STAND IN SOLIDARITY

A 2016 fact sheet by Friends of the Earth Europe detailing a solidarity mission by four Indigenous Lenca activists from Honduras to Europe. The mission aims to denounce the murder of Berta Cáceres and demand that European financiers and companies withdraw support from the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project due to human rights violations and the lack of indigenous consent.

• From April 19 to May 5, 2016, a delegation of four Indigenous Lenca activists from Honduras visited Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, and Spain. The mission's goals included denouncing the murder of Berta Cáceres, calling for the withdrawal of funding from the Agua Zarca project by the Dutch development bank FMO and the Finland-based FinnFund, and urging German companies Siemens and Voith to cancel plans to sell turbines for the project.
• Berta Cáceres, a Lenca indigenous leader and recipient of the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize, was murdered on March 2, 2016. She had led the struggle against the Agua Zarca hydropower project on the Gualcarque River, which is sacred to the Lenca people. The project threatened to divert three kilometres of the river, impacting local livelihoods. Before her death, Cáceres faced persecution, surveillance, and a prison sentence from the Honduran government for her opposition to the dam.
• Honduras is described as the most dangerous country globally for environmental activists, with over 100 land and environmental defenders murdered between 2002 and 2014. Since the 2009 military coup, the country has seen widespread systematic targeting, assassination, and death threats against activists. Specifically, three other Indigenous Lenca people, including Tomás Garcia, were killed during the struggle against the Agua Zarca project since 2013.
• The Agua Zarca project, promoted by the Honduran company Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA), is accused of failing to obtain free, prior, and informed consultation from the Lenca people as required by international law. While the Chinese firm Sinohydro cancelled its contract in 2013 following blockades by the COPINH community of Rio Blanco, other financiers including FMO, Finnfund, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) became involved. Following the assassination of COPINH member Nelson Garcia on March 16, 2016, FMO, Finnfund, and CABEI temporarily suspended disbursements to the project.
• COPINH and EU-based NGOs have issued several demands: the immediate withdrawal of all support and funding for the Agua Zarca project by FMO, Finnfund, CABEI, and Voith Hydro; an independent investigation into Berta Cáceres' murder led by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission; and for the European Union to suspend security aid to Honduras due to widespread repression.

APA

Colsell, S. (2016). STAND IN SOLIDARITY. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Leaflet-COPINH-tour-A4-hr.pdf

Chicago

Colsell, Sophie. STAND IN SOLIDARITY. Friends of the Earth International, 2016. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Leaflet-COPINH-tour-A4-hr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Colsell |first1=Sophie |title=STAND IN SOLIDARITY |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=2016 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Leaflet-COPINH-tour-A4-hr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{colsell2016stand, author = {Colsell, Sophie}, title = {{STAND IN SOLIDARITY}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2016}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Leaflet-COPINH-tour-A4-hr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }