STAND IN SOLIDARITY

A delegation of four Indigenous Lenca activists from Honduras visited Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, and Spain between April 19 and May 5, 2016. The mission sought to highlight the repression of environmental defenders in Honduras, specifically regarding the Agua Zarca hydropower project on the Gualcarque River. The activists called for the withdrawal of funding from the Dutch development bank FMO, the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), as well as the cessation of turbine sales by Siemens and Voith. The document highlights the 2016 assassination of Lenca leader Berta Cáceres and the broader pattern of violence against environmental activists in Honduras, which it describes as the most dangerous country in the world for such defenders between 2002 and 2014.

• Honduras was identified as the most dangerous country globally for environmental activists between 2002 and 2014, with over one hundred known land and environmental defenders murdered during that period.
• The Agua Zarca hydroelectric project on the Gualcarque River is accused of lacking the free, prior, and informed consultation of the Lenca people required by international law, and has been linked to the repression and murder of activists, including Berta Cáceres and Tomás Garcia.
• Following the assassination of COPINH member Nelson Garcia on March 16, 2016, the financiers FMO, Finnfund, and CABEI announced a temporary suspension of all disbursements to the Agua Zarca project.
• Global Witness reports that at least two people are killed weekly worldwide for opposing environmental destruction, with 40 percent of the 116 activists murdered in 2014 being indigenous people.

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} }