Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) - Honduras (Ratification: 1995)

Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes that according to the Government, the Convention covers the various ethnic groups that lived in Honduras before colonization and also those known as “pueblos negros” (which include, among others, Afro-Hondurans and the Garifuna), who, though not originally from Honduras, live in much the same social, economic, ecological and geographical conditions. The 2001 census recorded 493,146 indigenous peoples and “pueblos negros”, accounting for 6.33 per cent of the population of Honduras. They currently account for an estimated 15.7 per cent according to the Strategic Plan for the Comprehensive Development of Indigenous Peoples. The Government indicates that the indigenous and “pueblos negros” of Honduras are: (1) Miskito; (2) Garifuna; (3) Pech; (4) Tolupan; (5) Lenca; (6) Tawahka; (7) Nahoa/Nahualt; (8) Maya Chorti; and (9) English-speaking black peoples.

Articles 2 and 33. Coordinated and systematic action. Agencies. The Committee notes that the Government, through the Ministry of the Interior and Justice (SGJ) established the Indigenous Peoples Unit (UPA), which serves as an intermediary between the Government and the indigenous and “pueblo negros” of Honduras. This unit’s mandate includes: mainstreaming and institutionalizing the issue of indigenous peoples covered by the Convention; participation in the National Advisory Board; ensuring coordination of the development processes by promoting indigenous participation; contributing to the reinforcement of representative bodies, and facilitating communications between the State and the indigenous peoples. The UPA is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the National Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras and other indigenous movements. The Committee notes that the UPA’s work in mainstreaming and ensuring participation and support to reinforce the indigenous peoples’ representative bodies could have a key role in the application of the Convention. The Committee notes, however, that it is not clear to what extent indigenous peoples participate in the work of the UPA. The Committee notes in this regard that in order to comply fully with the Convention, it is not sufficient to establish governmental bodies to liaise with indigenous peoples: it is necessary to ensure the participation of indigenous peoples in these bodies. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which indigenous peoples participate in practice in the activities of the UPA, in particular in the preparation, implementation and follow-up thereof.

Articles 2, 7 and 33. Strategic plan. The Committee notes with interest the Strategic Plan for the Comprehensive Development of Indigenous Peoples, which, as stated in its introduction, was drawn up with the participation of the indigenous peoples. It notes that the Plan and a bill now under discussion are to be the pillars of Honduras’s future policy on indigenous and “pueblos negros”. The institutional framework for the Plan provides for the management and responsibility to be shared by the political and technical representatives of the peoples covered by the Convention and the institutions of the State. After describing the current institutional framework, the Plan puts forward a proposal for the future institutional framework. Priority actions is to be implemented within five years, medium-term objectives are set for implementation in ten years, and a general, long-term objective is to be implemented over 25 years. Implementation of the Plan is to begin in 2008. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the Plan and on the results achieved.

Article 6. Legislation. The Committee notes that the Bill on the Comprehensive Development of Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Peoples includes important principles for implementing the Convention. The introductory part states that participation of the indigenous and “pueblos negros” in preparing this Bill was unprecedented in the history of Honduras and that the Bill gives effect to Convention No. 169. The Committee further notes that the Bill defines the concept of traditional authority. The Committee hopes that the Bill will be approved shortly and asks the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Articles 6, 7 and 15. Consultation, participation and natural resources. The Government states that in carrying out consultations the following mechanisms are used flexibly: (1) thematic meetings with indigenous participation; (2) internal community consultation; (3) participatory evaluation meetings; (4) discussion groups on socio-environmental management; and (5) verification meetings. The Committee understands that these mechanisms are steps in the same process: proposals for action are submitted, the community analyses them, a further meeting is held to make any amendments or adjustments, and in the penultimate phase adjustments are submitted on the basis of recommendations from the communities, ways and means are discussed, agreements are reached and recorded in the form of decisions. Lastly, a verification meeting is held to carry out an audit of the previous consultation, and the written commitments arising from the strategies agreed during the consultations are set out in a comprehensible and verifiable manner. The Committee notes with interest this approach to consultations based on a process of dialogue and participation, and asks the Government to provide information on the consultations held on the basis of this procedure, together with copies of decisions, resolutions and any other material used in the various stages of the consultations.

Articles 6, 13, 14 and 33. Lands and participation. The Committee notes that one of the immediate priorities of the Government is the granting of land titles, and that the Strategic Plan indicates the status of the lands of each indigenous peoples and the action to be undertaken. It also notes with interest that the Bill aims, pursuant to section 15(g), “to guarantee the participation of the indigenous and black peoples of Honduras in the delimitation and titling of their lands”. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to provide in its next report practical examples of the application of this important provision.

The Committee welcomes the developments mentioned above as positive steps towards the establishment of mechanisms that could pave the way for the provisions of the Convention to be fully implemented. It notes in particular that a Strategic Plan and a Bill have been drafted on a participatory basis and that bodies for their implementation have been established. The Committee hopes that the Government will pursue efforts to strengthen these bodies and mechanisms with a view to expanding the institutional basis for participation of indigenous peoples in the development, implementation and monitoring of policies that affect them. It also hopes that the Government will be able to report on progress made in this respect.

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