Right to food and access to land neglected at the second Honduras UPR

Sixty UN Member States raised their voice at the Human Rights Council giving 152 recommendations to the State of Honduras in its second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 8 May 2015. FIAN International salutes that key topics such as impunity, judicial impartiality, women’s and children’s rights were extensively addressed, but bemoans the lack of attention and recommendations on structural measures required for the realization of all dimensions of the right to food, including access to natural resources, and other related human rights. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, with around 70% of the population living in multidimensional poverty. The situation is particularly acute in rural areas.

In its oral intervention kicking off the review, the Honduran State delegation listed a number of legislative and institutional measures adopted to advance human rights; however, there was little reference to their impact. State officials also stressed the importance given to access to land. In relation to the Bajo Aguán Valley, they underlined that “there have not been any casualties throughout 2014-2015”, and that Honduras is about to meet all the provisional and precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Human Rights System. FIAN International notes, however, that the situation in Bajo Aguán has shown little or no change at its core, and a sustainable and fair solution to the problem of land tenure, consistent with the right to food and other human rights, has not been properly sought.

The effective investigation of and punishment for crimes and human rights violations perpetrated against peasants by State and non-State actors – including private security companies hired by land owners and agribusiness – remain a major challenge. Norway and Thailand made recommendations in this regard. 

Commenting on the outcomes of the review, FIAN Honduras’ newly appointed Executive Director, Ana María Pineda Medina, stated: “On issues around land, as illustrated by the Bajo Aguán case, the Honduran government still responds with the militarization of conflicting areas, the implementation of arbitrary and violent evictions, and the criminalization of peasant leaders and human rights defenders. Permissiveness vis-à-vis private security companies involved in human rights violations is high. When it finally comes to the adjudication of disputed lands, these are frequently sold to peasant groups at speculative market prices. There is a gap between what is declared by the Honduras State, what is legislated and what is actually being applied. This also results in a lack of coherence of policies and practices with the effective realization of the human right to adequate food and nutrition.”

The State of Honduras declared that it has met 82% of the 129 recommendations made at the first UPR review in 2010, and that the remaining ones are in the process of compliance. However, human rights organizations from the so-called UPR Platform (‘Plataforma EPU’ in Spanish) underline that this is a self-assessment made by the State, which is far from the reality on the ground, and stress that the Honduran State report lacked “coherence and expression of an authentic commitment with human rights”.

FIAN International expresses once again its concern about declarations made by Honduran state officials to undermine the efforts of civil society around the UPR 2015.

For more information please read the communiqué by UPR Platform and the Draft report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review on Honduras.