Women, Peace and Security Initiatives: Honduras
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In-country

Open Letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Regarding Violations of Women's Human Rights in Honduras

November 24, 2009

Open Letter to the Secretary of State of the United States of America
The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Department of State
Washington, DC

Dear Secretary Clinton,

We are writing to you as a world leader in women’s rights. Your courageous track record on this issue has not only inspired hope among women everywhere, but also moved mountains to make an enormous difference in women’s lives.

We turn to you now in recognition of your extraordinary commitment and with great respect to urge you to address the abuses of women’s human rights occurring at present in Honduras. As numerous national and international human rights groups have documented, the de facto regime has engaged in a systematic campaign of intimidation, physical and sexual abuse, and torture. Increasingly, women have been the target of this campaign. We urge you to condemn the violence unleashed against the Honduran people, and in particular against Honduran women, and to take every peaceful measure possible to avoid further violence.

To read the full letter, please click HERE.

JUST ASSOCIATES (JASS): HONDURAN FEMINIST HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES DENOUNCE VIOLATIONS

Four prominent human rights advocates, including two members of Honduran Feminists in Resistance, testified before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission on Monday November 2nd on the precise nature and scope of human rights violations that women have experienced at the hands of the police, military and other security agents of the defacto regime. Violence against women has increased in the past four months as women’s leadership in the resistance to the coup has grown.

For more information, please click HERE.

Public Statement: Feminists in resistance to the military coup of 28th June 2009 and the events that followed

Comprised of various sectors and organizations of democratic women from across the country, the Feminists in Resistance issued a public statement to the national and international community on July 23, 2009. In it they expressed their firm conviction to restore constitutional order in a peaceful manner, affirming that the peaceful and democratic way is the only mechanism to resolve the conflict in public and private life.

To read the full statement, please click HERE.

INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION AMPLIFIES HONDURAN WOMEN'S VOICES

JASS (Just Associates) announced that an international delegation arrived in Honduras for a week-long women’s rights watch. The delegation is conducting a local and virtual Observatorio (Feminist Transformation Watch) from August 17 to 21 to shed light on women's rights violations occurring under the de facto regime that overthrew the democratically elected president in a coup d'etat on June 28th. The delegation comprises representatives of JASS, Honduran Feminists in Resistance, Las Petateras, Radio Feminista, Nobel Women’s Initiative, and the Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equality, and includes human rights activists, researchers, legal experts and journalists from Central America, Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The purpose of the mission is to gather information, to denounce the coup, and to increase awareness of the impact of the crisis from the perspective of women.

For more information, please click HERE.

public statement of the Honduran women's organisations and feminist networks to the international community, human rights bodies, donor aid agencies and States of the world
Central America Women's Network (CAWN), June 29, 2009

This public statement arose from the recent military coup d'état in Honduras. CAWN is seriously concerned about the inappropriate accusations and actions against the President, Manuel Zelaya Rosales, the civil society organisations -in particular the safety of the women's rights activists and our partners, and the violation of the democracy of Honduras.

To read the public statement, please click HERE.

International Day Against Violence Against Women: End the Violence Against Women!
November 25, 2003

Commemorating of the International Day Against Violence Against Women, the Women Rights Center (Centro de Derechos de Mujeres) presented an action letter urging the Judicial authorities, the National Congress and the President to assume their responsibility and work towards the end of the impunity and the end of violence in Honduras. To read the action letter click here (http://www.koalaweb.cl/redfem/sitio/info.asp?Ob=1&Id=456).For more information visit the Women's Rights Center. (http://ns.rds.org.hn/cdm/index.html)

Women’s Rights Workshops
1993-2003

Colectiva de Mujeres Hondureñas (CODEMUH) has worked to defend Honduran women's rights for over ten years, organizing their first workshop for women who work in the maquilas in 1993. Since 1995, they have worked in Choloma and Villa Nueva, two cities with a high number of maquilas, where 80 percent of the workers are female. Their work in San Pedro Sula began in 1998. This project consists of providing workshops for women who work in the maquilas of these three cities. The workshops teach women how to identify the relationship between health and work, to evaluate the work environment, and to recognize the risk of repetitive movements and other occupational hazards, sicknesses, and accidents. The information gathered through the workshops and personal testimonies is being compiled in educational brochures to be widely distributed. For more information contact Colectiva de Mujeres Hondureñas. (mujeresfem@codemuh.123.hn)

Women’s Rights Campaign
2001-2002

Asociación Andar organized a media campaign to further increase women's knowledge of their rights including radio spots, the distribution of one hundred copies of a summary of the laws on women's rights, two workshops on negotiation with the women workers, and a tour to learn about the experience of other women workers who have defended their labor rights. Asociación Andar, which began to work in the Choluteca region in southwestern Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, provides assistance with housing, gardening, public and reproductive health, and organizing communities to better advocate for themselves, especially women. It is the only NGO working with women in the agro-export industries in the region. For more information contact Asociación Andar. (narda@andar.sdnhon.org.hn)