GENEVA - Honduras must immediately stop the execution of over 1000 eviction orders issued to peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, among others, under a new law that shields agro-industrial land from historic tenure claims, UN experts* said today.
"A law drafted without a single consultation with the communities will displace cannot serve as the basis for evicting thousands of families," the experts said. "These evictions are easy to execute, and almost impossible to reverse."
Under Decree No. 107-2026, land that had been previously cultivated by cooperatives and subsistence farmers for growing food would effectively be allocated to large-scale agri-business, livestock, energy and tourism activities and would not be subject to agrarian review or ancestral territorial claims. By 1 July, more than 1,000 eviction orders were reportedly issued for thousands of families that had lived on the land for a very long time; some of these orders have since been carried out.
The experts said that the decree raised serious concerns regarding Honduras' obligations under the right to food, as dispossessing communities of land essential to their food security will undermine their access to productive resources and violate the State's obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food.
"The Government carried out an eviction on 6 July against the Garifuna community of San Juan in Tela, Atlántida, from ancestral territory that had reportedly been recognised by the Inter-American Court as belonging to the community," the experts said. Five Garifuna human rights defenders who were detained during the eviction and subsequently released continue to face criminal proceedings for aggravated usurpation.
On 6 August, more than 40 peasant families were evicted from the El Tulito community in Choluteca under the same decree.
Peasant communities have reportedly suffered acts of violence amid land disputes, while human rights defenders continue to face reprisals for their legitimate work to defend, promote and protect human rights.
Honduras must immediately halt further evictions, and consult affected communities on all outstanding land claims before proceeding with any more evictions, the experts said.
They called on the Government to promptly investigate the violence at San Juan and implement fully the Inter-American Court's 2023 judgment on the ancestral territory of San Juan, as well as all other outstanding judgments concerning Honduran land rights.
They urged companies involved to implement robust human rights due diligence processes and to ensure that the communities and human rights defenders are not exposed to undue risks, including through the misuse of criminal law.
In a communication to the Honduras Government raising these concerns, the experts urged authorities to ensure prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigation into the 21 May killing of 20 people in Rigores, Colón, allegedly by attackers in police and military uniforms, and guarantee accountability for those responsible. Eight victims belonged to peasant organisations that denounced the destruction and confiscation of their property by police days earlier.
"We cannot stand by and watch the deliberate closing of every legal door through which a peasant, Indigenous or Afro-descendant family in Honduras can challenge dispossession," the experts said.
