the GIEI’s findings must mark a turning point for the European Union.
In an open letter, CIDSE, together with 39 organisations, is calling on the EU to strengthen human rights safeguards and due diligence for Global Gateway projects, following the GIEI’s final report on the murder of Berta Cáceres.
The signatory organisations welcome the publication of the final report of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) on the murder of the Lenca indigenous leader and human rights and environmental defender Berta Cáceres. This report constitutes a historic contribution to the search for truth, justice and reparation. Its findings confirm what the family of Berta Cáceres, the COPINH, and numerous national and international organisations have been denouncing for years: her murder was not an isolated event, but the result of a broader structure of economic power, violence and impunity linked to the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project.
This report highlights recurring concerns about the unlawful and unpunished use of resources originally intended for development. In the current context of the growing roll-out of Global Gateway Initiative projects, the structure of economic power must not be built at the expense of human rights.
Therefore, the signatories call on the EU to support the implementation of the following recommendations:
- Urge the State of Honduras to implement the GIEI recommendations to ensure justice, guarantees of non-repetition, and reparation
- Binding due diligence rules for all Global Gateway projects.
- Independent oversight and complaints mechanisms for affected communities and human rights defenders.
- Effective reparation mechanisms where development finance institutions have contributed to human rights harms.
Additional information:
The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI Honduras) was launched by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in February 2025. Thie GIEI final report was released in January 2006.
CIDSE contact: Susana Hernández Torres, Corporate Regulation Officer (hernandez(at)cidse.org)
Cover image: Berta Cáceres, indigenous rights activist – Photo from a video paying tribute to the 2017 posthumous UN Environment Champions of the Earth award. Credit: UN Environment .