On March 24, 2026, the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, through Legislative File No. 25.197, declared Doña Filomena Navas Salazar—an Indigenous woman of the Bröran people born in Térraba in 1926—a “Benemérita de la Patria” (Meritorious of the Homeland). The Bröran people are located in Térraba, a community in the canton of Buenos Aires, Puntarenas … Read more

As part of the commemoration of the 229th anniversary of the Garífuna people’s arrival in Honduras, the Organization for Ethnic Community Development (ODECO) convened a National Assembly of Leaders and Representatives of Afro-Honduran Communities. The result was a forceful political and cultural position paper, read today in San José de la Punta, which summarizes decades … Read more

Perhaps without delving too deeply into the matter, a shift in perspective regarding the commitments made by international organizations is quietly taking hold in our reality. Recently, the International Labour Organization (ILO), together with Nestlé, launched a two-year project to promote fair recruitment and labor rights in coffee supply chains in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. … Read more

In order to circumvent the consequences of the Supreme Court ruling of February 2026, which nullified its tariff strategy, the U.S. administration intends to invoke the Trade Act of 1974 to impose punitive tariffs on dozens of countries, alleging their lack of concrete action against forced labor. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that it is within the … Read more

Within the framework of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, held between February 23 and April 2, 2026, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights presented reports on the human rights situation in Guatemala and Honduras. In both documents, Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants held a significant place as a result of … Read more

This past Tuesday, March 24, a day of mobilization took place in Argentina to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 coup d’état. Setting aside their differences, a broad range of social groups gathered in Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, as well as in provinces across the country. Every March 24 is a national … Read more

Resolution A/80/L.48 of the United Nations General Assembly, adopted on March 25, 2026, establishes in its first two operative paragraphs: “1. Unequivocally condemns the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialized enslavement of Africans, slavery, and the transatlantic slave trade, which it considers the most inhumane and enduring injustice against humanity; 2. Declares that the … Read more

Attacked and criticized by some of its member states—a euphemism for the obsequious allies of the U.S. administration—the World Health Organization (WHO) finds itself in the crossfire. As we have seen, unsurprisingly, there has been a harsh and long-anticipated resignation, one carried out all too willingly, given the consistent obsequiousness President Javier Milei has shown … Read more

Recent statements issued by monitoring bodies of the United Nations human rights system have addressed the situation of Afro-descendant and Indigenous individuals and communities in the countries of the Río de la Plata region. Although these statements originate from different institutional mechanisms, they provide insight into two key aspects. On the one hand, they reveal … Read more

More than a century has passed since the adoption of International Labour Convention No. 1 (1919) of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which sought to establish, at a global level, a maximum limit of eight working hours per day and a weekly limit of forty-eight hours in the industrial sector. The Constitution of the ILO … Read more

On March 8, 2026, the commemorative march for International Women’s Day was led by a group of women representing the 24 indigenous territories of Costa Rica, hailing from the eight Indigenous Peoples of the country. These include the Huetar (in Quitirrisí and Zapatón), Maleku (in Guatuso), Bribri (in Salitre, Cabagra, Talamanca Bribri, and Këköldi), Cabécar … Read more

Definitions are important both when seeking credible data and when taking action against forced labour and/or child labour. Indeed, in such a turbulent world, we are compelled to remain attentive to the changes promoted by the multinationals of humanism in order to help or assist the most vulnerable. Undoubtedly, forced labour remains a global challenge … Read more

According to the official historical narrative embraced by the current U.S. administration, neither Indigenous peoples, nor descendants of enslaved Africans, nor Asians or Latin Americans have any place in the formation of the North American country. Only “Western civilization,” now supposedly in decline, is said to possess values worth protecting and restoring in order to … Read more

Under the label “Arrests: the Worst of the Worst,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created an online site with information on individuals who have been detained by ICE. Among them is Armando Fernández Larios, who, in addition to having been a member of the DINA, is accused of several crimes against humanity. He took … Read more

At the start of this turbulent year of 2026, we have witnessed massive social struggles that have achieved modest yet meaningful gains—successfully halting blatant violations of rights and improving conditions for hundreds of thousands of people whose only “crime” is wanting to live with dignity in a country where they were not born. Though differing … Read more

As part of the project “Technology and knowledge dialogue to defend the collective rights of indigenous peoples,” the Organization for Ethnic Community Development (ODECO) and lacommunis held a workshop on January 23 entitled “Ma Puca: Technology for the defense of our territory”. The activity allowed the Garifuna people to learn about the expansion of the … Read more

On January 14 and 15, lacommunis participated in the National Symposium on Indigenous Peoples and the Environment, a meeting organized in Honduras by the Public Ministry and the AECID. The main objective of this event was to strengthen the capacities of the justice system to effectively guarantee the rights of indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples. During … Read more

In less than a decade, Berta Cáceres has gone from being a woman persecuted and murdered for defending her peoples’ territories and the natural environment to being officially recognized by the Honduran State as a symbol of struggle whose legacy should be known by present and future generations. This shift is striking, particularly in today’s … Read more

Participating as an advisor to the United Nations system during the Security Council session of January 7, 2026, convened to address U.S. aggression against Venezuela, Jeffrey D. Sachs delivered a forceful and unequivocal intervention. He stated that since 1947 the United States has repeatedly resorted to the use of force, covert operations, and political manipulation … Read more

In a long-forgotten corner of history, Thomas Hobbes imagined a world without law: “solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish.” To avert such a fate, he proposed the Leviathan, an absolute power that, in exchange for security, demands the surrender of individual freedom. For centuries, humanity believed it had transcended medieval authoritarianism through the construction of a … Read more