Defending ancestral lands: the Garifuna struggle in Honduras

03 February 2025

An aerial view of a river, a forest and the sea.

“We fight because we want the next generation to have opportunities we never had," said Mabel Robledo, a Garifuna leader who has received death threats for her activism in Honduras.

The Garifuna, an Afro-Indigenous community numbering between 50,000 and 100,000 in the country, live along the Caribbean coast, relying on small-scale fishing and subsistence agriculture. They are deeply connected to their territories, which forms the foundation of their way of life. There are also smaller Garifuna communities in Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

“There are historical and structural barriers faced by the Garífuna people in Honduras, resulting in inequality, discrimination, exclusion, and violations of their rights,” said Isabel Albaladejo Escribano, who heads UN Human Rights in Honduras. For decades, the Garifuna have fought for the titling of their ancestral territories and the protection of their natural resources from encroachment, especially by large projects such as palm plantations, tourism and hydroelectricity.

In 1978 they created OFRANEH (Honduran Black Fraternal Organisation) and took the Honduran government to court for violating their human rights. Despite three favourable rulings by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, corporate land grabs, institutional weakness and lax enforcement have prevented the Garifuna from enjoying effective possession and protection of their territory.

“

We are driven by an ancestral calling. Despite threats and opposition, we fight for our land and resources.

“

Mabel Robledo, a Garifuna leader

To help enforce the Court’s decisions, the Honduran government took a significant step in February 2024 when it created a special high-level commission, known as CIANCSI (High Level Intersectoral Commission of the Compliance with International Judgements). Established with support from UN Human Rights, the Commission will help ensure the restitution of ancestral lands to the communities of Triunfo de la Cruz, Punta Piedra, and San Juan.

“The Commission is designed to overcome obstacles that have prevented compliance with the judgments and to ensure that the state fulfills its obligations as outlined in them,” said Escribano.

According to UN Human Rights, land-related conflicts destabilize the country and contribute directly to violence, displacement and migration.

“Of the 308 human rights defenders attacked in Honduras in 2023, nearly a third were indigenous or Afro-Honduran,” she said. The lack of guarantees over their ancestral territories also increases their vulnerability to food insecurity and affects their livelihoods.

Grassroots resistance and leadership

Mabel Robledo is quiet but firm, qualities she uses to lead the Nueva Armenia Land Defense Committee, a grassroots organization fighting to reclaim Garifuna lands.

Her leadership has drawn attention – and significant risks. A former police officer, Robledo was dismissed due to a restructuring process, although she does not know for what reason she was included in the process. But that hasn’t dampened her spirit.

“When we take possession of the lands that belong to us, we face another scenario – one of criminalization and persecution. The very State, which should be the guarantor of these rights, imprisons us while recognizing these lands as belonging to third parties who have no legitimate claim.” 

A woman holding a piece of paper

Mabel Robledo, a Garifuna leader from Honduras, explains how their ancestral territory was divided and taken away. © OHCHR/Vincent Tremeau

Nueva Armenia is a community under siege. Its neatly ordered rows of plantation palms are offset by a long coast and lush tropical rainforest, increasingly popular for nature and cultural tourism. The government’s decision to set aside part of the area for conservation reasons has also restricted traditional Garifuna practices.

The Garifuna have a unique culture which involves a special relationship with the environment, a distinct language, and community-based social systems, all of which stand to suffer if they fail to reclaim their territories.

The role of UN Human Rights

Support for the creation of the high-level government Commission is only the latest effort by the international community to help the Garifuna fight for their right to their ancestral territory.

In 2021, UN experts denounced the arrests of Garifuna human rights defenders.

“Honduras must stop misusing criminal law to persecute human rights defenders and to stigmatize the Garifuna community,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has repeatedly called out Honduras for its failure to protect the Garifuna.

“Honduras remains one of the world’s most dangerous countries for people who defend land, territory, and the environment… High levels of corruption and impunity continue to deplete the resources available to the country, as well as to erode trust in public institutions,” Türk said.

The Office is working with the government and civil society to strengthen Honduran institutions that protect land, territory and environment rights, and ensure the Garifuna are consulted on major projects that take place on their territories.

Robledo acknowledges it is a difficult battle, but refuses to give up.

"As the Garifuna people, we have contributed greatly to the development of this country, but we are treated as minorities, as if we were not human beings. It hurts deeply.”

“We’re not getting paid; we’re gaining enemies; we’re risking our lives; we may end up in prison. So why do we do it? Because within us, we feel an ancestral calling.”

Aerial view of dirty road in a town full of trees.

Aerial view of the Garifuna community of Nueva Armenia, Honduras. © OHCHR/Vincent Tremeau

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