VIDEO: Berta Cáceres Act Needs to Be Passed
Bertita Zúñiga Cáceres, the daughter of assassinated human rights activist Berta Cáceres speaks out in a new video about why the US Congress must pass the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act (H.R. 1299). Over a year ago Berta Cáceres was brutally gunned down in her home for leading the fight against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam. This tragedy is just one of at least 123 recorded murders of land and environmental activists in Honduras since the 2009 military coup d’etat – proving Honduras to be the most deadly nation per capita in the world for environmental activists.
The Berta Cáceres Act is a landmark bill that was reintroduced by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), co-sponsored by 60 members of the House of Representatives, and endorsed by Grassroots International and over 180 other organizations. The bill acknowledges that the Honduran police are deeply corrupt and commit human rights violations with impunity and that the country’s own military is responsible for human rights abuses. Therefore the bill calls upon suspending all “security assistance to Honduran military and police until such time as human rights violations by Honduran state security forces cease and their perpetrators are brought to justice.”
take action to ask your representative co-sponsors the bill today:
- Send an email to your Representative.
- Call your Representative. Sample call script:
“My name is _____. I’m a constituent from (your town/city) in (your state), and I’m calling to ask Rep. _____ to co-sponsor H.R. 1299, The Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, calling for a suspension of U.S. security aid to Honduras until human rights violations committed by the Honduran security forces cease. Has Rep. _______ seen this bill? Can I count on him/her to sign on? Please call me this week at (your phone number) to let me know if you have seen the letter, and if Rep. _____ will sign it.”