{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chuygarcia.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-garcia-bush-omar-schakowsky-bowman-introduce-resolution-to-affirm-rights-of-honduras-garifuna-people", "Representatives Garc\u00eda, Bush, Omar, Schakowsky & Bowman Introduce Resolution to Affirm Rights of Honduras\u2019 Gar\u00edfuna People", "2022-12-14", "2022", "2022-12", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Jes\u00fas G. \"Chuy\" Garc\u00eda", "G000586", "chuygarcia.house.gov", "chuygarcia", "https://chuygarcia.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC\u2013 Representatives Jesus \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda (IL-04), Cori Bush (MO-01), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (NY-16) introduced a resolution that affirms the rights of the Afro-Indigenous Gar\u00edfuna people in Honduras. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have determined that the Gar\u00edfuna community\u2019s rights have repeatedly been violated by the Honduran government, yet little has changed regarding their treatment. This resolution condemns the violence toward the Gar\u00edfuna people while calling for accountability from the Honduran government and other international institutions for their role in these abuses. The lawmakers worked closely with partner organizations and the Gar\u00edfuna community to author this resolution following a March 2021 congressional delegation trip to Honduras.\n\nFor years, Gar\u00edfuna community members and leaders have been threatened, arrested, abducted and murdered. Most notably, in July 2020, four Gar\u00edfuna men were abducted at gunpoint by men wearing uniforms bearing the logo of a Honduran security forces unit. Instead of calling for an investigation into those responsible, the Honduran Attorney General has called for criminal proceedings against leaders of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH).\n\n\u201cThe Gar\u00edfuna people have long endured criminalization, forced disappearances, and violations of their centuries-old land rights. Today, international corporations and foreign nations continue to be granted development access to their ancestral land, bringing environmental destruction and displacing Gar\u00edfuna people,\u201d said Congressman Garc\u00eda. \u201cThe U.S. must work with the Honduran government, international organizations, and global allies to condemn this violence and affirm the rights of the Gar\u00edfuna people.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I came to Congress, I made a promise to advocate for the most marginalized communities who face systematic violence and oppression. My commitment is not limited to the confines of our borders,\u201d said Congresswoman Bush. \u201cEarlier this year, I had the honor of visiting with and meeting leaders of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras, including activist Miriam Miranda, and heard directly about the Garifuna peoples\u2019 continued struggle. The Afro-Indigenous Gar\u00edfuna people have faced, and continue to face, countless human rights abuses at the hands of the Honduran government - including unwarranted arrests, abductions, and even killings \u2013 and the United States has been complicit by funding state-sanctioned violence towards their communities. We have an obligation to put an end to this violence and oppression, advance policies that promote their human rights, and speak up for Black and Indigenous communities in the United States and across the world. My colleagues and I proudly introduce this resolution to condemn systemic violence on the Gar\u00edfuna people and ensure that the Honduran government and other complicit international institutions are held accountable.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I traveled to Honduras earlier this year, I saw firsthand the impact corporate interests and foreign governments have played in destabilizing the region. The indigenous Gar\u00edfuna community in particular has experienced significant violence, land appropriation, and human rights abuses. Given our own history in the region, the United States must take an active role in ensuring that the rights of the Garifuna are protected\u2014and support full accountability for past human rights abuses,\u201d said Congresswoman Omar.\n\n\u201cThe Gar\u00edfuna people have lived in what is now known as Honduras since the 1600s and have since endured human rights abuses, displacement, and violence. Over the years, Gar\u00edfuna community leaders have been threatened, arrested, abducted, and even murdered. These abhorrent abuses cannot be tolerated,\u201d said Congresswoman Schakowsky. \u201cToday, threats against their land and people persist. I am proud to co-lead this resolution that not only calls for the implementation of the 2015 Inter-American Court judgment restoring land rights to Gar\u00edfuna communities, but also calls on the Biden Administration to engage with the Honduran government to safeguard the Gar\u00edfuna people, their land, and their culture.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I visited the Garifuna territory in Honduras last Spring, I was disturbed to learn about how our country\u2019s policies and business practices are worsening conditions for Indigenous communities in Latin America,\u201d said Congressman Bowman Ed.D. \u201cCorporations and US-funded governments are degrading their environment, displacing Garifuna communities, and stoking violence. This is exploitation at the hands of Afro-Indigenous communities, and it must stop. The United States has an obligation to right these wrongs and support the human rights of the Garifuna people, which is why I am proud to join this resolution.\u201d\n\nA copy of this resolution can be found HERE. A one-pager for this legislation can be found HERE.\n\nSpecifically, this resolution:\n\nCondemns violence against the Gar\u00edfuna people and the illegal separation from their legitimate land rights, and calls for the implementation of a 2015 Inter-American Court ruling restoring those land rights;\n\nCalls for the full participation of an independent commission created by Gar\u00edfuna communities in the investigation of the four Gar\u00edfuna men abducted in July 2020;\n\nCalls for a Special Prosecutor for Enforced Disappearances in Honduras;\n\nCalls for a review of past projects by multilateral development banks that may have contributed to violating the rights of the Gar\u00edfuna people, and compliance with human rights law before the approval of projects that affect Gar\u00edfuna communities; and\n\nCalls on the U.S. government to engage with the Honduran government and international allies and organizations to promote the rights of Gar\u00edfuna communities and to advocate for reparations for affected communities.\n\nThe territory that stretches along the Caribbean coast of Honduras is the ancestral home of the majority of the world\u2019s Gar\u00edfuna. The presence of vibrant Gar\u00edfuna immigrant communities in the United States has been recorded by oral history and scholarly research since the early 20th century. In 2001, UNESCO issued a proclamation declaring the Gar\u00edfuna language and culture a \u201cMasterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.\u201d\n\nThis resolution is endorsed by: Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective (WfP-SC), Institute for Policy Studies - Global Economy Program, School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), and Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN).\n\n\u201cConcerned about this alarming situation that threatens the future survival of the Gar\u00edfuna people, we have called for solidarity to the world, allied organizations, individuals, and institutions. Specifically, to the people of the United States, who have expressed their solidarity and their support through letters to government officials, visits to our territory, and, today through a great act of solidarity and advocacy, a significant number of members of Congress of the U.S. House of Representatives, are preparing to circulate, present and discuss a Resolution to take urgent action on the difficult situation where the Gar\u00edfuna people currently live,\u201d said Miriam Miranda, General Coordinator of OFRANEH.\n\n\u201cThe recent violent eviction of the Gar\u00edfuna community of Punta Gorda by U.S.-backed security forces is a reminder that the United States remains complicit in efforts to violently dispossess Indigenous communities in Honduras. We hope that the United States will demonstrate its solidarity with the Gar\u00edfuna people by not only passing this Resolution but also by taking concrete steps to implement its recommendations,\u201d said Allison Lira, Director, Honduras Program for the Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective.\n\n\u201cOFRANEH and Gar\u00edfuna communities have bravely defended their ancestral territories from internationally financed projects while facing systematic violence and racism, including from U.S.-funded security forces. Most recently on November 7th, 2022, Punta Gorda was violently evicted and six land defenders were arrested. The repression must stop, and international court sentences must be respected,\u201d said Karen Spring, Co-Coordinator, Honduras Solidarity Network.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:32:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chuygarcia.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-garcia-bush-omar-schakowsky-bowman-introduce-resolution-to-affirm-rights-of-honduras-garifuna-people"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.801002934575081, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}