IACHR Files Application Before Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case Concerning Honduras Over Violations of Garifuna Community's Right to Collective Property

December 29, 2023

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on November 16, 2023, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in case 12,614, with regard to Honduras. This case concerns violations of the right to collective property of the Garifuna community in the Cochinos Cays, as well as the lack of adequate, effective resources to address that issue. 

The Garifuna community settled on the East End, Bolaños, and Chachahuate cays in the Honduran archipelago of the Cochinos Cays and has for 207 years lived off fishing on coral reefs. The community has been demanding since the 1910s the recognition of its traditional land and territories, as well as the handover of the respective title deeds.

On January 24, 2002, the National Agrarian Institute (INA) issued three full property deeds in favor of the Garifuna community, which were set to be registered in the Bay Islands real estate records. However, the registry office refused to register these deeds, arguing that the INA had no competent jurisdiction to hand over urban land. This refusal was followed by a series of legal measures, including appeals and writs of amparo. Finally, in June 2005, the Honduran Supreme Court revoked an Appeals Court decision and ruled that all three title deeds should be registered in the official real estate records.

In November 1993, the State declared the Cochinos Cays a protected area and imposed conservationist measures and a military watch in the region. In July 2003, without prior consultation with the local Garifuna community, the archipelago was designated a Marine Natural Monument and external institutions were put in charge of its management. These measures led to fishing restrictions which affected the subsistence of the Garifuna community and triggered acts of harassment and physical violence against that community.

In its Merits Report, the Commission found that declaring Garifuna community territories in the Cochinos Cays a protected area and a Marine Natural Monument and imposing fishing restrictions that failed to take into consideration traditional fishing practices had affected the use of collective property and resources, which violated the international obligations of the Honduran State. The Commission found that the State had violated the right to self-determination of this community by not holding prior consultation, by affecting its peaceful possession of land and resources, and by failing to adopt legislation in line with the applicable international standards.

The IACHR said that lengthy delays of 6–7 years in the titling and registration process were unjustified and amounted to a lack of due diligence on the part of the State. Further, the IACHR found that the creation and preservation of the Marine Natural Monument imposed restrictions on the peaceful enjoyment of their land and territories by the Garifuna community, which created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. The Commission also noted that the Garifuna community was subjected to threats, harassment, and other forms of violence whose perpetrators were never identified. The IACHR noted that an effective investigation could have put an end to that violence.

In this context, the Commission found that the Honduran State was liable for violations of the rights held in Articles 5.1 (personal integrity), 8.1 (judicial guarantees), 13.1 (freedom of thought and expression), 21.1 (collective property), 23.1 (right to take part in the conduct of public affairs), 25.1 (judicial protection), and 26 (cultural rights) of the American Convention on Human Rights, in keeping with the obligations held in Articles 1.1 and 2 of the same instrument, to the detriment of members of the Garifuna community in the Cochinos Cays.

The Commission therefore recommended that the State adopt the following reparation measures:

1. Take measures to prevent the Marine Natural Monument from being an obstacle for the self-determination of the Garifuna community, to ensure this community may be effectively involved in the Monument's operations and preservation.
2. Provide comprehensive reparations for all rights violations, considering the harm caused by restrictions and other effects of the creation of the Marine Natural Monument.
3. Create a community development fund that includes fishing and other types of use of coastal waters, in consultation and coordination with the Garifuna community.
4. Ensure that no projects linked to accommodation and other forms of tourism or resource exploitation are executed without complying with the applicable consultation and consent standards.
5. Ensure the swift resolution of pending legal action initiated by the Garifuna community, applying the relevant conventionality checks.
6. Take legislative measures to prevent similar events from happening again in the future, among others by implementing—in consultation with the Honduran indigenous community—a prior consultation law that reflects the applicable international standards.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 327/23

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