Ask Your Rep. To Co-Sponsor The Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act!
Nearly a year has now passed without justice for the assassination of beloved Honduran Indigenous environmental leader Berta Cáceres. And we at Witness for Peace continue to call for justice for Berta and respect for human rights in Honduras. The BERTA CÁCERES HUMAN RIGHTS IN HONDURAS ACT (H.R. 5474) continues to circulate the U.S. House of Representatives, demanding the suspension of all U.S. security aid to Honduras, and we need your help securing more sponsors! On June 14th, 2016, Representative Hank Johnson (GA), joined by several other colleagues, introduced a landmark bill calling for the suspension of U.S. military and police aid to Honduras until human rights violations committed by Honduran security forces cease and their perpetrators are brought to justice.
The bill states that "The Honduran police are widely established to be deeply corrupt and to commit human rights abuses, including torture, rape, illegal detention, and murder, with impunity” and that the military has committed violations of human rights. Therefore, the bill asks that the United States suspend 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.”
Please call your Representative NOW! If you are in the district of a co-sponsor, PLEASE thank them for their leadership! If your Representative has not yet signed, call them and ask them to add their support as a sponsor of the bill!
Script: “My name is _____. I am a constituent from (your town/city) in (your state). I am calling to ask Rep. _____ to co-sponsor H.R. 5474, 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.”
In your phone conversation, please highlight why this bill is important to you, especially if you have traveled to Honduras or heard a Honduran speaker in your community.
If you are in the district of a co-sponsor, please be SURE to thank them profusely, and get your friends to thank them as well. They are up for re-election and need support from the district for taking on this issue. And please share this action widely!
Thank you for your advocacy on this piece of landmark legislation for human rights in Honduras!
33. Slaughter (NY)
34. Cleaver (MO)
35. Rush (IL)
36. Doyle (PA)
37. Moore (WI)
38. Yarmuth (KY)
39. Honda (CA)
40. Quigley (IL)
41. Dingell (MI)
42. Blumenauer (OR)
43. DeSaulnier (CA)
44. Neal (MA)
45. Speier (CA)
46. Cicilline (RI)
47. Lipinski (IL)
48. Foster (IL)
49. Lowenthal (CA)
50. Velazquez (NY)51. Pallone (NJ)
52. Keating (MA)
Sponsored by
