A/HRC/36/31
Annex II
Information on alleged cases included in the previous report
1.
Honduras
1.
The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, in her report following
her mission to Honduras in November 2015, referred to the plight of indigenous leaders
working on land issues, including the case of Berta Cáceres (see A/HRC/33/42/Add.2, paras.
21 and 22). She stressed that the murder of indigenous leaders who defend their lands,
including a large number of leaders of the Tolupán, Garífuna, Lenca, Chortí and Pech
peoples, give rise to the most complaints to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Ethnic
Groups and Cultural Heritage, in addition to cases of assault, attempted homicide and
violence against indigenous women.
2.
The murder of Ms. Cáceres, an influential member of the Lenca community who
headed protests against hydroelectric projects in the Lenca region, drew the attention of the
world to this problem. She further stated that “it is a matter of enormous concern that many
of the indigenous leaders that have been killed, such as Ms. Cáceres, had been granted
protective measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, with a view to
protecting their lives and ensuring their personal safety. The murders have occurred despite
a law on the protection of human rights defenders adopted in April 2015, which establishes
mechanisms to provide an institutional response to requests for protection for human rights
defenders, including early warning measures at times of particular danger. Moreover, given
the strong presence of the army and the military police in the country, evidence received
about collusion by the police and the armed forces with private or business interests,
including organized crime groups in indigenous territories, is worrying. All this exacerbates
the violence and impunity suffered by the indigenous peoples (ibid., para 21).”
3.
During the thirty-third session of the Human Rights Council in September 2016, the
mandate holder referred again to the plight of indigenous leaders defending their land rights
and the implications of Ms. Cáceres’s death on the situation of indigenous rights defenders
in the country, who are facing deaths, threats and violence in relation to their work. The
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders also referred to the death of
Ms. Cáceres in a press release on 6 October 2016 a and in his statement to the 34th session of
the Human Rights Council.
2.
Iraq
4.
The cases of Imad Amara and Faisal Al-Tamimi were included in the report on
cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of
human rights (see A/HRC/33/19, para. 24). The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights defenders also expressed concern about the allegations of arrest and ill-treatment of
both cases in his observations on communications report (see A/HRC/34/52/Add.1, para.
676) in retaliation for their legitimate human rights work at the Al Wissam Humanitarian
Assembly, especially since these acts might be in reprisal for their cooperation with the
United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights.
3.
Japan
5.
In the report on cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and
mechanisms in the field of human rights (A/HRC/33/19, para. 25), reference was made to
allegations of reprisals against Kazuko Ito. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
a
OHCHR, “Honduras: Experto de la ONU advierte sobre el riesgo de impunidad en el caso de Berta
Cáceres”, 6 October 2016.
33
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