Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2015, publiée 105ème session CIT (2016)

Convention (n° 169) relative aux peuples indigènes et tribaux, 1989 - Honduras (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), received on 28 August 2015, and supported by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE).

Articles 6 and 7 of the Convention. Appropriate consultation and participation procedures. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the National Plan of Action for Human Rights (2013) includes action to agree with indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples on a participatory mechanism for the holding of prior, free and informed consultations on matters of interest to them. Such action is under the direct responsibility of the Secretariat of State for the Departments of Energy, Natural Resources, the Environment and Mining (MiAmbiente). The Government adds that the Misquito people has a prior consultation procedure which has already been used in cases relating to land title and the management of natural resources. The COHEP indicates that indigenous peoples are consulted through open consultations, as no type of consultation exists as provided for in the Convention. The COHEP also considers that the Convention has been badly interpreted by state officials and by some leaders of indigenous peoples, who tend to consider that consultation is of a binding nature and that it includes the right of veto. The COHEP reiterates the need to adopt national legislation on prior consultation establishing the rights and obligations of all the parties. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on existing initiatives for the establishment of appropriate procedures for the consultation and participation required by the Convention.

Article 14. Lands. The Committee notes with interest the detailed information provided by the Government concerning the titles to lands granted between 2012 and 2015 for the benefit of the Lenca, Chortí, Misquito and Garífuna peoples. Land title was issued during this period for a total surface area of 1,032,793.18 hectares. The Government places emphasis on the inter-community land title process for the Misquito people which benefited from the mediation of the Moskita Asla Takanka (MASTA) organization. Within the context of that process, the National Agrarian Institute issued ten inter-community land titles, benefiting 9,459 families in 175 communities. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress made in the process of regularizing and issuing land title, with an indication of the surface of the lands for which indigenous peoples have lodged claims and the surface covered by the land titles issued.

Article 15. Natural resources. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that programmes have been promoted for the sustainable management of natural resources. With regard to the project for the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the middle reaches of the Patuca river (the Patuca III hydroelectric project), the Government indicates that the project has been delayed by lack of financing and by reason of the expropriation of lands in which the Tawahka and Misquito peoples are present. Nevertheless, the Government refers to the possibility of its reactivation. The Committee notes the consultations held with the Misquito and Garífuna peoples concerning a hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation contract. The Government also provides information on the General Bill on biodiversity, which recognizes indigenous participation mechanisms. The Committee further notes the establishment of the Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Round Table on Climate Change (MIACC) negotiation mechanism in the context of the development of a national strategy for the Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). In its previous observation, the Committee noted the call by the Lenca Indigenous Movement of Honduras (MILH), included in the Government’s report, for compliance with Article 15(1) and (2) of the Convention whenever hydroelectric or mining projects are undertaken. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which consultations have been held with the peoples concerned prior to undertaking or authorizing any programme for the exploration or exploitation of the resources pertaining to their lands. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the participation of indigenous communities is ensured in the benefits accruing from activities for the exploitation of the natural resources pertaining to their lands.

Mining. The Committee notes the indication by the COHEP that none of the members of the National Association of Metal Mines of Honduras (ANAMIMH) are developing mining projects within the framework of the new legislation. The Committee recalls that the General Mining Act, as amended in 2013, provides in section 50 that the granting of mining concessions may not prejudice the guarantee of private property and property belonging to municipal authorities set out in the Constitution of the Republic and further developed in the Civil Code and in international treaties on indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, with particular reference to Convention No. 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of the General Mining Act and on the procedures established to ensure the right to consultation if the interests of indigenous peoples are likely to be prejudiced.

Articles 20, 24 and 25. Protection of the rights of the Misquito people. With reference to the concern expressed by the Committee in relation to the conditions of employment, social security and health of Misquito divers, the Government indicates that the National Plan of Action on Human Rights (2013) provides that measures shall be taken to guarantee that employers provide compensation to victims of dive-fishing and their family members. The Government has provided information on the activities carried out in the context of the Inter-institutional Commission to Address and Prevent the Problem of Dive-fishing (CIAPEB) and on the action taken to improve supervision of this activity and reinforce inspection of dive-fishing vessels. The Government has sent a document published in December 2013 containing a proposal for training to address the obstacles limiting the access to justice of disabled and active divers which emphasizes, among other problems, that the working conditions of divers are informal, they do not have employment contracts, they start working without appropriate training and they are not subject to examinations of their fitness for diving. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the impact of the measures adopted to ensure effective protection in relation to conditions of employment and contracts, and adequate labour inspection of dive-fishing. Please also provide information on the coverage of Misquito divers by the social security system and the health services available to them to treat employment injuries and occupational diseases. Please also indicate the manner in which the cooperation of the Misquito people has been ensured in the planning and administration of health services.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.