Affirming the importance of the survival of Garífuna culture and identity, condemning the violent and illegal appropriation of Garífuna territory, urging the Department of State and multilateral development banks to respect the rights of the Garífuna people, and calling on the Government of Honduras to fully comply with the resolutions of multilateral human rights bodies which mandate the return of Garífuna land and territory, and for other purposes.
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Latest Action · June 5, 2024
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
This resolution affirms support for the Garífuna people, an Afro-Indigenous ethnic group primarily living along Honduras's Caribbean coast, and condemns violence and illegal land seizures affecting their communities. The resolution calls on the Honduran government to comply with 2015 and 2006 Inter-American Court of Human Rights rulings that mandate restoring land rights to the communities of Triunfo de la Cruz and Punta Piedra and investigating murders of community members. It also urges the U.S. Department of State, Treasury Department, and international development banks including the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to halt funding for projects that threaten Garífuna land rights or benefit government agencies involved in human rights violations, and requests investigation into development projects that have historically displaced Garífuna communities. The resolution documents serious human rights concerns including over 150 deaths since 2018 of Garífuna land defenders, forced disappearances, and criminalization of rights advocates, while noting that the former Honduran president was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 2024. No specific funding or implementation timeline is established, as this is a non-binding congressional resolution expressing the House's position on the issue.
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