavía están ocupadas por otras personas. Otras 17 parcelas más todavía no están saneadas. En consecuencia 3 de las 45 cooperativas, en las cuales el movimiento campesino se ha organizado, se ven privadas completamente del acceso a la tierra. 12 cooperativas viven en inseguridad de la tenencia de la tierra por falta de titulación.
Honduras es Estado Parte del Pacto Internacional de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales. Por lo tanto, toda autoridad del Estado tiene que respetar, proteger y garantizar los derechos reconocidos en estos tratados, en particular el derecho a la alimentación.
Por lo tanto, le solicito, Sr. Presidente, adoptar en cooperación con las demás autoridades competentes las medidas inmediatas y apropiadas para
- ejecutar la pronta transferencia y legalización de todo el terreno del antiguo CREM en favor de las familias campesinas ubicadas en el lugar, en el marco del compromiso asumido por el Estado de Honduras con la obligación de garantizar el Derecho a la Alimentación.
Atentamente
Translated Letter:
Dear Mr. President,
I am greatly disturbed about the fact that the 550 peasant families belonging to the peasant movement Aguán, that live in the community Guadalupe Carney in the town of Trujillo, department of Colón, are still waiting for the transfer and title of 5724 hectares to their peasant movement, despite the decree by the Honduran Congress of 2001 ordering the regularization and total transfer of this land to the peasant movement. According to the information I received, 9 plots of this area are still occupied by other people. 17 more plots have not been regularized yet. As a result, 3 out of the 45 cooperatives, in which this movement is organized, are completely deprived from access to the land. 12 cooperatives are uncertain about the land tenancy due to the lack of titles.
Honduras is a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It has therefore the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the rights enshrined in that covenant, particularly the right to food.
Hence, I kindly ask you, Mr. President, to adopt – in cooperation with the rest of the competent authorities – immediate and correct measures to
- carry out the quick transfer and legalization of the land where the old CREM was located in favour of the peasant families living there, within the framework of the commitment of the Honduran Government to fulfil the right to food.
Yours sincerely,
Recipients:
President of the Honduran Republic
Minister-Director
