The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, Mr. Surya Deva, presented a comprehensive report during the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, in which he outlines the profound structural challenges facing the Central American nation in its pursuit of a development model that is inclusive, sustainable, and grounded in the full respect for human rights—particularly those of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant communities.
At the core of these challenges, the report identifies the prevailing extractivist development model that has historically underpinned Honduras’ economic growth.
This model—predicated on the large-scale exploitation of natural resources such as mining and agro-industrial monocultures—has yielded certain economic gains; however, it has also been accompanied by systemic human rights violations, forced displacements, territorial conflicts, and severe environmental degradation.
“Environmental sustainability and the rights of communities must no longer be sacrificed in the name of economic development,” Mr. Deva affirms in the report.
In addition, Honduras is confronted by a complex intersection of overlapping crises: political instability, entrenched violence, widespread poverty, large-scale migration, and acute climate vulnerability.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed and exacerbated long-standing social inequalities, especially in rural and Indigenous areas.
Indigenous Peoples: Historical Marginalization and Ongoing Resistance
A significant portion of the report is devoted to documenting the multiple and persistent forms of exclusion experienced by Indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities, which together represent approximately 7% of the national population.
These communities endure disproportionately high levels of poverty (with up to 80% living below the poverty line), limited access to essential services, structural discrimination, and criminalization for asserting their rights.
Of particular concern is the appropriation of ancestral lands for extractive and infrastructure projects—many of which are authorized without the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities, as mandated by international law.
Prominent cases such as the Agua Zarca dam—linked to the 2016 assassination of Lenca leader Berta Cáceres—underscore the prevailing patterns of violence and impunity surrounding such projects.
The Special Rapporteur welcomed recent government initiatives, including the presidential commitment to issue definitive land titles covering 9,604 hectares to 27 Miskito and Garífuna communities in the municipality of Juan Francisco Bulnes, Gracias a Dios, benefiting approximately 23,000 residents of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve.
Nonetheless, the majority of Indigenous communities still lack formal land titles, rendering them especially vulnerable.
The report also draws attention to the exclusion of Indigenous peoples from national decision-making processes and the marginalization of their traditional governance systems.
“Political exclusion not only violates their rights; it also undermines the legitimacy and sustainability of any development initiative,” the report cautions.
Education, Health, and Basic Services: Structural Gaps That Perpetuate Inequality
The absence of quality education and healthcare in Indigenous and rural communities constitutes another major impediment to equitable development. Many schools suffer from inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of trained teachers, and the lack of culturally relevant curricula. Bilingual education is both limited and underfunded.
In the health sector, the situation is equally critical. Access to basic healthcare is extremely limited, and Indigenous women face alarmingly high rates of maternal mortality due to insufficient services.
Access to clean drinking water remains a major concern, often exacerbated by pollution from mining operations and energy projects.
The report further denounces the prevalence of structural racism and the criminalization of Indigenous leaders, many of whom are subjected to threats, harassment, and legal proceedings for defending their territories and the natural environment.
Progress Achieved and Ongoing Challenges
Despite the overall adverse scenario, the Special Rapporteur acknowledged certain positive developments.
The Government of Honduras has expressed its intent to transition toward a development model that is more democratic, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable.
Dialogue mechanisms with civil society have been established, and initial steps have been taken toward land titling in selected regions.
However, these efforts remain in their infancy and are constrained by significant challenges, including the absence of sustained political will, limited institutional capacity, and a lack of disaggregated data essential for designing targeted public policies for vulnerable populations.
As a central recommendation, Mr. Deva proposes the formulation of a national development roadmap through 2040: a long-term policy framework with clearly defined short-, medium-, and long-term objectives aimed at fostering inclusive, participatory, and sustainable development.
This roadmap must be developed through a consultative process involving the State, civil society, Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and the private sector.
“Without a nationally agreed strategy, it will be impossible to dismantle the entrenched cycles of inequality and exclusion that have historically hindered Honduras’ development,” the Special Rapporteur concludes.
Key Recommendations: Land Tenure, Participation, and Access to Services
The report concludes with a series of strategic recommendations to the Honduran State, among which the following are particularly noteworthy:
- Secure collective land ownership for Indigenous peoples and safeguard their territories against encroachment and unlawful appropriation.
- Ensure the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous communities in all development projects that may affect them.
- Integrate Indigenous governance structures into decision-making processes concerning land use and natural resource management.
- Substantially increase investment in education, healthcare, clean water, electricity, and internet access in rural and Indigenous regions.
- End the criminalization of Indigenous leaders and guarantee their safety and rights.
- Promote Indigenous entrepreneurship through microcredit programs and vocational training.
- Recognize and strengthen Indigenous languages and cultures as integral components of national development.
Mr. Surya Deva’s report serves as a compelling and urgent call to rethink Honduras’ development model from a human rights–based, equitable, and sustainable perspective.
Economic growth, in and of itself, is insufficient. It is essential to include those who have been historically marginalized, protect the natural environment, and ensure that progress is not achieved at the expense of the most vulnerable segments of society.