Concerns about HO-L1191: Support to the Creation of Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs)

The Center for International Environmental Law and partners express concern over IDB loan HO-L1191, which supports the establishment of ZEDEs in Honduras. They argue that the ZEDE legal framework creates an undemocratic governance structure, allows for the imposition of zones without community consultation, and enables the use of foreign judges and private police. The authors claim this model undermines constitutional rights, labor protections, and environmental governance, while violating IDB policies on transparency, environmental safeguards, and involuntary resettlement.

• ZEDEs are governed by an unelected Committee for the Adoption of Best Practices (CABP) that lacks accountability mechanisms and has the authority to approve ZEDE establishment and permanent governance.
• The ZEDE law allows the Honduran Congress to impose ZEDEs on existing communities in low-population density areas without a referendum, specifically pre-approving areas adjacent to the Caribbean Ocean and the Fonseca Gulf.
• ZEDEs possess significant administrative and legal autonomy, including the ability to operate independent judicial systems with foreign judges, utilize private police forces, and create their own educational curricula.
• The ZEDE framework creates risks for land rights and environmental protection by prioritizing land expropriation and lacking specific environmental standards, potentially allowing ZEDEs to circumvent existing regulations.
• The ZEDE law limits the application of the Honduran Constitution, leaving it unclear if citizens within these zones retain fundamental rights such as Habeas Corpus, freedom of expression, or protection from forced labor.
• The proposed IDB funding conflicts with the Bank's own operational policies regarding access to information (OP-102), environmental safeguards (OP-703), and involuntary resettlement (OP-710).

APA

Alford-Jones, K., Carasik, L., & Spring, K. (2017). Concerns about HO-L1191: Support to the Creation of Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs). Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Memo_Concern_IDB_Honduran_ZEDE_Project.pdf

Chicago

Alford-Jones, Kelsey, Lauren Carasik, and Karen Spring. Concerns about HO-L1191: Support to the Creation of Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs). Center for International Environmental Law, 2017. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Memo_Concern_IDB_Honduran_ZEDE_Project.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Alford-Jones |first1=Kelsey |last2=Carasik |first2=Lauren |last3=Spring |first3=Karen |title=Concerns about HO-L1191: Support to the Creation of Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs) |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=25 August 2017 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Memo_Concern_IDB_Honduran_ZEDE_Project.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{alfordjones2017concerns, author = {Alford-Jones, Kelsey and Carasik, Lauren and Spring, Karen}, title = {{Concerns about HO-L1191: Support to the Creation of Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs)}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2017}, month = aug, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Memo_Concern_IDB_Honduran_ZEDE_Project.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }