,,iv  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #aeba  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,december #ad1  
#bjbb,ms4 ,bush 7for herself1 ,ms4      
,omar1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,garca of 
,illinois1 and ,mr4 ,bowman7 submitted  
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,affairs1 and in addition to the        
,committee on ,financial ,services1 for 
a period to be subsequently determined  
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,,resolution       
,affirming the importance of the        
survival of ,garfuna culture and        
identity1 condemning the violent and    
illegal appropriation of ,garfuna       
territory and calling on the ,government
 of ,honduras1 the ,department of ,state
 and multilateral development banks to  
fully comply with the resolutions of    
multilateral human rights bodies which  
mandate the return of ,garfuna land     

rights1 and for other purposes4         
,whereas the ,united ,states and the    
,republic of ,honduras share an         
important relationship1 which includes  
deep and long-standing economic1 social1
 and cultural ties2 ,whereas the        
,afro-,indigenous ,garfuna people1      
descendants of the ,arawak ,indians of  
,st4 ,vincent ,island and of ,african   
castaways destined to be sold into      
slavery in the ,americas1 are one of    
nine ,indigenous peoples of ,honduras2  
,whereas the ,garfuna territory that has
 stretched along the ,caribbean coast of
 ,honduras since before the nation was  
declared independent from ,spain on     
,september #ae1 #ahba1 is the ancestral 
home of the majority of the world's     
,garfuna1 and as such is essential to   
the cultural survival and well-being of 
the ,garfuna people2 ,whereas the       
presence of vibrant ,garfuna immigrant  
communities in the ,united ,states has  
been recorded by oral history and       
scholarly research since the early #bjth

 century and has long contributed to the
 cultural diversity that we1 as a       
,nation1 so deeply cherish2 ,whereas the
 ,government of ,honduras ratified the  
,inter-,american ,convention on ,human  
,rights on ,september #e1 #aigg1 and the
 ,constitution of ,honduras establishes 
that the human rights treaties to which 
,honduras is a party are considered to  
hold the same legal effect as the       
,constitution1 and therefore the        
judgments of the ,inter-,american ,court
 of ,human ,rights are binding on the   
,government of ,honduras2 ,whereas1 on  
,may #ah1 #bjja1 the ,united ,nations   
,educational1 ,scientific and ,cultural 
,organization 7,,unesco7 issued a       
proclamation declaring the ,garfuna     
language and culture a 8,masterpiece of 
the ,oral and ,intangible ,heritage of  
,humanity10 the first proclamation of   
its kind in furtherance of the ,united  
,nations ,convention ,concerning the    
,protection of the ,world ,cultural and 
,natural ,heritage and the ,universal   

,declaration of ,human ,rights1 and on  
,october #ag1 #bjjc1 the ,general       
,conference of ,,unesco adopted the     
,convention for the ,safeguarding of the
 ,intangible ,cultural ,heritage2       
,whereas1 on ,march #g1 #bjjc1 the      
,inter-,american ,commission on ,human  
,rights determined in its ,merit ,report
 that the rights to personal liberty1 to
 a fair trial and to judicial           
protections1 to freedom of thought and  
expression and to personal integrity of 
the then-president of the ,land ,defense
 ,committee of the ,garfuna community of
 ,triunfo de la ,cruz and vice president
 of the ,black ,fraternal ,organization 
of ,honduras 7,,ofraneh7 had been       
violated by his arbitrary imprisonment  
for a period of six years and four      
months1 a conclusion confirmed by the   
judgment of the ,inter-,american ,court 
of ,human ,rights on ,february #a1      
#bjjf2 ,whereas1 on ,june #ab1 #bjjg1 in
 response to a complaint from ,,ofraneh 
describing the potential and already    

consummated illegal disenfranchisement  
of ,garfuna land rights facilitated by  
,world ,bank-supported projects1 the    
,world ,bank ,inspection ,panel found   
that the safeguards provided for the    
project were not adequate to protect    
,garfuna rights to their ethnic lands1  
while observing that the ,garfuna       
communities did not have a meaningful   
option to opt out of the project2       
,whereas1 on ,december #h1 #bjjh1 the   
,board of ,directors of the             
,international ,finance ,corporation    
7,,ifc7 approved a #cj million loan to  
the ,dinant ,corporation1 whose supply  
chain includes palm oil from plantations
 in areas claimed by ,garfuna           
communities1 including ,punta ,piedra1  
despite publicly available information  
implicating the company in violent land 
disputes1 illegal appropriation of      
,garfuna land1 and reports of drug      
trafficking on land controlled by the   
,dinant ,corporation2 ,whereas1 on ,june
 #bh1 #bjji1 ,president ,barack ,obama  

characterized ,roberto ,micheletti's    
assumption of the presidency of         
,honduras as illegal1 the ,department of
 ,state subsequently determined that the
 events constituted a coup d'tat1 and   
the ,organization of ,american ,states  
7,,oas7 suspended ,honduras' right to   
participate in the multinational treaty 
body on ,july #e1 #bjji1 the first time 
,article #ba of the ,inter-,american    
,democratic ,charter was invoked1 and   
did not reinstate ,honduras's status in 
the ,,oas until ,june #a1 #bjaa2        
,whereas ,inter-,american ,development  
,bank 7,,idb7 staff conducted a mission 
from ,october #ah to #bb1 #bjaj1 to     
advance planning for a #fj million loan 
to the ,honduran ,ministry of ,security 
and oversee the implementation of       
ongoing security-related loans1 signed a
 #fj million loan agreement on ,june    
#ba1 #bjab1 with ,security ,minister    
,julian ,pacheco1 and signed a second   
loan agreement on ,march #be1 #bjbj2    
,whereas the loans financed1 among other

 ,honduran security forces activities1  
the creation of the new ,direccin       
,policial de ,investigaciones 7,,dpi7 of
 the ,honduran ,national ,police2       
,whereas in ,january #bjaa1 the         
then-president of the ,legislative      
,assembly of ,honduras1 ,juan ,orlando  
,hernandez1 visited ,puerto ,castilla to
 announce that the coastal areas of     
,colon would be designated as special   
development zones 7,,zede71 describing  
these areas1 which largely consist of   
,garfuna communities and territory1 as  
unpopulated2 ,whereas in ,may #bjaa1 the
 ,,ifc's ,board of ,directors approved  
an equity and subordinated debt         
investment in ,banco ,ficohsa1 which    
acted as a financial intermediary of the
 ,,ifc to provide further financing to  
the ,dinant ,corporation following      
international outcry over the           
involvement of that company's security  
forces in violence stemming from land   
rights disputes1 and whose supply chain 
includes palm oil from plantations in   

areas claimed by ,garfuna communities1  
including ,punta ,piedra and ,triunfo de
 la ,cruz2 ,whereas1 on ,october #ah1   
#bjab1 the ,constitutional ,court of    
,honduras annulled a ,february #ab1     
#bjaa1 constitutional amendment adopted 
by the ,honduran legislature that would 
allow the nation to cede governance of  
areas of the national territory to      
foreign governments or private          
corporations as ,z,e,d,es2 ,whereas1 on 
,december #ac1 #bjab1 the ,international
 ,commission of ,jurists condemned the  
dismissal of four of the five judges of 
the ,constitutional ,court of ,honduras 
by the nation's legislature1 under the  
leadership of then-,president of        
,congress ,juan ,orlando ,hernandez1    
explaining that the legislature had no  
authority to carry out this action1     
which seriously affected judicial       
independence2 ,whereas the              
,inter-,american ,commission on ,human  
,rights 7,,iachr7 on ,november #g1      
#bjab1 issued ,merits ,report #gf_/ab   

regarding the ,garfuna community of     
,triunfo de la ,cruz1 and on ,may #ba1  
#bjac1 issued ,merits ,report #cj_/ac   
regarding the ,garfuna community of     
,punta ,piedra1 reports in which the    
,,iachr found that the rights of both   
communities and their members had been  
violated1 including the rights to       
property and judicial protection1 and   
that the government had failed to       
investigate and prosecute the violence  
against the communities and their       
members2 ,whereas the ,u4,s4 ,overseas  
,private ,investment ,corporation1 whose
 holdings have been transferred to the  
,united ,states ,international          
,development ,finance ,corporation1     
approved on ,march #ag1 #bjad1 the      
financing of the ,jaremar palm oil      
corporation1 whose supply chain includes
 palm oil from plantations in areas     
claimed by ,garfuna communities1        
including ,triunfo de la ,cruz2         
,whereas1 on ,october #h1 #bjae1 the    
,inter-,american ,court of ,human       

,rights ruled on the complaints filed by
 the communities of ,triunfo de la ,cruz
 and ,punta ,piedra that1 despite the   
titles granted by the ,government of    
,honduras to the ,garfuna communities of
 ,triunfo de la ,cruz and ,punta        
,piedra1 the ,government of ,honduras   
had violated the rights of these        
communities1 including the right to     
consultation1 the right to property1 the
 obligation of non-discrimination and   
the right to a fair trial and judicial  
protection1 and had failed to           
investigate acts of violence against the
 community1 including four violent      
deaths in the case of ,triunfo de la    
,cruz and one death in the case of      
,punta ,piedra1 ordering the restitution
 of land rights to ,triunfo de la ,cruz 
and ,punta ,piedra and the effective    
investigation of the murder of community
 members of ,triunfo de la ,cruz and    
,punta ,piedra2 ,whereas ,garfuna       
territory along the northern coast of   
,honduras is located within one of the  

principal transit corridors for illegal 
narcotics traveling through ,honduras to
 meet consumer demand in the ,united    
,states1 as described by the ,department
 of ,state's ,bureau of ,international  
,narcotics and ,law ,enforcement        
,affairs in its #bjae ,international    
,narcotics ,control ,strategy ,report1  
which stated1 8,eighty to ninety percent
 of cocaine that transits through       
,honduras arrives via maritime shipment4
 ,in #bjad1 the ,u4,s4 government       
estimated that sixty percent of cocaine 
smuggling flights that departed from    
,south ,america first landed in         
,honduras - a decline from #ge percent  
of such flights in #bjac4 ,the          
,caribbean coastal region of ,honduras  
remained the primary landing zone for   
drug-carrying flights and illicit       
maritime traffic4 ,the region is        
vulnerable to narcotics trafficking due 
to its remoteness1 limited              
infrastructure1 lack of government      
presence1 and weak law enforcement      

institutions402 ,whereas the ,government
 of ,honduras and its judiciary have    
engaged in a pattern of falsely accusing
 the ,indigenous people of the ,north   
,coast of engaging in drug              
trans-shipment as justification for     
violating their fundamental rights1     
including the right to life and liberty1
 and the ,honduran military forces have 
engaged in a pattern of deadly use of   
force against ,garfuna and other        
,indigenous peoples of the ,caribbean   
,coast with similar justifications2     
,whereas1 on ,march #cj1 #bjaf1 the     
brother of then-,president of ,honduras 
,juan ,orlando ,hernandez and on ,may   
#af1 #bjaf1 the son of his predecessor  
,porfirio ,lobo ,sosa1 were convicted by
 ,federal courts in the ,southern       
,district of ,new ,york of drug         
trafficking-related charges stemming    
from actions they carried out on the    
,north ,coast of ,honduras1 and in the  
course of these and other trials1       
testimony was given implicating         

then-,security ,minister ,julian        
,pacheco and then-,president ,hernandez 
in direct involvement in drug           
trafficking2 ,whereas in ,october #bjaf1
 in response to a complaint from        
,,ofraneh1 the ,compliance ,advisor     
,ombudsman of the ,,ifc initiated a     
compliance review of a tourism complex  
developed with land and resources from  
the territory of the ,garfuna           
communities of ,barra ,vieja1 ,tornabe1 
,san ,juan ,tela and ,triunfo de la     
,cruz1 a project that attracted1 and    
continued to seek1 investment from      
corporations in the ,united ,states2    
,whereas1 on ,november #e1 #bjai1 in a  
statement to a local ,honduran          
publication1 ,,ofraneh condemned the    
death of #af ,garfuna1 including six    
women1 highlighting the murder of ,mirna
 ,suazo ,martinez1 president of the     
board of the ,garfuna ,community of     
,masca1 who was leading the defense of  
,masca's rivers and territory in        
opposition to the construction of a     

hydroelectric plant1 and who had made   
public statements describing several    
threats against her a few days before   
her murder2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ah1     
#bjbj1 four ,garfuna men from ,triunfo  
de la ,cruz1 including the ,president of
 the ,community ,development ,committee 
who had led the community's recent      
efforts to stop the illegal             
appropriation of ,garfuna land and      
demand that the ,honduran ,government   
implement the #bjae ,inter-,american    
,court ruling1 were abducted at gunpoint
 by men wearing uniforms bearing the    
logo of the ,,dpi ,national ,police unit
 and have not been located since1 an    
action that the ,working ,group on      
,enforced ,disappearances of the ,office
 of the ,united ,nations ,high          
,commissioner for ,human ,rights        
qualified on ,july #bj1 #bjbj1 as an    
enforced disappearance2 ,whereas1 on    
,november #aa1 #bjbj1 the families of   
the disappeared and the ,garfuna        
communities1 outraged by the lack of    

investigation into the whereabouts of   
the victims of the ,july #ah1 #bjbj1    
forced disappearances1 created the      
,comit ,garfuna de ,investigacin y      
,bsqueda de los ,desaparecidos de       
,triunfo de la ,cruz 7,,sunla71 an      
independent commission to investigate   
and bring about the prosecution of the  
crime2 ,whereas the ,united ,states     
military conducts training of ,honduran 
military units on the northern coast of 
,honduras1 including at bases such as   
the #aeth ,battalion and #dth ,naval    
,base that have been implicated in      
serious human rights abuses and         
corruption associated with organized    
criminal activity2 ,whereas the ,united 
,states controls #ae4gb percent of the  
,board of ,directors of the ,world ,bank
 and #cj percent of the ,board of       
,directors of the ,inter-,american      
,development ,bank 7,,idb71 and uses its
 voice to exert a significant degree of 
influence on the decisions of these     
institutions2 ,whereas1 on ,march #c1   

#bjba1 sisters ,marianela and ,jennifer 
,meja ,solrzano were arrested along with
 #cj other ,garfuna rights defenders who
 are facing criminal proceedings arising
 from two sets of charges filed by the  
,public ,prosecutor's ,office for       
allegedly committing the crimes of      
damages1 threats1 theft and usurpation  
in their lands owned by the ,garfuna    
communities of ,cristales and ,ro       
,negro2 ,whereas1 on ,july #bg1 #bjba1  
the ,office of the ,united ,nations     
,high ,commissioner for ,human ,rights  
in ,honduras and the ,,iachr called on  
the ,government of ,honduras 8to adopt  
measures to prevent the criminalization 
of ,garfuna human rights defenders1     
particularly those who defend land1     
territory1 and natural resources0 and to
 8guarantee a hostility-free environment
 for those defending human rights and to
 increase measures to respect and       
protect the rights of the ,garfuna      
people over their lands1 territories1   
and natural resources10 citing the need 

to protect the communities from         
potential violations alleged in         
petitions pending rulings from the      
,inter-,american ,court of ,human       
,rights2 ,whereas1 on ,november #bh1    
#bjba1 ,xiomara ,castro was elected     
,president of ,honduras in a historic   
election and sworn in as the first woman
 ,president of ,honduras on ,january    
#bg1 #bjbb1 and as part of her platform 
she proposed respect for the land       
rights1 language and culture of         
,indigenous peoples1 including the      
promotion and restoration of land titles
 of ,indigenous communities and the     
promotion of public policies to stop    
invasions of ,indigenous lands2 and     
,whereas in a recent communiqu1         
,,ofraneh stated that on ,august #i1    
#bjbb1 the organization was visited by  
the ,public ,prosecutor's ,office and   
demanded progress in the investigation  
of the ,july #ah1 #bjbj1 forced         
disappearances from ,triunfo de la      
,cruz1 but instead of reporting on the  

investigation and prosecution of those  
responsible for the forced              
disappearances1 the ,attorney ,general's
 office1 in another episode of          
persecution1 harassment1 and            
criminalization1 instructed the         
,prosecutor's ,office ,against ,common  
,crimes and the ,technical ,agency for  
,criminal ,investigation 7,,atic7 to    
initiate criminal proceedings against   
,,ofraneh's ,general ,coordinator       
,miriam ,miranda1 ,,ofraneh member      
,luther ,castillo1 and ,,ofraneh lawyer 
,edy ,tabora3 ,now1 therefore1 be it    
,that the ,house of ,representatives--  
7#a7 condemns the violence against      
,garfuna communities that is directed   
especially against land rights defenders
 and ,indigenous authorities2  7#b7     
calls for the ,comit ,garfuna de        
,investigacin y ,bsqueda de los         
,desaparecidos de ,triunfo de la ,cruz's
 7,,sunla7 full participation in the    
investigation into the whereabouts of   
,sneider ,centeno1 ,milton ,joel        

,martinez1 ,suami ,aparicio1 and        
,gerardo ,trochez1 and the prosecution  
of those responsible for their          
disappearance2  7#c7 calls for the      
creation of an effective and independent
 office for a ,special ,prosecutor for  
,enforced ,disappearances in ,honduras2 
7#d7 condemns the illegal separation of 
,garfuna communities from their         
legitimate land rights2  7#e7 calls for 
the swift and full implementation of the
 ,october #h1 #bjae1 ruling of the      
,inter-,american ,court of ,human       
,rights that obliges the ,government of 
,honduras to restore land rights to the 
communities of ,triunfo de la ,cruz and 
,punta ,piedra1 and to investigate the  
murder of five members of both          
communities2  7#f7 strongly disapproves 
of the decisions of multilateral        
development banks that finance projects 
that contribute to the extinction of the
 legitimate land rights of ,garfuna     
communities and finance security forces 
involved in serious human rights        

violations2  7#g7 is concerned that     
,united ,states bilateral assistance to 
,honduras may jeopardize or otherwise   
contribute to the violation of the      
fundamental rights of ,garfuna          
communities2  7#h7 urges the ,government
 of ,honduras to-- 7,a7 fully and       
immediately comply with the #bjae       
judgment of the ,inter-,american ,court 
of ,human ,rights restoring land rights 
to the communities of ,triunfo de la    
,cruz and ,punta ,piedra and            
investigating the murders of five       
members of both communities2  7,b7 grant
 ,,sunla formal status in the           
investigation of the forced             
disappearance of ,sneider ,centeno and  
three other ,garfuna men from ,triunfo  
de la ,cruz2 and  7,c7 establish a      
,special ,prosecutor for ,enforced      
,disappearances within the ,prosecutor's
 ,office2  7#i7 requests the            
institutions of the ,world ,bank ,group 
to-- 7,a7 immediately suspend funding   
for any project that may contribute to  

violence against ,garfuna communities or
 violations of their human rights and   
consult with the affected communities on
 possible corrective measures2  7,b7    
identify measures that the institutions 
could implement to promote compliance   
with the #bjae judgments of the         
,inter-,american ,court of ,human       
,rights ordering ,honduras to restore   
land rights to the communities of       
,triunfo de la ,cruz and ,punta ,piedra 
and to investigate violence against     
those communities1 acting on the        
measures only after full consultation   
with and consent of the legitimate      
authorities of the ,garfuna communities2
  7,c7 undertake a comprehensive and    
independent review of the projects that 
any such institution has supported over 
the past #be years that have an impact  
on the land rights of ,indigenous       
communities in ,honduras1 and publish a 
report with their findings2  7,d7       
carefully review their loan portfolios1 
and the structure for on-the-ground     

implementation of those projects1 in    
order to identify funding that may      
benefit agencies implicated in human    
rights violations and violence directed 
against ,indigenous communities in      
,honduras2 and  7,e7 demand that the    
executors of the projects financed from 
any loan made by any such institution   
comply with the process of free1 prior1 
and informed consultation with the      
communities1 as established in          
,international ,labour ,organization    
7,,ilo7 ,convention #afi2  7#aj7 calls  
on the ,inter-,american ,development    
,bank to-- 7,a7 undertake a thorough1   
independent1 and public review of the   
projects it has supported over the past 
#ae years that directly or indirectly   
benefit security agencies in ,honduras  
and other projects that may potentially 
be implicated in human rights           
violations2  7,b7 carefully review its  
loan portfolio1 and the structure for   
on-the-ground implementation of those   
projects1 in order to identify funding  

that may benefit government agencies or 
other actors that contribute to or      
benefit from the dispossession of       
,indigenous communities in ,honduras2   
7,c7 increase the review of projects    
prior to financing to identify projects 
that could result in the violation of   
human rights agreements to which        
,honduras is a signatory and refrain    
from financing the projects2 and  7,d7  
ensure compliance with the provisions of
 ,,ilo ,convention #afi regarding prior 
consultation before the approval of     
projects that affect the communities1   
and the completion of the respective    
environmental impact studies for each   
project2 and  7#aa7 urges the ,secretary
 of ,state1 the ,secretary of the       
,treasury1 and the ,administrator of the
 ,united ,states ,agency for            
,international ,development1 in         
coordination with the heads of other    
relevant ,federal departments and       
agencies1 to-- 7,a7 engage at the       
highest level with the ,government of   

,honduras1 and maintain close           
coordination with international allies  
and multilateral organizations with     
influence in ,honduras1 to promote      
compliance with the resolutions of the  
,inter-,american ,court of ,human       
,rights1 in particular the #bjae        
judgments to restore the rights of the  
,garfuna communities of ,triunfo de la  
,cruz and ,punta ,piedra2  7,b7 alert   
,united ,states-based companies and     
other investors in ,honduras to the     
risks and potential liabilities         
associated with investing in lands whose
 rights may have been illegitimately    
severed from ,indigenous communities2   
and  7,c7 use its vote and voice within 
multilateral development banks to oppose
 any loans or technical assistance      
projects that may threaten the rights of
 ,garfuna communities1 and to advocate  
for reparations for communities affected
 by multilateral development bank       
financing that have contributed to human
 rights violations1 in accordance with  

international standards for reparations4