October 2 marks the International Day of Non-Violence and the birthday of Mahatma Ghandi. The UN General Assembly began commemorating this day in 2007 to raise awareness and educate the public on the principle of non-violence. The goal of the resolution is to ensure a “culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.”
Today, 20th September 2019, the environment takes centre stage as people across the world join in a Global Climate Strike, urging governments and the private sector to take concrete action in order to avoid further deterioration of our climate and the manifold human rights impacts that this would imply.
38 years ago, on September 4, 1981, the international human rights organization Peace Brigades International was founded.
Kevin Ramírez’s community is located between the clear waters of rock pools where families bathe and the jungle-covered mountains that mark the border between Honduras and Guatemala.
“We feel safer since we started being accompanied by PBI”. “Whenever I travel to certain places in the country I always ask for PBI accompaniment”. “The presence of PBI during hearings helps a lot. Our people feel supported and can identify as human rights defenders”.
“Today, as we celebrate World Press Freedom Day, it is important to consider what is happening in Honduras. A country where there is no war but it seems as though there is. It is safer to be a war journalist than a journalist writing about social issues in Honduras, where around every corner we sense danger waiting for us”.
“They want to take the forest away from us, and they want to ask us the best way to do it.
“Being a woman human rights defender is a commitment for life. It implies breaking stereotypes”. This is how Yessica Trinidad, Director of the ‘National Network of Human Rights Defenders in Honduras’ explains what it means for her to be a woman human rights defender.
In December 2018 Dina Meza, a celebrated Honduran independent journalist, was invited to the UK to speak at the FCO’s Human Rights Day event.
Honduras is full of natural riches: coral reefs, mountains covered in trees, clear rivers and abundant flora and fauna. However, defending these natural resources can be a high-risk activitie. According to an investigation by Global Witness, since 2010 more than 120 environmental defenders have been killed in Honduras.
Concessions