Environmental Defender Murdered in Honduras

Last week, we received the terrible — and all too frequent — news that a member of one of our partner organizations was murdered.  Edwin Fernández provided security in a community where the Black Fraternal Organization of Hondurans (OFRANEH) is doing COVID relief. His murder is yet another reminder of the violent, dangerous context in which social movements operate, particularly those defending natural resources.

OFRANEH members have mobilized to make and distribute masks and protective gear, produce and distribute food, prepare and distribute teas based on ancestral wisdom of medicinal plants to strengthen immune systems. 

As part of our work in the CLIMA Fund, Grassroots International is proud of the report, Resourcing Earth Defenders: The Philanthropic Response to Heightened Repression in Latin America.

Sadly, the report notes that Latin America is the deadliest region in which to engage in human rights defense. While environmental, land and Indigenous rights defenders receive a mere 5% of all human rights funding globally, this population accounts for more than half of all human rights defenders killed in the last few years.

Now we add to that list of environmental defenders our brother from Honduras. Edwin Fernández, presente!