Tuée par l’impunité: Berta Cáceres et le projet d’Agua Zarca

The document examines the murder of environmental defender Berta Cáceres and the systemic violence associated with the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras. It highlights the failure of voluntary human rights due diligence by international financiers and calls for legally binding international legislation to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses.

• Berta Cáceres, an indigenous Lenca leader and environmental defender, was assassinated on March 2, 2016, for her opposition to the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River, which the Lenca people consider sacred.
• A November 2018 court verdict established that the murder of Berta Cáceres was planned and executed with the knowledge and consent of the project promoter, Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA), to retaliate against protests causing financial losses.
• International financial institutions, specifically the Dutch development bank (FMO), the Finnish fund for industrial cooperation (Finnfund), and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), continued to fund the project despite repeated warnings and evidence of systemic violence and lack of prior informed consent from the Lenca people.
• The report asserts that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and associated human rights due diligence (HRDD) are ineffective because they are voluntary and not legally binding for corporations.
• Honduras is identified as one of the most dangerous countries for environmental activists, with 123 murders of territory and environment defenders recorded since the 2009 military coup.
• The document advocates for a binding UN treaty on transnational corporations and human rights to eliminate legal gaps that allow companies to operate with impunity in countries with weak human rights or environmental laws.

APA

Colsell, S. (2019). Tuée par l’impunité: Berta Cáceres et le projet d’Agua Zarca. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/12-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-FR-mr-2.pdf

Chicago

Colsell, Sophie. Tuée par l’impunité: Berta Cáceres et le projet d’Agua Zarca. Friends of the Earth International, 2019. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/12-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-FR-mr-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Colsell |first1=Sophie |title=Tuée par l’impunité: Berta Cáceres et le projet d’Agua Zarca |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=March 2019 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/12-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-FR-mr-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{colsell2019tue, author = {Colsell, Sophie}, title = {{Tuée par l’impunité: Berta Cáceres et le projet d’Agua Zarca}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/12-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-FR-mr-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }